The Secret Behind Hidden Sugars

Eating healthy is difficult. Especially today when foods labeled as 'healthy' are anything but. So many foods that people believe to be good for them are in fact loaded with sugars. It is also important to note that most foods labeled 'low calorie' or 'low fat' are often the worst for you, and include extra sugars and carbohydrates to make up for the lack of fat/calories. To avoid this trap, you should pay close attention to the nutrition labels on the foods you are purchasing. Obviously, if you are eating a clean diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean meats, etc, then there are no labels to read but be sure to note if you are adding any sauces or extras. Most sauces are loaded with sugar. Sugar is added to almost everything in order to make it taste better and appeal to buyers. Important note #2, most people realize that sweets have sugars, however hidden sugars are present in a lot of savory foods as well.

Reference Guide:
Women should limit added sugars to <25g per day (6 teaspoons)
Men should limit added sugars to <38g per day (9 teaspoons)
Children should limit added sugars to <12g per day (3 teaspoons)

Added sugars include anything that is not considered natural, such as those sugars naturally present in fruits and vegetables. Sugar has over 60+ names which can be alarming, but here are the most common to look for on food labels:

• Fructose
• Glucose
• Sucrose
• Lactose
• Dextrose
• Maltose
• Corn Syrup 
• Rice Syrup (including brown rice syrup)
• Cane Juice\
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Molasses
• Honey or Agave

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Here is a list of the most common foods hiding sugars:

• Pre-packaged breakfasts: whether that is oatmeal, granola bars, meal replacements, protein bars, etc 
• Example: Nutri Grain Bars touted as whole grain and healthy: 12g of sugar on average in each bar
• Quaker Oats ORGANIC flavored oatmeal: between 7 and 12 grams of ADDED sugar
• Yogurts and other pre-packaged dairy items such as Kefir
• Oikos Greek yogurt: average of 18 grams of sugar per container (EIGHTEEN)!
• Yoplait yogurts: average of 19 grams of sugar (NINETEEN)!
• Bottled sauces, dressings, condiments such as ketchup, tomato sauce, salad dressings, barbecue sauce, pasta sauce, etc
• Simply Organic Ketchup and Heinz Simply Tomato Ketchup: 4 gram of sugar
• Applesauce and pre-packaged fruits
• Motts Natural Applesauce: 12 grams of sugar
• Dole Fruit Cups: 18 grams of sugar
• Dried fruit and pre-made trail mix
• Ocean Spray Craisins: 29 grams of sugar
• 'Whole grain' breads often have added sugars
• Brownberry and Arnold 100% whole wheat bread: 3 grams of sugar
• Majority of 'healthy' breakfast cereals out there are laden with sugar
• Special K Red Berries: 10 grams of ADDED sugar
• Organic Kashi Honey & Cinnamon KIDS cereal: 7 grams of sugar
• Honey Nut Cheerios ('Whole Grain'): 9 grams of sugar
• Even vitamins frequently have added sugars 
• One-A-Day Gummies: average 3 grams of sugar per serving

As you can see, majority of the foods listed above contain nearly half or more of the total amount of sugar adults should consume daily, and most have over what a child should have in a day! The purpose of this post is to bring awareness to the ridiculous amounts of sugar that are added to everyday foods and help  you make better choices for you and your family.

I will be doing a separate post in the near future about sugars specifically in baby products such as baby foods and formulas. This post would have been way too long to have included everything in one!