SUGAR, SUGAR EVERYWHERE…
How to identify foods with hidden sugar
9th September 2019
There are so many foods that have hidden sugars. Just because we can’t see it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You might be choosing these healthy food options but beware of what goes into it. If you choose energy drink over colas is it healthy?
Or if you choose parfait over dessert does it contain less sugar? Let’s explore
Firstly lets understand what all comes under the ‘Sugar category’
Sugar in powder/crystalline form: Include
- White sugar
- Brown sugar
- Coconut sugar
- Cane sugar
- Corn sweetener
- Date sugar
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Palm sugar
- Organic raw sugar
- Malts like barley malts
- Molasses (Muscovado sugar)
Syrups:
- Golden syrup
- Maple syrup
- HFCS (high fructose corn syrup)
- Agave nectar
Let us have a look at food/ beverages that have hidden sugars:
- Flavoured yoghurt (white sugar): Flavored yoghurts have approx. 12-13gm of sugar per 100gm serving
- Biscuits and museli contain (HFCS/ Invert syrup): This sugar helps in extending the shelf life of baked goods.
- Ketchup (sugar/ corn syrup): 1 tbsp of ketchup has 3.5gm of sugar
- Mocktails (corn syrups): Be aware of what goes into a mocktail, sometimes its loaded with sugar. A mojito of 250ml has almost 32-35 gm sugar.
- Granola bars (sugar + syrup): 1 bar of granola (21g) have 6gm of sugar
- Vegan milk (Tapioca starch): Vegan milk like rice milk have (240ml) have approx. 13gm of sugar, where as unsweetened soy or almond milk has no sugar. Hence its important to read the labels.
- Salad dressing (Sugar): Salad dressing have varied amount of sugar. For e.g. vinaigrette base have 1-2gm sugar (in approx. 2tbsp). and hollandaise or honey mustard have 2-3gm sugar (in 2tbsp)
- Tonic water (sugar/ Agave): The well known brand Schweppes tonic water have 32gm sugar per 350ml.
- Energy drinks (liquid sugar/ glucose): Energy drinks like redbull, Gatorade have 34g sugar per bottle. 1 can of red bull have 49gm sugar.
