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Monday, November 23, 2009
Sugar is one of those ingredients that shows up where you least expect it. For example, you may do everything possible to avoid fruit drinks that aren't 100% juice, but 100% juices contain a lot of sugar as well. You just never know where sugar may be hiding. The following foods are just some of those that have a shockingly high sugar content.
Foods You Never Knew Were High In Sugar #1: Ketchup
If you've ever made homemade pasta sauce, this may not be that shocking, but most people don't realize just how acidic tomatoes can be. Sugar is added to products like ketchup to even out the acidic taste. Before buying items that you know contain ketchup (like barbeque sauce or pork and beans) look at the nutrition label to see how high the sugar content is. Also check other tomato based products like spaghetti sauce.
Foods You Never Knew Were High In Sugar #2: Sports Drinks
Sports drink companies have led us to believe that we need these drinks after a workout. These drinks are supposed to replace electrolytes that are lost while we exercise. The problem is many of us are not exercising as much as the athletes who these drinks were invented for. For this reason, the average person does not need these drinks and water would be a much better option. A quick look at the nutrition label of a popular sports drink brand reveals that a 20 ounce bottle has 35 grams of sugar. A leading brand of cola has 35 grams per 12 ounces.
Foods You Never Knew Were High In Sugar #3: Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt
How could yogurt be unhealthy, especially when it has fruit in it? Yogurt is one of those items that require you to look at the label closely. Just because it says its fat free does not mean it is also low in calories. Fruit on the bottom yogurts happen to be very high in sugar. A popular brand name, fruit on the bottom blueberry, yogurt contains 40 grams of sugar in an 8 ounce container. If you're on a 2,000 calorie a day diet, you should only be eating 32 grams of sugar a day, which is 6% of your calories.
Foods You Never Knew Were High In Sugar #4: Cranberry Juice
We've all seen the commercials about how great cranberry juice is. The health benefits are numerous, but so are the grams of sugar in the healthy beverage. An 8 ounce glass of 100% cranberry juice contains 35 grams, the same amount of a 12 ounce can of cola. A healthier way to reap the benefits of cranberries is to take cranberry pills.
Honey is another one of those ingredients that is shockingly high in sugar. One tablespoon of honey contains 17 grams. This means that honey might not be the perfect sugar substitute that we once thought it was. This doesn't mean you should toss away all your honey. Honey does a wonderful job at curing a cold when added to hot tea with a squeeze of lemon.
