You eat too much sugar . I know you do n't think so , but you do . Look at your daily ritual : Coffee with two packets of sugar in the morning , maybe with a bagel or doughnut or yogurt . A soda with your salad for lunch and maybe a cookie for dessert . We 're not even to dinner yet and already you 've already had more sugar than you need . Sugar not only makes you fat , it may make you sick . We 're talking about added sugar here , the sugar in processed and manufactured foods -- sugary drinks , sodas and juices , cakes and cookies , candy , processed cereals , salad dressings and breads . This is different from naturally occurring sugar , the stuff you find in an apple or orange or ear of corn . Added sugar is often what manufacturers put in to make food taste better . But a new study says that extra sugar could be killing you . America is eating way too much added sugar and a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine shows it . Researchers set out to evaluate how much sugar participants consume and look at the association between added sugar consumption and cardiovascular mortality . Most adults in the study , which looked at average adult sugar consumption between 2005 and 2010 , ate or drank more than 10 % of their total calories in added sugar . About one in 10 adults took in 25 % or more of calories from added sugar . Not good . The Institute of Medicine says that our daily sugar intake should not be more than 25 % of total calories consumed . The World Health Organization says this number should be no more than 10 % . The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons or 24 grams ( 100 calories a day ) of sugar for women and no more than 9 teaspoons or 36 grams ( 150 calories day ) for men . Using this model , let 's go back and take a look at your daily food intake . Breakfast : Coffee w/2 packets of sugar = 8 grams of sugarBagel / Doughnut = 6 grams / 10 grams of sugar Lunch : Salad w/4T Caesar dressing = 2 grams of sugarSoda ( 12 oz ) = 35 grams of sugarChocolate chip cookie = 5 grams of sugarTotal = 56-60 grams of sugar . AHA recommendation= 24 grams/day ( women ) , 36 grams/day ( men ) According to this recommendation you would have exceeded your sugar allotment by noon . That 's before your afternoon snack or big dinner . As a doctor , I see the consequences of excessive sugar intake every day . I have adult obese patients -- those with a body mass index of 30 or higher . For a man 5-feet-9-inches tall , that 's about 40 pounds or more over his ideal weight for his height , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . But even more frightening are the morbidly obese children I see . They are starting too early down the wrong , deadly path . Obesity is a multifactorial condition and ca n't be blamed solely on excessive sugar intake , but it certainly plays a pretty major factor . Then there are patients with diabetes , heart disease , high blood pressure and high cholesterol . Many studies have shown a direct association between excess sugar and these conditions . This particular study takes this one step further by suggesting that increased added sugar causes increased cardiovascular mortality . In the study , those who consumed approximately 17 % to 21 % of calories from added sugar had a 38 % higher risk of cardiovascular disease mortality -- that means death because of heart or blood vessel failure -- than those who consumed approximately 8 % of calories from added sugar . But studies are one thing . Real life is another . When you see a grandmother who has lost her foot because of poor circulation as a result of diabetes , it is sad . When she comes in with her grandson who is 50 pounds overweight and needs medicine to treat his hypertension , it is a downright tragedy . This is a wake-up call . America , it 's time to cut back on added sugars . Limit your intake of soda and other sugary drinks such as fruit juices . Look at the labels on that bottle of green tea or so-called energy bar , there is likely sugar there , too . Minimize the intake of processed foods . Eat fresh fruits . Look for yourself to see how much sugar is in the foods that you are eating . What you find may surprise you , and may be killing you .
Dr. Jennifer Caudle looks at how our daily rituals are putting way too much sugar into our bodies . The average American consumes about 20 teaspoons of added sugars each day. Excessive sugar consumption increases chances of cardiovascular disease , death .