The latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans send an unmistakable message: Added sugar has no place in a healthy diet. For policymakers and health professionals, that guidance is long overdue. For everyday people, however, the real question is not whether sugar should be reduced — but how.

Public health efforts often fail when they demand perfection. Americans are repeatedly told to eliminate entire categories of food, only to abandon those plans weeks later. A more effective approach focuses on substitution rather than sacrifice, meeting people where they are and giving them tools that make healthier choices realistic over the long term.