I was reading a blog (can’t remember which one!) a few days ago and the person said they were surprised about how much sugar some candies and cookies contained. I was horrified and a little surprised to learn that an Oreo cookie has approximately 1 tsp. of sugar per cookie. I did some internet searching and found this website that you may find interesting as well. It’s called SugarStacks and the authors of the site have taken several different foods and stacked sugar cubes in front of each food/drink so we can visually see how much sugar is in a serving. The sugar cubes are 4 grams, and a teaspoon of sugar is 4.2 grams, so the visual picture is pretty close.
I consider myself pretty well-informed on nutrition in general. I’m not a nutritionist, but I’m a label reader and have read lots of books, articles, and studies on food, dieting, and weight loss. But even I was shocked at the amount of sugar in some very common foods. I don’t know why I was shocked because I understand that sugar sneaks into a lot of processed foods – even foods that you aren’t expecting to find it in.
For example, many tomato products like spaghetti sauce, tomato paste, and ketchup have high sugar contents. Fruit juices are another source of sugar, and even when I was in the midst of losing weight I’d forget about how much sugar was in 20 ounce of juice! A lot! Cereals are also notorious for containing lots of sugar – even some of the “healthier” cereals have quite a bit of sugar added to them. Fruit flavored yogurt is another source of sugar that I sometimes forgot about too.
So what do you do about all this sugar floating around?
Well, I think one of the first things to do is be aware of how the sugar appears on the labels. Obviously if you see sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, or maple syrup that’s sugar. But, there are a lot of sugars that masquerade under other names, like sucrose, glucose, lactose, and fructose. There are also sugar alcohols, like sorbitol and others which are found in chewing gums and breath mints. So watch out for sugars that aren’t obviously listed as sugar on the label!
Once you are cognizant of how the sugars are labeled and how much there is you can begin to make more informed choices. There may be some foods you want to avoid. I don’t drink much juice – instead opting to eat real fruit. Obviously things like candy and cookies have a lot of sugar so those are best saved for special occasions and not as a daily snack.
And as you are working on reducing your sugar intake you can begin to influence people around you to make healthier choices. I know that once I showed friends of mine how much sugar was in certain foods they started choosing healthier alternatives.
How do you feel about the sugars in foods? Do you try and avoid sugar altogether or just watch your sugar intake? Diane
I sometimes feel so depressed about the whole sugar thing. There is so much sugar in everything and one needs to be so alert, of what you put in your mouth because of this sugar thing. Sugar everywhere.
I try to avoid sugar as far as possible.
blackhuff´s last fabulous musings ..Motivation with weight maintenance
As always Diane – excellent~
My awareness of sugar started years ago (sob sob many years ago – I feel old), when they first showed how much sugar was in a serving of Coke/Pepsi.
I have abused sugar to the point that today I know I cannot have it in my food. If there is added sugar in my tomato paste, I will eat the whole can. If there is a touch of sugar in coffee I will fall into cravings and then into compulsive eating again and again. I prefer not to get into the first bite. Today, not eating that first bite of sugar keeps me happy, healthy and sane.
I do not eat anything that has added sugars. By added I mean sugar that adds more than 1 gram of sugar to the natural serving of the food. For instance, I eat powdered PB which has 2gms of sugar total – but natural peanut butter with nothing added has 1 gram of sugar so the amount is so small it does not trouble me. I eat all the natural fruits and the occasional dried fruit. Since I do not eat anything with added sugar I get my sweetness from the fruits and vegetables. I do not eat processed foods with added sugars, which keeps me pretty much in whole, natural food. If my great grandmother would not have recognized it as food in 1900 then I do not eat it now with the exception of a fat free cheese I like and the occasional artificial sweetener.
Jane~
Keepingthepoundsoff.com
Jane C´s last fabulous musings ..What Does Positive Feel Like?
I try to avoid as much sugar as I can, but sometimes it feels like a losing battle. Just when I think I have it figure out, I find sugar in another product.
I don’t really focus on sugar, specifically. I try to avoid processed foods and when I do use canned or other prepared foods, I select those with less sugar. In my chili this week, I used tomato puree instead of tomato sauce because of the sugar in the ingredients. I have chosen to not worry about naturally occurring sugar, like in fruit. I do add sugar to things that I want sweeter but I am controlling it and selecting local honey or pure maple syrup.
