Your body does not respond differently to sugar that is added to food or sugar that is found naturally in food. Too much sugar in your diet can cause weight gain, tooth decay, high triglyceride levels -- a risk factor for heart disease -- and inadequate nutrition if you eat sugar instead of nutritional foods. It is important to limit sugar in your diet. However, foods that naturally contain sugar add other health benefits to your diet, like fiber and nutrients.
Types
Sugars naturally contained in fruit and dairy products in the form of fructose and lactose, respectively, fit into a healthy diet by the standards of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Sugar in these foods are "part of the food's total package of nutrients and other healthful components." By these guidelines, you can also include a certain amount of added sugars, like white sugar, brown sugar and corn syrup, in your diet.
Amount of Natural Sugars
According to the USDA MyPyramid, the recommended amount of fruit per day is 2 cups for women and men ages 19 to 30. The recommendation for dairy is 3 cups a day for adult men and women. The recommendations change based on your age and activity level, so check MyPyramid for your specific recommendations. This is sugar you can regularly include in your diet.
Amount of Added Sugars
Within the recommendations of MyPyramid, which is designed to meet nutrition needs, you are allowed discretionary calories of fat and sugar. This is usually between 100 and 300 calories of discretionary calories, although the number changes depending on how healthy you eat on the whole and how much you exercise. The USDA provides the example that someone on a 2,000-calorie diet needs 1,735 or more calories to meet their nutrition needs in a day, if those foods didn't have added sugar and fat. After those needs are met, the extra 265 calories can be used on added sugar and fat.
Guidelines
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommend people take in 5 percent to 15 percent or fewer calories from solid fats and added sugars. The American Heart Association recommends women have less than 100 calories, about 6 tsp., from added sugar a day and men less than 150 calories, about 9 tsp. In general, Americans take in 22 or more tsp. of added sugar each day, which equals 355 calories. Added sugar makes up about 15 percent of an American's daily calories.
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