It's no secret that pre-packaged desserts and decadent, specialty coffee drinks commonly boast high amounts of sugar. These may be obvious culprits, but you might be surprised to hear that many other food products from the opposite spectrum contain similar amounts. Who would've thought that goods such as marinara sauce, granola, and whole-grain cereal would fall victim? It's a sad reality, but even healthy foods can become sabotaged in our tastebuds' pursuit of sweetness.
Sugar is used by many food manufacturers alike to enhance their products' flavor. This is bad news for our waistlines and overall health, for over-consumption of sugar can result in weight gain, increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and sugar addiction. In order to prevent an unintentional sugar overload, I've provided a list of healthy foods gone sugary to look out for on your next trip to the food store, along with a corresponding product to give you an idea of just how much sugar you may find lurking:
- Tomato pasta sauces: Newman's Own Cabernet Marinera Pasta Sauce, 9 grams per 1/2 cup
- Granola: Cascadian Farm Organic Cinnamon Raisin Granola, 16 grams per 2/3 cup
- Bottled tea: AriZona Lemon Tea, 24 grams per 8 oz serving (contains approx. 3 servings per bottle)
- Ketchup: Heinz Tomato Ketchup, 4 grams per tablespoon
- Protein bars: ProMax Cookies and Cream Protein Bar, 30 grams per bar
- Fat-free salad dressing: Ken's Fat-Free Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette, 12 grams per 2 tablespoons
- Frozen dinners: Healthy Choice Sesame Chicken, 21 grams per meal
- Whole-grain cereals, breads, and crackers: Special K Multi-Grain Cereal, 6 grams per cup
The American Heart Association's recommended sugar allowance is 6 teaspoons (24 grams) per day for women and 9 teaspoons (36 grams) per day for men. If you eat any of the above items, that allowance can dwindle rapidly if you're not careful. The best way then to keep yourself in good standing is to check nutrition labels, but even this can get confusing.
Food manufacturers aren't required to state whether the included sugars are naturally-occuring (like those found in fruit and milk) or if they're added in (in forms such as table sugar). To find out, some investigating has to be done on our part.
The relative amount of sugar used in a product can be determined by its placement on the ingredient list. If you see a sugar source listed near the top of the list, a good amount of sugar will be present. Conversely, if a sugar source falls towards the bottom of the list, there isn't much to worry about. The Harvard School of Public Health warns us to be watchful of multiple sources of sugar appearing on a given ingredient list, providing a list of commonly used added sugars:
- Agave nectar
- Brown sugar
- Cane crystals
- Cane sugar
- Corn sweetener
- Corn syrup
- Crystalline fructose
- Dextrose
- Evaporated cane juice
- Fructose
- Fruit juice concentrates
- Glucose
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Honey
- Invert sugar
- Lactose
- Maltose
- Malt syrup
- Molasses
- Raw sugar
- Sucrose
- Sugar
- Syrup
An easy way to avoid taking in too much sugar altogether is by consuming fewer processed foods, but another alternative would be to keep the above list handy when you hit the food store-- perhaps keeping it on your phone for easy access. I'm just about to go on a food run myself, and you bet I've got these jotted down!
No comments:
Post a Comment