• Sugar is a simple carbohydrate with four calories per gram.

• One teaspoon of sugar has 16 calories,

and the average American consumes approximately 16 percent of his or her calories – about 310 calories daily – from added sugars. This works out to be roughly 20 teaspoons of sugar daily, and it’s too much.

To monitor your consumption, apply the following formula: Amount of sugar (in grams) divided by four gives you the number of teaspoons. Example: One can of Coke contains 39 grams, or nine and three-quarters teaspoons, of sugar.

Understand your cravings. One Rx for cravings is to be moderate with yourself. Rigid self-denial can lead to binge-eating. Instead, regularly include small, limited amounts of the food you crave in your diet.

Eat less processed food. Generally, foods with naturally-occurring sugars (for example, fruit as opposed to fruit leather or fruit candies) not only contain less sugar than processed foods, they also furnish vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. You get a bigger nutrition “bang” per calorie from whole foods.

Limit added sugars to 10 percent of your total daily calories.

A more practical recommendation: Compare products brand-to-brand and select those with lower amounts of sugar. In other words, let the labels be your guide.

It’s also important to remember that sugar comes in many forms – sucrose, corn syrup and honey – all of which add up to pure sugar. As you scan the labels, also be conscious of saturated fat and trans-fat (better known as partially hydrogenated oils). These artery-clogging fats are common in snacks such as cookies, crackers, peanut butter that doesn’t separate and pizza.