Hidden Sugars

Americans have developed quite a sweet tooth and a love of sugary treats. Unfortunately, our addiction to sugar and the amount that we consume is contributing to obesity, diabetes, and other chronic health issues. If you know this and have begun making attempts to curb your sugar intake, good for you! The problem is that there are many foods that we consume each day that have (unnecessary) extra sugar added to them, and you wouldn’t know it without reading the label. As a matter of fact, the American Heart Association has stated that the average Americans consumes 22.2 teaspoons of added sugar each day (this is equal to 355 calories)! Be sure to examine food labels carefully and be aware of what you are buying. Here is a list of some of the worst added sugar offenders: Reduced-fat foods: You may think you are making the healthy choice if you pick reduced-fat cookies or low-fat salad dressing. However, more often than not the fat that has been removed has been replaced with sugar. Check the ingredients and the calories content, and be aware that less fat does not always equal healthier. Spaghetti sauce: Tomatoes have their own natural sugars, are these are nothing to be concerned about. The problem is that most store-bought brands of spaghetti sauce have sugar added to them. Be sure to look for brands with very little sugar content, or just get the ingredients and make your own fresh sauce. Ketchup: If you only use ketchup on occasion, this probably isn’t a big deal. But in many households ketchup is the condiment of choice. Unfortunately, ketchup can be up to 20% or more sugar (it is also high in sodium). Look for no-sugar varieties, or experiment and make your own ketchup from scratch. Bread: A lot of highly processed breads contain a good amount of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Beware of white bread, and (white) hot dog and hamburger buns. Read the labels, and try to buy whole grain breads with less sugar. Fruit juice: It would seem that fruit juice is a healthy beverage choice, but it can be full of sugar. Fructose occurs naturally in fruit, but becomes highly concentrated in juice form. Also many juices still add additional sugar in on top of the natural sugar. Be careful to limit juice intake, and look for reduced-sugar versions. Or choose to eat a whole orange, rather than drinking orange juice.

Looking for more tips on healthy living and weight loss? Visit www.gngh.com.