Sugar goes by many names, which makes it difficult to find on ingredient lists. However, this sneaky added sugar is a big culprit in expanding your waistline. While some sugar is ok within a healthy diet, such as lactose in dairy products, the vast majority of us are ingesting way too much.
Be a sugar smart and check your food labels for the following:
- Anything with sugar in the name like brown sugar, cane sugar and beet sugar
- Anything with cane in the name like cane crystals or evaporated cane juice
- Anything ending in ose, such as dextrose, glucose or sucrose
- Anything with syrup in the name like corn syrup, maple syrup, malt syrup or brown rice syrup
- Anything with nectar in the name including peach nectar, pear nectar or honey nectar
Some other sources of sugar to be on the lookout for include:
- Agave
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Honey
- Molasses
The number of products that contained added sugar is huge. Some are obvious, while others are quite deceptive. Foods with added sugar include:
- Drinks including soda, sports drinks and fruit juices
- Desserts including cakes, cookies, ice cream, graham crackers and candy
- Breakfast foods including cereals, muffins, pastries, waffles and French toast
- Snacks including granola bars, cereal bars, some protein bars, crackers and yogurt
- Fruit including canned and some frozen
- Condiments including honey mustard, BBQ sauces, salad dressings, jelly/jams/preserves and ketchup
Be sugar smart and read labels very carefully. Stay away from added sugar in foods to decrease the amount of empty calories you consume.
By: Molly McBrayer, Clinical Manager Bariatric and Metabolic Services
You must log in to post a comment.