Are you skipping ice cream, cookies and candy bars to reduce your sugar intake? Great job!

But you are probably still eating more sugar than you realize. I know I was! I thought I was eating healthy and limiting sugar consumption for special occasions. When I learned about these hidden sources of sugar and how much is really added in our foods, I was angry and frustrated. I now read labels, limit sugar in my drinks and make conscious choices when dining out. And it is part of my mission to educate those that are trying to eat healthy and don’t realize how much sugar is in the foods they eat every day.

The American Heart Association recommends limiting sugar consumption to 6 teaspoons (25 grams) a day for women and 9 teaspoons (38 grams) a day for men.

But the average American is consuming approximately 22 teaspoons a day. How? Not only is it in foods that are obviously full of sugar (like donuts, cakes and other sweets), it is also found in foods that you might not suspect. Did you know that just one 12-ounce soda has 11 teaspoons (46.2 grams) of added sugar?

Eating sugar robs you of sustained energy and focus and can lead to cravings for more. It changes the flora of microbes in your gut and impacts your immune system function. This excess sugar is now related to many diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Many different names of sugar

Sugar is hidden in many foods, even ones that you might not think are ‘sweet’. More than three-quarters of all processed foods you buy in the store contain added sugar in some shape or another. Sugar is added to foods to enhance the flavor, especially in low-fat products. It is added to whole-grain cereals, granolas and breakfast bars, yogurts, spaghetti sauce and many condiments like salad dressing and BBQ sauce. Even some fruit juices have added sugar.

One reason it is hard to determine the sugar content in foods is that there are well over 60 names for sugar. Some you may recognize like cane sugar, honey and glucose; many you may not, like barley malt, dextran, maltodextrin, maltose, panela, rice bran syrup. This is why it is so important to read the nutrition label on packaging, and know the many names of sugar – some of which are in the picture to the right.

Another place to focus is the ingredients list. Generally, if some form of sugar appears as one of the first three ingredients, the food is considered high in sugar.  But remember that there are over 60 names for sugar! Manufacturers will list those names separately, making it hard to determine how much sugar is really there, leading you to believe it is lower in sugar than it really is.

Companies are required to tell you about sugar content in foods but it can be confusing to read the labels if you don’t know where to look.

Starting in July 2018, most companies now must include an ‘added sugar’ category to their labels. This is a great place to start. The sugars included here are ones that are ADDED to foods, in addition to the naturally occurring sugar (like sugar added to applesauce).

Below is a chart of some common packaged foods and the added sugar content. Please be aware of the serving size. It can be very deceiving. Who eats only 2 tablespoons of peanut butter?

Food Serving Size Sugar Content
Artesano Bakery Bread 1 slice 2 g (.5 teaspoons)
Skippy Peanut Butter 2 TBSP 4 g (1 teaspoons)
Nature’s Path Organic Honey Almond Granola 1/3 cup 7 g (1.75 teaspoons)
Multi Grain Cheerios .75 cup 9 g (2.25 teaspoons)
Prego Traditional Spaghetti Sauce ½ cup 10 g (2.5 teaspoons)
Simply Balanced Organic Grape Spread 1 TBSP 10 g (2.5 teaspoons)
Ken’s Fat Free Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette 2 TBSP 12 g (3 teaspoons)
BBQ sauce (TJ’s Kansas City) 2 TBSP 13 g (3.25 teaspoons)
Kellogg’s Fruit Loops 1 cup 13 g (3.25 teaspoons)
Kellogg’s Smart Start Healthy Heart 1.25 cup 17 g (4.25 teaspoons)
Honey Nut Cheerios 1.8 ounces 18 g (4.5 teaspoons)
Larabar 1.7 ounces 18 g (4.5 teaspoons)
Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt 6 ounce serving 19 g (4.75 teaspoons)
Campbell’s tomato and sweet basil bisque 1 cup 24 g (6 teaspoons)
Snickers Bar 1.86 ounces 27 g (6.75 teaspoons)

Hidden Liquid Sugar

Drinks are the largest source of added sugar in the American diet. Most people associate soft drinks with sugar, but don’t realize exactly how much. Some of them have as much as 47 grams of sugar per serving (Mello Yello).  But fruit juices can have just as much sugar as a coke. Sports drinks, vitamin waters and energy drinks also contain a high amount of sugar. Flavored coffee and many iced teas also contain hidden sugar.

