 There's no doubt that added sugar is a problem in the modern diet. It provides calories with no additional nutrients and it's so easy to consume in excess which can be harmful for metabolic health in the long run. But how much is too much? That's the topic of this video. So can we eat a little bit of added sugar each day without doing any harm or should we try to avoid it as much as possible? To answer this question, it's very important to make the distinction between added sugars and natural sugars. Whole foods like fruits and vegetables contain water, fiber and various micronutrients. In this context, the naturally carrying sugars are absolutely fine. However, added sugars are those that are added to food products. The most common added sugars are regular table sugar or sucrose or high fructose corn syrup. If you want to lose weight and optimize your health, you should limit or avoid foods that contain added sugars. So in terms of added sugar, which can be problematic, most people can eat a little bit without doing any harm. However, there are people who should avoid it as much as possible. It really depends on the individual, which is why it's hard to say what is the safe amount for each person. According to the American Heart Association, men should eat a maximum of 9 teaspoons per day, which is about 37 grams, and women 6 teaspoons or 25 grams. The World Health Organization has much stricter guidelines and recommends no more than 10 grams of added sugar per day for men and women, which is a little over 2 teaspoons. To put that into perspective, one regular 12-ounce can of coke contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar, while one regular snickers or Mars bar contains about 60 teaspoons. Now, honestly, if you are healthy, lean and active, then you'd have no problems burning off the small amounts of sugar. However, if you are very overweight or diabetic or you have some other diet related metabolic health issues, then you should aim for little to no added sugar in your diet. Okay, so let's look at the easiest and most effective ways to reduce the added sugars in your diet. In rough order of importance, avoid soft drinks or sodas, fruit juices, candies and lollies, baked sweets like cakes, fruits, canned and syrup, flavoured low fat or diet foods, and dried fruits. Drink water as your main beverage and don't add sugar to your coffee or tea. Now, depending on the recipe, good alternatives to sugar may be things like cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla or sweeteners like stevia. At the end of the day, the natural sugars found in fruits and vegetables are perfectly fine, but we should all limit our intake of added sugars. Most people can handle a little bit, but for others, it can lead to binge eating, weight gain and metabolic disease. Now, personally, I like the World Health Organization's recommendation of a maximum of 10 grams of added sugar per day. Now, it is really strict, but that does equal 70 grams per week. So if you aim for that, even if you fall short, you're more than likely to fall within the American Heart Association's guidelines for added sugar anyway. Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this video, please give it a say thumbs up. And if you haven't already, be sure to click the big red button below this video to subscribe to the Authority Nutrition YouTube channel.