According to a Wall Street Journal article, the American Heart Association is urging Americans to curb their sugar intake – not only can lower sugar intakes help prevent diseases like diabetes, but over time it can help reduce overall obesity in the U.S.

The recommended intake of daily sugar is 100 calories – or six teaspoons – for women and 150 calories – or nine teaspoons – for men.

The sugars the American Heart Association are talking about aren’t the natural sugars that occur in fruits, dairy and other products – the bad sugars are the ones that are added during product manufacturing or by the consumer, like the sugar packets you put in your morning coffee.

Not only is monitoring your sugar intake a good idea to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but over time it will add up to prevented heart attacks, strokes and diabetes – as well as avoided hospital visits, which will in turn the overall chance of medical malpractice.