Avoid processed foods as much as you can, and satisfy your sweet tooth with naturally sweet foods.

Sweet enough for you? New guidelines say we're eating way too much sugar.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—A teaspoon of the stuff might make your medicine go down, but exceeding your recommended sugar intake could lead to obesity, heart disease, and not-so-healthy eating habits. But how much sugar is sweet, and how much turns your health sour? For the first time ever, the American Heart Association (AHA) has released guidelines giving people an idea of what a healthy daily sugar intake really is.

THE DETAILS: The AHA statement, published yesterday online in the journal Circulation, makes the point that added sugars, such as high-fructose corn syrup or ordinary table sugar added to sodas, breads, and other processed foods, are likely responsible for the increase in calorie consumption and the subsequent rise in obesity of the past few decades. Furthermore, people who have unhealthy sugar intake levels also consume lower levels of vital nutrients, such as zinc, iron, calcium, and vitamin A. And one study has suggested that too much sugar could raise blood pressure levels. The report also notes that over the past 30 years, we've consumed an average of 150 to 300 more calories per day than we used to, 50 percent of which come from beverages. And our physical activity levels remain unchanged, so those extra calories don't get burned off.

Surveys have also found that the average American consumes around 22.2 teaspoons of added sugar every day. According to the new guidelines, we should really be eating a fraction of that amount. The recommended sugar intake for adult women is 5 teaspoons (20 grams) of sugar per day, for adult men, it’s 9 teaspoons (36 grams) daily, and for children, it's 3 teaspoons (12 grams) a day.