Pasta
Sauces
They taste savory, not sweet -- but
many pasta sauces have between 6 and 12 grams of sugar per half-cup serving.
That’s the same amount you’d get from a chocolate chip cookie. The American
Heart Association recommends that women have no more than 100 calories of sugar
per day (about 6
teaspoons' worth) and men have no more than 150 calories
(about 9 teaspoons). Too much sugar can lead to extra pounds, and that’s
bad for your health. So, look on the ingredient label for the sugar content of
your favorite marinara or Alfredo before planning your meal.
Granola
Bars
Check granola bar labels for
ingredients like corn syrup, brown sugar, honey, brown sugar syrup, dextrose,
and fructose. Some have a yogurt or chocolate coating, or chocolate chips,
which can ramp up the sugars fast -- anywhere from 8 to 12 grams per serving.
Instead of eating a 1-ounce granola bar, switch to 1 ounce of granola (about
1/3 cup) and the sugar lowers to about 5 grams.
Yogurt
Yogurt is full of healthy calcium
and protein, but even low-fat flavored yogurt can have 17 to 33 grams pf sugar
per 8-ounce serving -- that’s about as much as 2 scoops (1 cup) of chocolate
ice cream. When shopping, look for ones that are lower in sugar. Or, buy it
plain and toss in the fruit of your choice.
Instant
Oatmeal
Oatmeal has a good rep for being
full of healthy fiber, but many fruit-flavored instant ones have between 10 and
15 grams of sugar per packet. “Reduced sugar” varieties can have closer to 5 or
6 grams per packet. Better yet, add apple slices to plain instant oatmeal. It
has less than 1 gram of sugar in a packet.
Salad
Dressing
Sweet dressings, such as raspberry
vinaigrette, French, and Catalina, have the most sugar-- about 5 to 7 grams of
sugar in a 2-tablespoon serving. So watch how much you pour on. A lower-sugar
option is a light homemade vinegar and oil dressing. It will have only about 1
gram of sugar in the same amount.
Breakfast
Cereals
Yes, we all know fruity kids’
cereals are high in sugar, but even healthier-sounding ones sneak it in. Many
popular oat, corn and bran cereals have 10-20 grams or more per cup. No matter
what the front of the box promises, read the ingredients label to be sure of
what you’re getting.
Energy
Drinks
Most of those drinks that say
they’ll give you a lift have tons of sugar along with caffeine. Some energy
drinks have about 25 grams per 8-ounce serving. How about having some cool
water instead? Sometimes being dehydrated can make you feel tired.
Packaged
Fruits
Mandarin oranges in light syrup have
about 39 grams of sugar per 1-cup serving. You can minimize the sugar somewhat
by draining the cup -- that gets you to about 15.5 grams. Better yet, just have
fresh fruit.
Coleslaw
That’s the “healthy” side dish at
the fast-food restaurant, isn’t it? Think again. One regular-size side of
coleslaw from many popular fast-food places will cost you about 15 grams in
sugar. You can learn what goes into some of your favorite restaurant offerings
by looking it up online on their website. If you're craving coleslaw, you can
always make a low-sugar version at home.
Tea
You’re wary of the added calories
and sugar in juices, so you’ve switched to tea. Uh-oh. Many popular teas have a
surprising amount of sugar. The leading brands of lemon-flavored iced tea, for
example, all have about 32 grams of sugar per bottle. A cup of apple juice has
24 grams. You can control sugar if you brew your own tea instead. Also, some
flavored waters aren’t high in sugar -- check labels, though.
Dried
Fruit
With all the water taken out, dried
fruit has way more sugar by volume than fresh fruits. A small box of raisins --
.5 ounces -- has more than 25 grams of sugar. Instead, you could eat a cup of
grapes for 15 grams of sugar.
Ketchup
At about 4 grams per tablespoon,
ketchup on your burger can give you a minor sugar boost. That's not as much as
some other foods on this list, but if you’re trying to cut back on sugar,
switch to regular yellow mustard -- it gives you less than 1 gram of sugar per
tablespoon.
Source: Web MD
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