The Better Highlands Ranch Weight Loss warns on place’s where sugar can be hidden
Many of us know the adverse effects of sugar on our waistline and health. We are also aware that soda, pastries, candy, ice-cream and sugar cereals are the villains. Though, there are unexpected places where sugar is hidden. What we often consider health-friendly foods are in fact sugar filled. For instance, fruit juice. Most fruit juices contain the same amount of sugar contained in soda. A lot of parents refuse to give their children soda but aren’t the least bothered about letting them drink packs of fruit juice.
It seems very easy to not consume sugar at first but, owing to the fact that most of the processed foods we consume everyday contain sugar, it’s difficult to point out which ones have sugar. Below are some of the foods guilty of covert sugar content.
Barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce and ketchup are savory seasonings that even when used in little quantity can greatly and quickly increase your sugar level. In each tablespoon of barbecue sauce and teriyaki sauce, there are 10 grams and 3 grams of sugar respectively. Are you also aware that sugar makes up on fourth of the bottle of ketchup?!
Dried fruit looks like a healthier option for consumption than candy. But contained in about 1/3 of a cup is about 16 grams of sugar. The sugar content in cranberries is higher; about 26 grams of sugar in 1/3 in a cup serving.
Salad dressings, most often the variants that have reduced fat or no fat contain sugar in abundance to make up for the low fat content. A lot of salad dressings are sugar-filled. In some, one tablespoon contains about 6 grams.
About 24 grams can be contained in a cup serving of Granola and that’s a staggering 598 calories.
Has a dessert-like taste? Well, it might very well be one.
The sugar content of Fruit-flavored yogurt could very well match that of ice-cream. Each cup of some of these yogurts contain a whooping amount of 5 teaspoons of sugar. The effect of sugar can be more severe than just gaining weight and too many calories. Studies have shown that there is a link between consumption of excess sugar and increased blood sugar and resistance to insulin which predisposes one to obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
It has been recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA) that sugar intake should be limited to 100 calories for women per day and 150 calories for men which is equivalent to 6 teaspoons (24 grams) and 9 teaspoons (36 grams) respectively. Normally, the sugar intake of Americans per day is 20 teaspoons. The reason why we cross boundaries is evident since there is about 11 teaspoons of sugar contained in a can of soda. So, how can the sugar be reduced?
In order to stay in the know about your level of sugar intake, you have to be an investigator by going through the labels on food at the market. You should be aware that one product can contain many added sugars. Know that on food labels, sugar is measured in grams.
Therefore, knowing that a teaspoon of granulated sugar equals grams is good information to have. Even those who pay keen attention to labels can be blindsided. Therefore, you should be aware of the alternative names of sugars to be avoided.
Keep this in mind; you should leave any product that has sugar as one of the top five ingredients.