Compare your daily sugar consumption against WHO and AHA guidelines. Find out if you're within healthy limits or overdoing it.
Sex
Select items you consume daily
Your Sugar Assessment
—g of sugar/day
Your daily added sugar intake
Teaspoons
—
tsp/day (÷4g)
% of WHO Limit
—
of 25g ideal
% of AHA Limit
—
of limit
0gWHO 25gAHA limit100g
How Much Sugar Is Too Much?
There are two major international guidelines for daily added sugar limits. “Added sugar” means sugar added during processing or preparation — not naturally occurring sugar in whole fruit, milk, or vegetables.
Guideline
Group
Daily Limit
Notes
WHO (ideal)
All adults
< 25g (6 tsp)
5% of total energy intake
WHO (max)
All adults
< 50g (12 tsp)
10% of total energy intake
AHA
Men
< 36g (9 tsp)
150 calories from sugar
AHA
Women
< 25g (6 tsp)
100 calories from sugar
AHA
Children (6–18)
< 19g (5 tsp)
Stricter for developing bodies
AHA
Children (< 6)
< 12g (3 tsp)
Minimal added sugar recommended
The average American consumes 77g of added sugar per day — 3× the WHO recommendation. That's 60 lbs of sugar per year, equivalent to 19 teaspoons daily.
Hidden Sugar in Common Foods
Many foods marketed as “healthy” contain surprising amounts of added sugar. These are often the biggest contributors to excess sugar intake:
Food
Serving
Sugar (g)
Teaspoons
Flavored yogurt
1 cup (170g)
19g
~5 tsp
Granola bar
1 bar
12g
~3 tsp
Pasta sauce
½ cup
10g
~2.5 tsp
Salad dressing
2 tbsp
7g
~1.75 tsp
“Healthy” smoothie
16 oz
30–50g
~8–12 tsp
Sports drink
20 oz
34g
~8.5 tsp
Sugar has 56+ names on ingredient labels: sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), dextrose, maltose, agave nectar, rice syrup, barley malt, evaporated cane juice, and many more. If you don’t recognize the name, it might still be sugar.
How to Reduce Sugar Intake
Cutting sugar doesn’t mean eliminating all sweetness. These practical swaps make a significant difference:
Read nutrition labels — Remember: 4g of sugar = 1 teaspoon. A “low-sugar” yogurt with 16g has 4 teaspoons of sugar.
Swap soda for sparkling water — A can of soda has 39g (10 tsp) of sugar. Sparkling water with a lemon wedge has zero.
Choose plain yogurt + real fruit — Flavored yogurt has 19g sugar; plain yogurt with blueberries has ~7g, mostly from natural fruit sugars.
Use cinnamon instead of sugar — Cinnamon adds perceived sweetness without any sugar. Works in oatmeal, coffee, and baked goods.
Eat whole fruit, not juice — A glass of orange juice has 21g sugar with no fiber. A whole orange has 12g sugar + 3g fiber that slows absorption.
Watch condiments — Ketchup, BBQ sauce, and teriyaki are loaded with added sugar. Check labels and opt for mustard or hot sauce instead.
Track Your Sugar Intake with MacroLog
MacroLog tracks sugar from every meal automatically — via photo, voice, or barcode. See exactly where your sugar is coming from.