Daily Grams of Sugar

The many dangers of consuming excess sugar are well know, but how much sugar is too much?

"The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends limiting the amount of added sugars you consume to no more than half of your daily discretionary calories allowance.  For most American women, that’s no more than 100 calories per day, or about 6 teaspoons of sugar. For men, it’s 150 calories per day, or about 9 teaspoons. The AHA recommendations focus on all added sugars..." (http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Added-Sugars_UCM_305858_Article.jsp#.WbimpbpFw2Q)

There are many couples/friends that diet together and are each other's support group.  I would suggest a flat limit of added sugars to be around 6 teaspoons (about 20 to 24 grams/approximately 96 calories, 20 grams if being strict) for each person unless that person has derived a more precise number by calculating their "daily discretionary calories allowance" in which I would agree with the American Heart Association (AHA) that the ideal limit should be no more than half of that number.  Either way, I would set 20 or 24 grams as the absolute maximum unless half of the "daily discretionary calorie allowance" calculation gives a lower number than that; in that case I would suggest the lower amount.  Less sugar equates to better health.

Not all sugars are the same though (Cane Sugar, Brown Sugar, Honey, Agave, Fructose, Lactose, etc.).  Honey for example has many health benefits compared to white sugar which only has a few in its raw state, and near none when processed.  I recommend avoiding "Processed White Sugar," which is most often just labeled as "sugar," and also "High-Fructose Corn Syrup" all together!  They have little to no benefits at all.  Ideally it is best to aim for a diet with no added sugar, or very minimal.  Even if you do try to cut out sugar from your diet almost completely, do consider though that certain health foods and products with tiny amounts of added sugar may overall have enough benefits to consider using them at their recommended serving amount.  It is important to weight the pros and the cons of a product, especially when trying to live a healthy lifestyle.  Being too extreme may cause more issues than benefits.

Also I would note that some fruits, while having high amounts of vitamins, also contain large amounts of natural sugar.  I suggest making sure that you are consuming a larger quantity of vegetables over fruits in general and tracking the amount of sugar in the fruit you are eating, but your MAIN concern is "added sugars," not so much the naturally occurring sugar that is found in fruits.  Because many fruits contain high amounts of sugar, eating them in their "whole form" rather than dried is best.  That way your stomach feels more full and you are tempted to eat less.  For example: limit raisins, go for grapes.