Mary Poppins said, "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down."
The problem is that Americans are eating, and drinking, too many spoonfuls of sugar for good health. Based on U.S. Department of Agriculture surveys, Americans average 20.5 teaspoons of added sugars per day. That's 68.5 pounds per year. Added sugars are sugars and syrups added to foods in processing or preparation. This does not include the naturally occurring sugar in foods like fruit or milk.
In some age groups, sugar intake is even higher. American teens (11 to 17 years old) consume a daily average of 15 teaspoons of sugar from soft drinks alone. This means 10 percent of teen calories come from carbonated beverages, or fruit-flavored, part-juice drinks and sports drinks. These empty calories lack the bodybuilding nutrients, like the protein and calcium found in milk. Health experts also believe that soft drink calories are a major contributor to child and teen obesity, as well as expensive dental problems.