What doctors really mean is that we should be eating less ADDED sugar. That’s the additional sugar in foods to make them taste sweet(er) including the brown sugar in chocolate chip cookies or the honey you drizzle on your yogurt. Added sugar is different than the sugar that contains naturally in some foods, like fruit or milk. Sources of added sugar are desserts, sugary drinks, or packaged foods

YES, minimally processed sweeteners, like honey or maple syrup, contain more nutrients than highly processed ones, like white sugar. But the total of these nutrients minimal therefore the impact on your health is also minimal.

NO, you do not need reduce added sugar out of your life completely. Different health organizations have different recommendations for the amount of sugar you should limit yourself per day. But they all admit that there’s room for some sugar in a healthy diet.

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines say that an adult consuming 2,000 calories per day should have less than 12.5 teaspoons, or 50 grams, of added sugar daily. (That’s roughly the amount in a 16-ounce cola.) But the American Heart Association, says women should have less than 6 teaspoons (25 grams), and men should have less than 9 teaspoons (36 grams) per day. It’s all about consuming sugar in moderation.

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If you’re overdoing it, reducing doesn’t have to be painful. Instead of avoiding your favourite sweet treats, try having smaller portions. Look at the packaged foods, too. Things like bread, flavoured yogurt, cereal, and even tomato sauce can all have more added sugar than you might think. So pay attention to nutrition labels and look for options that’ll help you stay within your daily sugar limit.

According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutritionit is stated that more than 350,000 adults for over a decade found that added sugar consumption was not connected to an increased risk for death. While a moderate amount of sugar doesn’t seem to be harmful, having too much can put you at risk for gaining weight.

Consumption of sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose are connected to weight gain, not weight loss, according to an analysis of 37 studies published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. What’s more, they were linked to a higher risk for high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart attacks, and stroke. Experts still don’t fully know how these types of sweeteners affect the body. But most of the evidence suggests that they can have a negative impact on blood sugar, make it harder to keep your appetite in check, and even mess with your gut bacteria which could put you at risk for obesity and related health problems.