Guess what?
The average American eats 22 tablespoons of sugar a day, most of it unknowingly!
That’s cray!
Here’s are 9 hidden sources of sugar, so you can do your best to avoid them:
ASIAN SAUCES
American versions of Asian sauces, basically.
You know the kinds we’re talking about: things like sesame chicken, sweet and sour pork, and beef teriyaki. TONS OF SUGAR!
FRUIT SPREADS
These are tricky!
Jams, jellies, and preserves seem like healthy breakfast alternatives to butter and cream cheese — and they are if they contain only fruit. Most of them have a shocking amount of added sugar, though!
Like Smucker’s: It packs three different sweeteners into its classic Strawberry jam.
You just have to remember that fruit is naturally sweet from it’s own sugars!
SALAD DRESSING
You probably know that heavy dressings can do more harm than good.
But light dressings are just as tricky — they take out that fat and replace it with sugar, to keep it from tasting really bad.
SPAGHETTI SAUCE
Have you ever eaten a fresh tomato?
It’s sweet.
There’s no need to add sugar to tomato sauce. Companies are doing it because instead of using fresh olive oil and vegetables, they’re often making their sauces from cheaper vegetable oils, dehydrated veggies, and other subpar ingredients!
OATMEAL
Oats are good for us.
They’ve been linked to heart health, weight loss, and cancer prevention. You just kinda gotta make your own for that to be the case.
Many food producers spoil the whole-grain goodness by flavoring their oats with artificial ingredients and loads of sugar!
WHEAT BREAD
There’s a difference between whole grains, which improve your heart health, keep you full, and help you lose weight, and wheat.
Whole Wheat fakers are made with enriched flours and sugars intended to improve the taste of wheat products.
YOGURT
Yogurt is great, and great for you.
Unless it’s fruit flavored by the manufacturer!
Many producers pump their “fruit flavored” yogurts with sugar — which is probably why you like them better than plain!
FROZEN DINNERS
Food manufacturers are aware of frozen dinners looking shady, so they go heavy on the sugar and/or salt.
Some of the worst offenders?
Low-cal or otherwise “light” entr├â┬⌐es. When food companies remove fat or carbs from their items, they usually replace those calories with excessive doses of sugar or sodium!
BOTTLED TEA
Tea is fab for you, there’s no denying that.
Bottled tea, however, has high-fructose corn syrup and other cheap sweeteners to boost flavor.
Take Arizona‘s Green Tea for example: it has more sugar than a Snicker‘s bar.
Our sugar consumption as a nation — and as a world — is out of control.
We should be holding these companies accountable… after we hold out selves accountable for not looking closer!
[Image via AP Images.]
