Most Americans are eating and drinking far more sugar than is good for us. It’s easy to do. 

Sugar is added to everything from breakfast cereals and flavored coffee creamers to salad dressings and pasta sauces.

And all of that sugar can add up. Americans consume an average of 17 teaspoons of sugar a day with some estimates as high as 34 teaspoons a day. That's about three times the daily limit recommended by the American Heart Association.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently said, “Sugar is poison,” and recommends that Americans consume “zero” added sugar.

So how much is too much? MPR News host Angela Davis talks with a doctor and a dietitian about what sugar does to our bodies and ways to cut back to improve our health.  

Guests:

• Dr. Allison Estrada is an endocrinologist at Hennepin HealthCare.    
• Alex Larson is a registered dietitian nutritionist based near Duluth.  

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.   

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.