How Much Sugar Is In These “Healthy Foods”?

So you think that you’re a healthy eater eh? After all, you only binge on sweet dessert items once in a while, right? While that is a good thing, you might be surprised to know that sugar can be found in a lot of other places that seem a little less obvious to you and me. In fact, some of the supposedly “nutritious” snacks that have a good reputation for being healthy are actually packed with heaps of sugar. Today we will be exploring just six of these.

1. Granola

I am starting off with a bit of a shocker. Believe it or not, half a cup of granola is worth about 12 grams of sugar – if not more! Plain granola bars that are unflavoured are only worth half the damage at six grams per half cup. A better alternative to granola would be nuts that are rich in protein, with almonds as a key example.

2. Salad

We all know that salad is good for us in general. The vitamins and minerals in the vegetables are highly rich in nutrients and antioxidants. While this is alright, the damage comes from the “topping” which we usually add to the salads. “Low fat” salad cream or mayonnaise are often just as bad, as the fat is replaced with pure simple sugars instead. Two tablespoons of Italian dressing would add two grams of sugar. However, French and thousand-island deals three times as much damage with six grams!

Diet10

3. Yoghurt

You might or might not know this one already. However, because of yoghurt’s reputation as a health food, we often downplay it. The reality is that low-fat yoghurt can have as much as 29 grams of sugar per serving. Instead of getting rid of it, however, simply learn to read the labels and ensure that you grab one with less than 20 grams of sugar per serve.

4. Ketchup

While this is not technically classified as a health food, it is important to mention because we often overlook it. Just one tablespoon of ketchup contains a sixth of your recommended daily allotment of sugar. In my opinion, that is quite a lot. So just beware of how much you put in your food.

5. Sports Drinks

Nothing feels better than hydrating and getting the salts back into your system after a hard workout. However, don’t be too happy too quickly. According to Harvard University, just one serve of sports drink can contain up to five teaspoons of sugar! Bet you didn’t think it was this much, eh?

6. Fruit Juice

This point makes sense if the reality of the previous one sinks in. But if you think about it, one drink of orange juice can contain up to ten teaspoons, which really is the same amount as a can of coke. Needless to say, freshly-squeezed is much better than sugar-rich alternatives.

So there you have it – six healthy foods with sugar debunked. However, don’t press the panic button just yet. Remember that you can still enjoy foods that have natural sugars, or even small amounts of artificial sugar. You just have to be aware of which foods can deal a lot of sugar damage.

 

Hope this helps,

Mark

 

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