Americans consume an average of 150 pounds of sugars and sweeteners per year for each man, woman, and child. That’s more than three-fourths of a cup a day.

I don’t buy that much sugar. Where does it all come from?

Most of the sugar we consume is hidden sugar. Here are some of the ways sugar slips into our diets:

• Soft drinks

  Americans average 54 gallons of soft drinks per person per year. This works out to approximately two sodas per day. One 12-ounce soda may contain 12 teaspoons of sugar.

• Desserts

  A piece of chocolate cake, for instance, contains 15 teaspoons of sugar; a cup of frozen yogurt has 12 teaspoons.

• Ready-to-eat cereals

  Some, such as Shredded Wheat and Cheerios, are excellent. But look at cereals like Froot Loops and Sugar Smacks, with 48 and 64 percent of their calories coming from sugar. This isn’t cereal; it’s candy!

You’ll also find hidden sugar in foods such as canned soups, potpies, TV dinners, and many brands of peanut butter.

Should I check labels for sugar?
Yes, but realize that sugar may also be hidden by giving it a different name. Sucrose, dextrose, lactose, fructose, and maltose, for instance, are all sugars. So are corn syrup, honey, and molasses. More than 100 substances that are called sugars exist.

Doesn’t sugar produce quick energy?
Refined, concentrated sugars enter the bloodstream quickly. Up goes the blood sugar, resulting in a quick energy boost—a sugar high.

But the high is only temporary, because it triggers a surge of insulin. Insulin brings down blood sugar levels and, in the absence of the modulating effects of fiber, sometimes pulls it down too fast and too far.

A falling blood sugar often mimics symptoms of hypoglycemia, producing feelings of weakness, hunger, fatigue and letdown—the sugar blues. The usual reaction is to reach for another sugary snack, and then another, leading to a sort of grazing all day long.

Try eating an apple, a banana, or a bowl of brown rice. The fiber in these foods slows down the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. The sugar levels won’t jump around so much, your energy will stabilize, and you’ll feel satisfied longer.

Is it true that the body can make sugar out of nearly everything we eat?
Everything but fat. For a long time people thought it didn’t really matter what they ate because the body could turn it into whatever it needed. We now know that the way the body processes food, from the time it’s eaten until it reaches the bloodstream, makes a great deal of difference.

The body’s preferred fuel is glucose, which it makes largely from sugars and starches (carbohydrates). Although fresh fruits are high in natural sugars, they won’t strain the body’s blood sugar mechanism if they are eaten with their natural fiber.

Starchy foods have another built-in protective mechanism. Starches are broken down more slowly than sugars into the glucose the body needs. Eating starchy foods, especially unrefined starchy foods, along with sugar foods helps stabilize blood sugar levels for extended periods. The ups and downs of the blood sugar curve level off, and the insulin response is activated to a lesser degree, if at all.

What are some guidelines for eating sweet foods?
Education and moderation are the secrets.

If you have a sweet tooth, see your dentist … well, not really, but a sweet tooth can be reeducated. For instance, fruit is sweet, pleasant to the taste, and full of fruit sugars. Practice satisfying your sweet cravings by reaching for a bunch of chilled grapes instead of a doughnut. Sprinkle slices of strawberries and bananas on your cereal instead of sugar. In time your tastes will change, and you will actually prefer less concentrated sweets.

But this does not mean giving up favorite desserts altogether. Moderation is another guideline.

Begin by decreasing the frequency of eating sugared foods. Work from “several times daily” to “three times a week.” When desserts are served less often, you and your family will begin looking forward to them and enjoy them more.

Another aspect of moderation is learning to be satisfied with smaller portions. Big servings and second helpings are just bad habits. You can learn to enjoy one piece of chocolate candy as much as eating the whole box. And you’ll feel better! Half a normal slice of pie or cake, eaten slowly and with pleasure, can be more satisfying than a larger piece bolted down.

Reducing the amount of refined and concentrated sugars in the diet and eating more high-fiber food, like whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits, will produce the right kind of sugar highs. These highs will keep you energetic and feeling good all day long.