According to the Pulitizer Prize winning investigative reporter, Michael Moss, the average American consumes 33 pounds of sugar each year or about 22 teaspoons of sugar each day. Along with 8,500 mg of salt daily. Both excess sugar and salt can have adverse health effects, but sugar is the real culprit when it comes to immune system health. Excess sugar cripples the immune system.

The food industry adds sugar and salt to food to keep us addicted. Despite our good intentions, once we start nibbling from a box of sweetened cereal, we're doomed. In his book, Salt, Sugar, Fat, Moss describes how an unwitting population is slowly being poisoned. Moss doesn't just point out the problem--he describes solutions to end the spiral of addiction.

If you're going to make just one New Year's resolution, aim to reduce sugar consumption to 25 grams daily. Natural, raw foods have fiber, which reduces their effect on blood sugar and for the most part don't have to be counted. Check labels on processed foods. While 25 grams is a reasonable goal, don't be surprised to find you're exceeding 200 grams by dinnertime if you're, like most of us, hooked on processed foods.  Happy New Year!