Sneaky Way Sugar Gets into Your Diet

Consuming too much added sugar can lead to health issues, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Whilst trying to eat healthy, we often fall into the trap of hidden sugars. Here are a few ways to spot them.

1) Do you make your own salad dressing?

A salad is obviously a healthy meal choice - after all most Americans lack fiber in their diets. But certain ingredients such as the oils being used, labels such as ‘light’ or ‘fat free’ can be misleading and often full of sugar. Look out especially for the terms high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup or concentrated syrup.

One simple fix? Make your own salad dressing so you can control exactly what’s in it. To add flavor, add apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar or liquid aminos and try minced garlic, lemon zest, or even fresh herbs.

2) Do you add ketchup to everything on your plate?

Ketchup has about 4 grams of sugar/ tablespoon. Depending on how much ketchup you add to your fries or burger, your sugar consumption will also increase.

3) How often do you munch on granola bars?

Granola bars contain heart-healthy whole grain oats but they can also be full of added and hidden sugars. Even though they can be low in calorie, they can still be higher in sugar especially when sugar-heavy dried fruits are added to the mix.

4) How about yogurt?

While low-fat yogurt may seem like a good idea, sugar is often added to improve taste. Fruit-flavored yogurts can have almost 7 grams per serving and are often from fruit syrup/ concentrate and not real fruits. Avoiding flavored yogurt is best and to add sweetness, mix in fresh fruit or berries.