Most likely, you’ve already heard that consuming too much sugar in your diet can lead to dangerous health conditions.
First of all, excess sugar can induce inflammation and put you at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes.
Also, sugar can cause metabolic syndrome, which is a collection of risk factors characterized by high blood sugar, high blood pressure, abdominal fat, and high cholesterol levels.
Consuming too much sugar can also have an adverse effect on the brain. Studies have shown that sugar can affect cognition and is linked to inattention in both children and adolescents.
However, do you know how much sugar you’re consuming every day? You know that candy, sodas, and baked treats are packed with sugar.
What you might not know is that sugar hides in the most unlikely places and you might be consuming much more than you should.
Sugar Hides in Unlikely Places
The Department of Health and Human Services recently released data stating that adults in America consume over 13% of their calories in the form of hidden sugars and kids consume over 15%.
The best way to avoid eating hidden sugar is to become aware of where it hides. Some of the top places include:
Ketchup
One tablespoon of ketchup has over 2 grams of sugar. Most people have an average of 3 tablespoons of ketchup on their burgers, so they consume over 10 grams of sugar from ketchup alone.
You might want to skip the ketchup and just stick with mustard.
Specialty Coffees
Specialty coffees are often packed with extra sugar. For example, the caramelized honey latte from Starbucks contains over 300 calories. And if that’s not bad enough, there are over 40 grams of sugar in it, which converts to around 175 calories of sugar. This beverage is incredibly unhealthy and provides you with virtually no nutrition.
The bottom line is to go with black coffee and stay away from the specialty coffees.
Honey
Many people believe honey is a healthy alternative to sugar. But, let’s take a closer look. Sure, honey contains vitamins, proteins, enzymes, minerals, and other healthy ingredients.
However, when honey is broken down by the body, it breaks it down as fructose and glucose, just like it does with table sugar. So, be careful with honey – it’s packed with sugar.
Fruit Juices
Most people mistakenly believe fruit juice to be a healthy alternative to soda. But, it’s not as healthy as most people think.
In fact, a serving of Tropicana orange juice contains over 20 grams of sugar, and that means you’re consuming 88 calories worth of sugar.
Your best bet is to skip the fruit juice and drink a healthier beverage or just a glass of water.
AKA Sugars
Believe it or not, there are over 56 different names for sugar! Some of the more familiar names include sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, and agave nectar.
But, then there are the unusual ones including sucanat, maltodextrin, D-ribose, and galactose.
The more educated you are about the names of sugar, the better you can avoid them.
Final Thoughts
Remember, added sugar is arguably the single most unhealthy ingredient in the modern diet. And it can lead to a host of health problems including diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol.
The best way to avoid added sugar is to learn the different names given to sugar so that you can read food labels.
You may be surprised how much hidden sugar you consume on a daily basis!
