Many people are now trying to minimize their sugar intake but it’s easy to underestimate how much you’re actually consuming.
Sugars are simple carbohydrates naturally occurring in a variety of foods, including, fruits, vegetables, and milk. Sugar is also used as a food ingredient, added to processed foods for its sweet taste. It is these added sugars that cause health problems, not the sugars naturally occurring in foods.
One of the reasons is that many foods contain hidden sugars, including some foods that you wouldn’t even consider to be sweet.
But surprisingly, there are some foods that are marketed as “light” or “low fat” which often contains more sugar than their regular counterparts.
I will be discussing 7 different foods and drink that we consume without knowing the amount of sugar contained in it, they include;
1.) KETCHUP
Ketchup is one of the most popular condiments worldwide, and is often loaded with sugar. It is advised to be mindful of the quantity of ketchup you consume.
A single tablespoon of ketchup contains nearly 1 teaspoon of sugar.
2.) CANNED BAKED BEANS
Baked Beans are another savory food that’s often surprisingly high in sugar.
A cup (254 grams) of regular baked beans contains about 5 teaspoons of sugar.
If you like baked beans, you can choose low sugar versions. They can contain about half the amount of sugar found in regular baked beans.
3.) BREAKFAST CEREAL
Cereal is a popular, quick, and easy breakfast food.
However, the cereal you choose could greatly affect your sugar consumption, especially if you eat it every day. Some breakfast cereals have lots of added sugar.
Check the label and try choosing a cereal that’s high in fibre and does not contain added sugar.
4.) ICED TEA
Iced tea is usually sweetened with sugar or flavored with syrup.
It’s popular in various forms and flavors around the world, and this means the sugar content can vary slightly.
If you like tea, pick regular tea or choose iced tea that doesn’t have any sugars added.
5.) FRUIT JUICE
Despite seeming like a healthy choice, these vitamins and minerals come with a large dose of sugar and very little fibre.
It usually takes a lot of fruit to produce a single glass of fruit juice, so you get much more sugar in a glass of juice than you would get by eating whole fruit. This makes it easy to consume a large amount of sugar quickly.
In fact, there can be just as much sugar in fruit juice as there is in a sugary drink like Coke. The poor health outcomes that have been convincingly linked to sugary soda may also be linked to fruit juices.
It’s best to choose whole fruit and minimize your intake of fruit juices.
6.) LOW FAT YOUGHURT
Youghurts can be highly nutritious. However, not all yogurt is created equal.
Like many other low fat products , low fat yogurts have sugar added to them to enhance flavor.
For example, a single cup (245 grams) of low-fat yogurt can contain over 45 grams of sugar, which is about 11 teaspoons. This is more than the daily limit for men and women in just a single cup of “healthy” yogurt
Furthermore, low-fat yogurt doesn’t seem to have the same health benefits as full fat yogurts.
It’s best to choose full fat, natural, or Greek yogurt. Avoid yogurt that has been sweetened with sugar.
