The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) just released the latest data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) on Americans' sugar consumption, and the results are quite surprising.  Here are some of the findings that really grabbed my attention.

I disagree with those who say, "Everything in moderation." Would you want your child taking heroin in moderation -- or your spouse having affairs in moderation? If you want to protect your brain, you need to get off the sugar.

Mary Poppins may have had the best intentions in mind, but if "a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down," the new mantra is "no sodas today keeps the doctor away."

The new study in Public Health Nutrition reminds us that in developing countries, sugar intake continues to rise. Therefore, the developing world needs policies that limit added sugars, hopefully before the train leaves the station.

Sugar in excess is a toxin, unrelated to its calories. The dose determines the poison. Like alcohol, a little sugar is fine, but a lot is not. And the food industry has put us way over our limit.

Don't get me wrong, antibiotics save lives. However, they're also overused. While these medicines play valuable roles in managing infections, they also wreak havoc on our guts.

Sweeteners condition our taste buds to want more sweet. Consuming excessive amounts of sugar triggers your brain and body to want sugar most of the time. If your blood sugar dips down, your body gets a signal to eat more sugar. It's almost as if your system has been hijacked.

Are you angry with yourself because you can't seem to turn down tempting desserts or other empty-calorie carbs -- even though you began your day determined to eat cleanly?

The other night I was watching 60 Minutes and saw a segment on sugar. It fit neatly into this piece that I had started on a few days earlier. It seems...

If you are skeptical by nature, you may have thought the segment last night claiming sugar was toxic was some kind of April Fool's joke. Certainly, you thought the scientists appearing on the show were overreacting in saying that sugar might be addictive. Let me tell you, they weren't.

We need to know that we consume too much sugar and that it does us harm because, ostensibly, knowledge is power. In that spirit, we in public health have cause to welcome some important new allies to the mission of advancing health through better nutrition: museums.

The debate over whether high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is really worse for you than sugar is always popular and heated. A recently-published study suggests for the first time that there is a (slight) difference in the way the body processes HFCS and sugar.

If you have an overpowering sugar habit, I want you to know that this addictive feeling is not all in your head. You actually can get hooked.