Below is a listing of common drinks and their sugar content.  They are listed by the sugar content BY OUNCE. One of the problems with these drinks is the large serving sizes. My son could drink three of the 5.5 ounce apple juices at one time, if I let him. That would equal more than 13 teaspoons of sugar!

Drink Typical serving Amount of sugar Sugar per ounce (g)
Kombucha 16.2 ounces 16 g (4 teaspoons) 1
Vitamin water 20 ounces 32 g (8 teaspoons) 1.6
Gatorade Frost 20 ounces 34 g (8.5 teaspoons) 1.7
Chocolate Milk 8 ounces 22 g (5.5 teaspoons) 2.8
Simply Lemonade 11.5 ounces 36 g (9 teaspoons) 3.1
Arizona ice tea 23 ounces 72 g (18 teaspoons) 3.1
Tree Top Apple Juice 5.5 ounces 18 g (4.5 teaspoons) 3.3
Pepsi Cola 12 ounces 40 g (10 teaspoons) 3.3
Rockstar 16 ounces 62 g (15.5 teaspoons) 3.9

Dining Out

Restaurants know that sugar makes food taste good, even in supposedly savory dishes. And it’s not as easy to determine how much added sugar is in a meal when you eat out. Aside from drinking sugar, condiments like BBQ sauce and ketchup, or salad dressings are most often loaded with hidden sugar.

Entrée Sugar (g) Sugar (tsp)
Five Guys single cheeseburger 8.5 g 2.1 tsp
Applebee’s Honey BBQ Boneless Wings 51 g 12.75 tsp
California Pizza Kitchen Waldorf Chicken Salad 55 g 13.75 tsp
IHOP Cupcake Pancakes 61 g 15.25 tsp
Buffalo Wild Wings Asian Zing Boneless Wings, Large 67 g 16.75 tsp
P.F. Chang’s Orange Peel Chicken 68 g 17 tsp
Jamba Juice Island Pitaya Bowl 70 g 17.5 tsp
Chili’s Caribbean Salad with Grilled Chicken 70 g 17.5 tsp
Jamba Juice Strawberry Surf Rider 16 ounces 70 g 17.5 tsp
Panda Express 3-Entrée Plate (chow mein, sweetfire chicken, sweet and sour chicken and Beijing beef)* 84 g 21 tsp

35 Sugariest Restaurant Meals on the Planet

*get string bean chicken breast, broccoli beef and kung pao with brown rice and you would save 66 grams of sugar

My advice?

  • Watch sugar intake at breakfast and start off with unprocessed grains, fruits, nuts, eggs and vegetables

  • Rethink snacks with unflavored yogurts (add your own fruit/nuts for flavor), hard boiled eggs, nuts, vegetables with hummus

  • Drink things like herbal tea, coconut water, cactus water, fruit and/or vegetable infused water (like lemon, ginger, cucumber, strawberry)

  • Make your own sauces and dressings, or read labels carefully

  • If you have to have sugar, stick with unprocessed forms, like raw honey, maple syrup, molasses, and organic coconut sugar. Even a banana or apple sauce can be used as a sweetener

  • Don’t be afraid to ask your server about hidden sugar content of entrees you are considering

Would you like to try and reduce your sugar intake?
Join my Facebook Group for the No-Refined Sugar Challenge beginning June 22, 2019. You’ll have 2 days to prepare and then 5 days to experience no refined sugar in a supportive group environment. You’ll learn my best tips and tricks to avoiding sugar as well as what to do when the cravings sneak up on you.

Invite a friend or family member to do it with you to!

Join the Challenge
Questions?