Added sugar accounts for more than 13 percent of the average American diet, or 270 calories per day, according to data in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans report.
But because added sugar isn’t listed on nutrition labels, you might not realize how much of the stuff you’re actually consuming—until now.
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized a new nutrition facts label that will be on food products nationwide by July 2018. The biggest update: The FDA will now require manufacturers to list how many grams of sugar have been added to foods and beverages, as well as a percent daily value for added sugars.
In the new set of dietary guidelines, experts recommend that you get no more than 10 percent of your calories from added sugar. The FDA’s reasoning: It’s just empty calories.
Related: Is Sugar Actually Bad For You?
If more than 10 percent of your daily calories come from sweets, it would be impossible to get all the healthy nutrients you need without eating way too much.
The problem: Some of the foods you eat contain both added sugars and naturally occurring ones, like sweetened yogurts. Today’s announcement means nutrition labels will soon break the two types of sugar out, but until that happens, it’s tough to tell how much of each kind you’re consuming.
But here’s a quick sampling* of how much added sugars you may see on the labels of common, relatively healthy foods and beverages:
Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Cereal
Added sugar per serving: 10 grams (g) = the equivalent of 2 Oreo cookies (4.6 g added sugar per cookie)
Nature Valley Crunchy Oats ‘N Honey Granola Bar
12 g added sugar = about 2.5 Oreos
Quaker Instant Oatmeal, Flavor Variety
12 g of added sugar = about 2.5 Oreos
Yoplait Original Yogurt
27 g added sugar = about 6 Oreos
Ocean Spray Craisins Dried Cranberries, Original
26 g of added sugar = about 6 Oreos
Tazo Iced Green Tea, Organic
30 g of added sugar = about 6.5 Oreos
Naked Green Machine Juice
31.8 g of added sugar = about 7 Oreos
Glaceau Vitamin Water, Essential Orange
32 g of added sugar = about 7 Oreos
The easiest way to eliminate hidden added sugars from your diet: Kick the can. Half of the added sugar in the American diet comes from sweetened drinks like soda, says Frank Hu, M.D., Ph.D., a nutrition professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Dr. Hu’s other guidelines: Keep your fruit juice consumption to a minimum, don’t add much sugar to your coffee or tea, and pay attention to the quality of foods in your diet.
*Sources: Kellogg’s, Takepart.com, Fooducate.com
Research and reporting by Ali Eaves and Joelle Smith