Geetashri Roy
Sugar is too harmful for our bodies. Due to its destructive nature, it is called white death. If you overeat foods that are rich in sugar, it may lead to various diseases like metabolic syndrome, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and even heart disease, hypertension, and other cardiovascular problems.
There are many foods available in the market that contain a wide range of hidden sugar. There are even some foods that you don’t even think to be sweet. The products often sold with tags like light, diet, low calorie, or low fat generally contain more sugar than their regular counterparts. Here, we will discuss the top 5 foods you may not know contain considerable amount of sugar.
1. Granola and Granola Snack Bars
Granola is generally sold as a healthier alternative to breakfast cereals, although it has more calories and a high amount of sugar and simple carbohydrates. Food companies have now started promoting granola-based breakfast bars as healthy and suitable snacks.
The primary component of granola is rolled oats. Pure oats are no doubt an outstanding source of fiber, minerals, and vitamins. They help to reduce the blood pressure level, control blood glucose levels, and make the cholesterol profile better. But the oats in granola are generally mixed with honey, nuts, chocolate, raisins, maple syrup, or other added sweeteners and toppings. So, they widely increase the overall quantity of sugar and calories.
Precaution: If you have a habit of having something heavy at your breakfast, you may choose the granola bars that contain low added sugar or prepare it yourself.
2. Yogurt
Yogurt is undoubtedly a delicious healthy snack that is helpful for our bones, digestive system, and immune system. Adding this to our diet means we are consuming a good amount of protein and calcium.
But unfortunately, all yogurt is not the same. Low-fat flavored yogurts may contain sugar like other low-fat products for increasing sweetness and improving thickness. Full-fat yogurt is healthier and more enriched with nutrients than low-fat yogurt.
Precaution
To obtain all the advantages of yogurt, you can opt for full-fat, natural, or Greek yogurt. Make sure to check the yogurt’s ingredients. To add some flavor, you can add fresh fruit or sprinkle delicious nuts or seeds as toppings.
3. Breakfast Cereals
Many people consume breakfast cereals, which are tasty and crunchy. As breakfast cereals are available in various flavors, you can pick your favorite one as per your taste. They offer us energy for the whole day and satisfy our sweet tooth. Although it displays a lot of health claims on the colorful packaging, it can’t be denied that it contains a high amount of sugar.
Precaution
You should opt for regular cereals like Swiss-style muesli or bran flakes as they are rich in fiber and do not have any added sugar. Most importantly, mix them with unsweetened milk or Greek-style yogurt before consuming.
4. Bottled smoothies
Smoothies are prepared by blending fruits and vegetables with various ingredients, such as yogurt, milk, protein powders, or water. It is beneficial for our health. But only some of the smoothies are healthy, particularly the commercially produced smoothies.
The smoothies sold in different shops come in large bottles and they are sweetened by using ingredients like concentrated fruit juice or sugar-based syrups to extend their shelf life and improve their flavor. But the bad thing is that it maximizes their sugar content.
Precaution
You should buy a suitable blender and prepare your smoothies at home.
5. Canned and boxed soups
As soups are prepared using fresh ingredients, people who want to lose weight, or want to consume more vegetables effortlessly choose soup to be perfect. The vegetables in soups may contain natural sweetness. However, the veggies are not extremely sweet. But, the canned or boxed soups that are sold in the supermarkets contain sweet. Hence, you should know that you may contain high amounts of sucrose, dextrose, barley malt, maltose, and high-fructose corn syrup—substances that break down into sugars easily.
Precaution
If you have little time to prepare your soup, you should always buy the products labeled as low sugar or go for the freshly prepared soups sold in the local healthy food outlets.
Final Opinion
Added sugars are not an essential ingredient of our diet. Still, you may consume small amount of sugar for your taste. But if you intake a considerable quantity of sugar regularly, it may create a serious health issues. You should try to make your meals at home to avoid the hidden sugars. Otherwise, you may also thoroughly check the label before buying prepackaged food to detect the hidden added sugars.
