We all know that excess sugar in the diet is bad for us and can cause a range of conditions, including heart disease, weight gain, diabetes, tooth cavities etc. Doctors, dietitians, health coaches, all recommend minimizing sugar intake. People in general have become conscious of what we are eating.
But are we all really aware how much sugar is hiding in common foods that we consume regularly?
When you read food labels, always remember that:
Sugar Measurements
Let’s take a look at the amount of sugar that goes in few of our favorite things:
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Beverages
A regular 355 ml Pepsi or Coca cola can contain a whopping 39gms (~10 teaspoons) of sugar !! While a 1 Litre bottle of a soft dring contains a humongous 27 teaspoons of sugar !!
Imagine the harm this amount of sugar is causing to your internal organs !!
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Juices
Sugar Content in Juice
We consider fruit juices to be healthy. But packaged fruit juices often contain added sugar.
As we can see, in any 200ml of the packaged juice or milk shake, typical sugar quantity is 6-7 cubes of sugar, which is about 24-30 grams (6-7 teaspoons).
Sugar Content in Tropicana
On the label of Tropicana, its mentioned that sugar content per serving is 26 grams.
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Cookies and Biscuits
Our all-time favorite snack has been biscuits and cookies in various shapes and forms. We consume biscuits with tea or milk, whenever we feel like munching, without giving it a second thought. But biscuits are also sources of hidden sugar. As you can see in the graphic above, most biscuits are actually 1/3rd sugar only!!
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Jams and Ketchup
We all love Ketchup, don’t we? They complement anything from fries to samosas to sandwiches and Kathi rolls. They also have a lot of sugar lurking inside them which make the sour tomato puree yummy and palatable. As you can see in the picture above, 1 Tablespoon of ketchup contains 5 grams of sugar.
Same is true for jams as well. Lots of sugar goes into giving them that sweetness which we all like to have, as a spread on sandwich or paranthas.
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Ice creams
We all love our cakes and ice creams and we know that it has sugar. They are part of every celebration, but they are loaded with sugar. Every scoop of ice cream, typically has 14-15 grams of sugar in it. Isn’t that a little too much?
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Bakery items
Bakery delicacies also tend to have around 40-45 grams of sugar per serving.
The amount of hidden sugar in every bar of chocolate, piece of cookie, cold drinks, juices etc., is not just harmful for us, but it’s very bad for our kids too. Here’s how hidden sugar’s may have serious effects on children’s heart health.
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Milk Shakes
As is clear from the images above, milk shakes are high in sugar. In every 100 ml of a shake, there is minimum of 12 grams sugar. So when we have a glass of milk shake (250 ml), we are consuming around 30 – 40 grams of sugar.
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Breakfast Cereals
Kellog’s breakfast, considered to be the healthy breakfast alternative, but it actually has about 12 grams of sugar per serving! So think before buying your next packaged food item.
How companies hide sugar in their food products:
Food companies often hide the amount of sugar available in their products, by using other commonly available sugar substitutes, which are just as bad for health. Note these are not artificial sweeteners but natural products with high amounts of sucrose, fructose or glucose.
Here I would like to share some other names for added sugar, which are found in common food items:
Here’s a detailed article on 8 Ways Food Companies Hide the Sugar Content of Foods
Since the food industry uses all sorts of names to hide the sugar in its products, it is very essential nowadays, to carefully read the labels of the products before buying. That helps in making an informed decision of what is good for us and our family, and helps us in picking up the right stuff for us.
