Your
Health Matters - Foods and Drinks That Are Surprisingly High in Sugar
Consumption
of sweet , aka too much sugar will do a
colossal damage to your health. Why because, its religiously tie with increased
risk of many diseases, including obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and Cancer.
Many people are now realizing the demon of Diabetes and trying to minimize
their sugar consumption but it's easy to underestimate how much you're
actually consuming.
One of the reasons is that many
foods contain hidden sugars, including some foods that you wouldn't even
consider to be Actually Sweet. In
fact, even products marketed as "light" or "low-fat" often
contain more sugar than the regular versions. The American Heart Association
recommends that women need to limit their additional
sugar intake to 6 teaspoons per day, while men should limit their intake to 9
teaspoons.
A teaspoon of sugar contains 4
grams, so this amounts to 24 grams per day for women and 36 grams for men. Needless
to mention that most people today eat much more than that.
1. Low-Fat Yogurt
Yogurt can be a highly nutritious food. However, not all
yogurt is created equal. Like many other low fat products, yogurts
have sugar added to them to enhance flavor.
For example, a single cup (245 grams) of low-fat yogurt can contain up
to 47 grams of sugar, which is 12 teaspoons. This is more than the daily limit
for men and women in just a single cup of so-called
"healthy" yogurt.
Furthermore, low-fat yogurt
doesn't seem to have the same health benefits as full-fat yogurt. It's best to choose full-fat, natural or
Greek yogurt. Avoid yogurt that has been sweetened with sugar.
2. Ketchup
Ketchup is one of the most
popular condiments worldwide, but like BBQ sauce, it is often loaded with
sugar.
Try to be mindful of your portion
size when using ketchup and remember that a single tablespoon of ketchup
contains 1 teaspoon of sugar.
3 Fruit Juices
Like whole fruit, fruit
juice contains some vitamins and minerals. However, despite seeming like a
healthy choice, these vitamins and minerals come with more than sufficient dose of sugar and negligible fibre content.
Normally it takes a lot of fruit to produce a single glass of fruit juice, so
you get much more sugar in a glass of juice than you would get by eating whole
fruit. This makes it easy to consume a large amount of sugar quickly.
Factually, there can be just as much sugar in fruit juice as there is in a
sugary drink like Coke. The poor health outcomes that have been convincingly
linked to sugary soda may be linked to fruit juices too. It's best & wiser to choose whole fruit
and minimize your intake of fruit juices.
5. Sports Drinks
Sports drinks can often be
mistaken as a healthy choice for those who exercise. However, sports drinks are
designed to hydrate and fuel trained athletes during prolonged, intense periods
of exercise. For this reason, they contain high amounts of added sugars that
can be quickly absorbed and used for energy.
In fact, a standard 20-oz (570
ml) bottle of a sports drink will contain 32 grams of added sugar and 159
calories, which is equivalent to 8 teaspoons of sugar .
Sports drinks are therefore
categorized as "sugary drinks." Like soda and fruit juice, they have
also been linked with obesity and metabolic disease Unless you're a marathon runner or an elite
athlete, then you should probably just stick to water while exercising.
7. Chocolate Milk
Chocolate milk is only a milk that has been flavored with
cocoa and sweetened with sugar. Milk itself is a very nutritious drink. It is a
rich source of nutrients that are great for bone health, including calcium
and protein. However, despite having all
the nutritious qualities of milk, an 8-oz (230 ml) glass of chocolate milk
comes with an extra 2 teaspoons of added sugar, which most of us could do
without.
8.Iced Tea Iced tea is a chilled tea,
usually tinkered with sugar or flavored
with syrup. It's popular in various forms and flavors around the world, and
this means the sugar content can vary slightly.
Most
commercially prepared iced teas will contain around 33 grams of sugar per 12-oz
(340 ml) serving, which is about the same as a can of Coke. If you like tea,
pick regular tea or choose iced tea that doesn't have any sugars added.
Soup isn't a food that one generally
associate with sugar. When it's made with fresh whole ingredients, it's a
healthy choice and can be a great way to increase your vegetable consumption
without much effort.
The vegetables in soups have
naturally occurring sugars, which are fine to eat given that they usually come
in small amounts and with lots of other beneficial nutrients. However, many
commercially prepared soups have a lot of added ingredients, including sugar. To
check for added sugars in your soup, look at the ingredients list for things
like sucrose, high fructose, corn syrup, barley malt, dextrose, maltose and
other syrups.
Added sugars aren't a necessary
nutrient in one’s diet. Although small amounts are fine, they can cause serious
harm if eaten in large amounts on a regular basis. ALL THE ABOVE MENTIONED MENU ARE A STRICT NO NO. The best way to avoid hidden
sugars in your meals is to make them at home so you know exactly what's in
them.However, if you need to buy pre-packaged
food, make sure you check the label identify any hidden added sugars,
especially when buying foods from this list.
The best and simple way to boost your immune systems with HDL intake, consider using Cold Pressed Cooking Oils in your daily cooking menu in your private or commercial kitchen,
Happy and Healthy Living. In the interest of social welfare and public health,
Ethnic & Pure Cooking Oils, Chennai.
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