10 Seemingly Healthy Foods Which Surreptitiously Loaded on Sugar

Diet is a significant factor when it comes to good health. Many people around the globe are watching what they eat to promote health and well-being. However, there is a lot of misinformation flying around ‘good’ foods.

While advocating the consumption of diet products, health experts opine that many foods contain hidden sugars, including some not even sweet foods. This discussion may bear the semblance of a storm in a teacup. However, this is one discussion that everyone should delve upon as sugar is one of the biggest culprits for lousy health.

Overconsumption of sugary foods may lead to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and worse. World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 1.9 billion adults are obese. This is an alarming number, and a substantial amount of obesity can be attributed to sugary foods.

While American Heart Association stipulates a maximum sugar intake of 150 calories per day, we tend to consume more than we realize. This is due to the reason that the foods which are labeled ‘diet’ or ‘low fat’ surreptitiously pack more sugar.

Also Read: Get Fit While You Are At Your Desk!

In this blogpost, we shall look at the foods which pack sugar without your knowledge.

1) Low-Fat Yogurt

Yogurt is a consumable food that promotes good health. Especially in the intestinal region, it promotes the generation of good gut bacteria that aids digestion. Fitness freaks, however, prefer to eat low-fat yogurt as fat is what they detest.

This consumption of low-fat yogurt should be stopped as it comes with additional sugar and flavor additives to taste the same way as full-fat yogurts. It is better to go for the full-fat yogurts as they don’t have too much sugar and additives.

2) Barbeque Sauce

We sure love to dip our nachos in barbeque sauce, don’t we? However, this sauce is unhealthy as it contains too much sugar. One tablespoon of this sauce packs 8 grams of added sugar.

You can only imagine how many grams you ingest whenever you down that sauce. In addition, one should beware that this sauce is also used to douse meat and veggies. So, stay away from these foods and sauces.

What you can do is that you can pick the sauces based on the sugar content. The ingredient and calories per serving are provided on popular sauces. If this throws you off balance, spare some time to make your sauce which can go well for marination and dips.

Also Read: Which Burns Fat Better: Cardio or Weight Training?

3) Water Infused with Vitamins

Bottled vitamin water hogs the limelight as it is packed with minerals that infuse the body with vitamins. To push more sales, the water comes in attractive, lustrous packaging. All this hype created an impression that vitamin water is good for health.

However, the reality is something else. A bottle of vitamin water infuses you with 120 calories of energy as it is topped off with 32 grams of sugar. Instead of this sugar water, you can drink regular water. Hydration allows you to stay fit and feel better.

4) Sports Drinks

Athletes favor sports drinks. These drinks provide a spurt of energy to those who need it quite swiftly. But, as you may have guessed, these beverages are unhealthy. These drinks contain high glucose, which may drastically affect your blood sugar levels.

These drinks are being marketed for teens and regular people as energy boosters for a slow day in recent times. Unfortunately, this marketing strategy doesn’t mention how overloaded the drink is with sugar. Health studies have proved that BMI went for a toss in both males and females after consuming these drinks for a while.

Also Read: 7 Ways to Stop Feeling Bloated After Downing Oily Foods

5) Bottled Fruit Juices and Beverages

Eating fruits is a better option than drinking them as juice as the latter is low on fiber and other nutrients. Additionally, any regular juice requires the addition of sugar and other flavors. This is generally known to most, yet we all choose to consume them. This unhealthy habit should be kicked along with the consumption of sodas.

Sugary aerated drinks are very unhealthy for the body. Starting from dental cavities to potential cardiovascular problems, one may wind up with serious health complications if one continues such unhealthy habits.

Underscoring the same observation is a study conducted on fruit juices and drinks. It found that 40% of the bottled products possessed 19 grams of sugar while sugary carbonated drinks packed a whopping 150 calories churned out from added sugar.

So, instead of these, have a whole fruit or make the pressed juice by yourself, without sugar. And, there is no other way of looking at it, but you have to relinquish that habit of drinking sodas.

6) Sugar-Free Consumables

Yes, you read that right. Sugar-free foods and additives are harmful. As per the American Heart Association (AHA), going for calorie-less products is not a great choice as the habit leads to health complications. Also, diet products are consumed to shed weight. However, the consumption of such products makes one put on weight.

This weight gain is since sugar-free consumables have sorbitol or mannitol, which are sugar alcohols. Overconsumption of these products will stunt digestion, and ultimately, a weight gain would be experienced.

Also Read: Detox Diet: 5 Foods One Should Include to Purge the Toxins

7) Cookies

The problem with cookies and biscuits is that you cannot end it with one. We often wind up eating more than we want to due to the crunchiness and lovely taste. The uncontrollable consumption causes the body to ingest more sugar than it bargained for. Also, the cookie makers use sugar judiciously as it betters the overall product. You are inviting health problems by eating cookies from refined flour to preservatives.

So, ditch them and bake your cookies or get them from a local bakery to customize them with less sugar. One can replace the refined flour with whole wheat flour or oatmeal. And preservatives are chucked as you or the baker bake them for immediate consumption.

8) Granola

Granola bars are seemingly healthy as they are extensively made from oats. But there is more to it than meets the eye. They are loaded to the hilt with free sugar. One bar of granola has 99.1% free sugar, honey, and nuts. So, one doesn’t need to think twice to remove them from the daily diet.

Instead, you can make a granola bowl at home by adding fruits and a limited quantity of nuts to taste. You will be limiting sugar and nuts intake with this approach.

Also Read: The 12 Best Fruits for Weight Loss!

9) Dried and Canned Fruits

Consuming fresh fruits is a healthy habit. But canned and dried foods aren’t so due to dehydration and are later preserved in sugar syrup. This severe dehydration sucks away the fiber and vitamins and increases the calories due to the sugar syrup. As mentioned earlier, fresh fruits consumption is the way to go as it gives all the nutrition you expect.

10) Breakfast Cereals

It is dismaying that breakfast cereals have also figured on to this blog. Breakfast should be one of the healthiest foods as it is one of the most important meals of the day. Cereals are nice to have, and they have a lovely crunch. But, as you may have guessed, they have to be replaced for their excessive sugary content.

As most of them have high-fructose corn syrup, the consumption of sweetened breakfast cereals attributed to the accumulation of adipose tissue and fat in rodents. Instead of these sweet breakfast cereals, go for corn flakes and other cereals that don’t have sugar.

Also Read: Trying to Lose Weight? Eat Slowly!

In conclusion

Many ‘healthy’ foods are waiting to corrupt your body with sugar. This is challenging for health enthusiasts as it is unclear what to eat. This is where Fitbase steps in. Install it on your iOS and Android devices to get in touch with the fitness trainers.

Additionally, the app comes packing with a calorie count meter which allows you to track how much you consumed. With the right amount of intake and guidance, aided by Fitbase, you will become fit from fat.

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