Sneaky Sugars

I came across this article and think you should all be educated, if you haven’t been already. Basically, sometimes we think we’re doing so well with our eating lifestyle but still don’t understand why we aren’t losing weight or seeing any changes in our body. That’s because in addition to many other factors, the amount of sugar we are consuming is very high. Ok, you might have cut out that extra spoon of sugar, or all the candy, chocolates, cakes and soda, but there are some sneaky sugars that we need to be more aware of. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), we consume 30 or more teaspoons of added sugar every day (that’s not counting the natural sugars in milk, fruit or other unprocessed foods). That’s 497 calories a day, equivalent to a hamburger and fries. That’s gross.

So where does sugar sneak into? Forget the obvious foods, did you consider the amount of sugar in processed foods that aren’t even sweet, frozen turkey entrees, canned chili, to bread to salad dressings to tomato sauce on spaghetti and pizza. I know it’s a lot to digest, but it’s worth being aware of. Don’t be fooled by healthy-sounding foods, like fruit yogurt, bottled fruit smoothies, granola bars, super-fruit drinks, or by the words “natural” or “organic” on the label. Same goes for a product that says on the label that it is “made with real fruit juice.” In most cases, added sugar outweighs fruit.

Enjoy the sugar in the cakes and sweets you actually want to eat, not the sneaky ones you aren’t expecting.