5 “Healthy” Foods with More Sugar Than a Candy Bar
Words like “light,” “low-fat,” or “natural” may make you think you are making the right choices, but there is one ingredient popular brands don’t want you to pay attention to…sugar. On a daily basis, women should consume 25 grams of sugar at the most, children should consume less than 12 and men should consume less than 38 grams. According to Healthline, the average American consumes about 76.7 grams a day.
These five “healthy” foods below go well over the daily limit of sugar, secretly ruining your hard work. Start checking sugar content in order to be the healthiest you can be!
#1-Low-fat and Non-fat Yogurt
While it may seem like a healthy breakfast or snack choice, low-fat and non-fat yogurt are actually loaded with sugar. Grocery store brands of non-fat yogurt can have as much as 31 grams of sugar in one serving. To replace this, try plain, full-fat yogurt with fresh fruit for a lower sugar option.
#2 Vitamin Water
What may seem to be a healthy replacement for soda contains more sugar than an adult woman should have in a day. That’s right, vitamin water has 27 grams in a bottle. A better substitute would be these fruit-infused waters so you can stay hydrated and keep that sweet but natural flavor.
#3-Bottled Smoothies
Surprisingly, these drinks have the highest content of sugar on this list. 57 grams of sugar are in the most popular brands of bottled smoothies…that’s over double what an adult woman should be consuming a day and almost five times more for children. In fact, buying smoothies from popular smoothie shops can be problematic as well. The best thing to do is to make your own healthy smoothies with these recipes.
#4 Raisin Bran
Raisin Bran is another breakfast option that you may think is giving you a healthy start to your day, when it could actually be the cause of your afternoon crashes. This cereal contains 18 grams of sugar in one serving and that is without milk in it. While sugar gives you an energy boost temporarily, it later causes a crash which may be causing your lack of energy when the afternoon rolls around.
#5- Granola
Granola is a popular ingredient to add some crunch to breakfasts or snacks. We know that low-fat yogurt and pre-made smoothies are filled with sugar, but so is granola, which can have over 14 grams of sugar in a serving. That means your yogurt parfait for breakfast can have over 45 grams of sugar, well over the daily limit of sugar for an adult. Instead of granola, try slivered almonds to get that crunch without overdoing the sugar.