If you don’t read nutrition labels, it’s time to start. Sugar is lurking everywhere in packaged foods, even in products labeled “natural” and “organic.” If you are going to eat something with added sugar, you should know it, so you can enjoy it! Nothing is worse than finding out something you have been eating every day for years is packed with sugar.
To avoid accidentally eating more sugar than you realize, check the labels of these five sneaky sugar sources:
- Beverages
2.Energy bars
- Yogurt
- Salad dressing
- Ketchup
Take a look at the nutrition labels of packaged foods you eat regularly. If you cannot visualize a gram of sugar, convert it to teaspoons, and divide the grams of sugar on the label by four. So if a yogurt contains 28 grams of sugar per serving, the sugar intake is 7 teaspoons of sugar, or 112 calories (1).
These hidden calories add up and hinder goal achievement. Remember that nutrition labels are only required to report items that are 5+ calories per serving, so there could be hidden sugars that would be impactful if you consume more than the recommended serving size (2).
To avoid this scenario, focus on one ingredient, whole foods, pay close attention to nutrition labels, and consider cutting back on sugar-filled beverages and food sources!
Have questions? Send me a message!
References:
1) How many calories are in one gram of fat, carbohydrate, or protein? https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/how-many-calories-are-one-gram-fat-carbohydrate-or-protein
2) Changes to the nutrition facts label. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/changes-nutrition-facts-label#:~:text=The%20updated%20label%20appears%20on,labels%20by%20January%201%2C%202021.
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