My focus, which is sort of working for me at the moment (not THIS weigh in, LOL… but usually) is on whole, unprocessed foods. I find I do better looking at what I will eat more of rather than denying myself specific categories of food. But the whole foods focus helps me to avoid things like fruit juice, sweetened yogurt, and other hidden dangers. Like you say, it’s about making informed decisions. And sometimes my informed decision does involve Reese’s… but most days, it does not
Amanda´s last fabulous musings ..WW Weigh-In, Week 29
I am pretty aware of it because I kind of follow the South Beach Diet and it teaches us to read labels; sugar is one thing we look for, trying not to have much refined sugar added.
Karen@WaistingTime´s last fabulous musings ..Struggle, Struggle, Toil and Trouble
I am pretty aware of this sugar thing – everywhere! Baked goods & breads & sweets & places you never would think. Ya got to read those labels really carefully! Sneaky food companies out there! Love the link – thx!
I’m aware of the sugar content in foods because my mom has a fructose intolerance which makes her not able to have any a hint of sugar in anything she eats. So in addition to the common sugar, she also can’t tolerate tomatoes, onions, carrots, and many kinds of bread. Cooking for her when she comes to visit is a challenge. I watch my own sugar intake … it makes a difference if I’m going to lose weight or not.
Siobhan´s last fabulous musings ..Day 10 of 21 day challenge
I certainly don’t avoid it, I kinda like the stuff, though oddly enough, I don’t generally like sweet. I’m a huge fruit fan, and occasionally eat a bit of chocolate, but not much of a candy person. I am not surprised by how everything contains sugar, as I cook a lot, and I put sugar in my pasta sauce, salad dressings, pico de gallo when tomatoes aren’t at their best, much of what I cook. People have different tastes, a few of us took a nibble of a stevia leaf, and I’m the only one who found it disgustingly bitter. Lots tastes bitter to me, so I sweeten it. Better to eat salad, or tomato sauce, or veggie soup, with a bit of sugar, than not eat it at all. I don’t like pie, no cake that isn’t chocolate, most cookies are too sweet, though I’ll eat some if I’ve had a drink or two. Don’t like soda, though I drank one last night in an attempt to stay awake at a lecture. Unfortunately, I awoke at 2 am, done sleeping for the night. I’ll remember to keep my intake to way before bed. I may be delusional, but I exercise hard, I think that it goes a long way to eliminating blood sugar problems.
julie´s last fabulous musings ..Food: Dogma, reward, and moderation
good post
didn’t read the rest of the comments,
someone else might already have said this –
you could write a twin post called ‘salt’
the combination of salt and sugar is the bigger issue (in my opinion).
Vickie´s last fabulous musings ..Cold Toes from Ellen
I think you already know how I feel about sugar…I am addicted to it! However, I have learned a lot the past few weeks regarding it due to the 17 Day Diet. I can’t get over how bloated and fat it makes me feel verses eating more protein in my diet.
I am learning to eat more fruit, but I still have days where I over indulge in sugar and I feel horrible.
Sheri @Motivation Health & Fitness´s last fabulous musings ..When Injury Happens
I try stay away from sugar, have stopped all sugar in my coffee as well, and am aware of all the sugar in foods….am very chosey as to what I eat these days as sugar has caused so many problems in my life.
Marcelle´s last fabulous musings ..Not In For Awhile
I seem to go off the planet for want of a better description if I eat sugary and fatty foods in combination – so I try and keep a wide berth of sugar where I can – I agree with Jane C and try and keep that philosophy.
Liz@LastChanceTraining´s last fabulous musings ..Forgiving yourself
Sugar and similar refined carbs cause cravings, so I am careful about them because I absolutely hate cravings.
Marion@AffectionforFitness´s last fabulous musings ..Is A Caramel Apple Worth It?
I don’t eat many sweets because I get so much sugar in everything else. I took sugar out of my diet for a month and I was SHOCKED. I felt like the only thing that didn’t have sugar in it were the items that grew in the ground or on a tree!!!
La.´s last fabulous musings ..The Glucose Test
Wonderful material. I’ll be sure to return often.