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The average American eats way more sugar than any doctor would recommend--and sugar can wreck havoc on your body. Eating too much sugar can lead to type II diabetes, obesity, cancer, and even heart disease. Safe to say, if you are looking to get fit and healthy, cut your sugar down to 25 grams a day; you'll quickly realize that it is much harder than you expected. Just one Starbucks Grande Vanilla latte has 35 grams of sugar--10 more grams of sugar than you should have a day.
With the help of Yahoo! Health and the book "Eat This! Not That!" we found the five worst food impostors and compared them to Dunkin’ Donuts Sugar Raised Donuts. You'd be amazed at the amount of sugar in some of these "healthy" foods.
1. Whole Grain Cereal. Cascadian Farms Cinnamon Raisin Granola, for example, has 345 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, and 27 grams sugar per cup; and most people pour more than a cup of cereal in their bowl. That's more than the amount of sugar found in six Dunkin’ Donuts Sugar Raised Donuts! Reach instead for Kashi Autumn Wheat Whole Wheat Biscuits. It has 180 calories, one gram of fat, and seven grams of sugar per cup--much better!
2. Dried Fruit. Eating just a few pieces of dried cranberries on your salad is fine, but for the most part, manufacturers put added sugar on dried fruit to keep the fruit sweet. Ocean Spray's Original Craisins, for example, have 130 calories and 29 grams of sugar in just a quarter of a cup. That's almost as much sugar as a tall Double Chocolaty Chip Crème Frappuccino at Starbucks or seven Dunkin’ Donuts Sugar Raised Donuts! Be sure to check the ingredients and see if there is any added sugar. Otherwise, try Sun Maid Pitted Plums instead: they have only 100 calories and just 15 grams of sugar per quarter cup.
3. Fruit Yogurt. All yogurt contains some form of sugar (usually "milk sugar" or lactose), but it's the added sugar that can really hurt the health of the product. Dannon "Fruit on the Bottom" Yogurt is 150 calories and has 27 grams of sugar with only six grams of protein. That's the sugar equivalent of six Dunkin’ Donuts Sugar Raised Donuts--so much for healthy! Pick up some Chobani Simply 100. As the name suggests, it's only 100 calories with eight grams of sugar and it packs 12 grams of protein--all with zero grams of fat. An easy swap, if you ask us!
4. Salad Dressing. Dressing is essential for a great salad, but it can be tricky to pick the right one. Most of the time, companies add sugar and salt to make up for cutting fat from the dressings. Take Kraft's Fat Free Catalina Salad Dressing for example. In just two tablespoons, this dressing packs 150 calories, 350 mg of sodium, and seven grams of sugar. That's the same as 2 Dunkin' Donuts Sugar Raised Donuts--in just two tablespoons! Cutting fat from your diet is counter-productive, as it makes you feel fuller longer and helps with focus, mental clarity, and energy levels. It also helps absorb nutrients from your foods! So ditch the fat free dressings and opt for some of the healthy fats found in a vinaigrette. Try Bragg's Healthy Organic Vinaigrette. It has 90 calories, nine grams of fat, 60 mg sodium, and just two grams sugar.
5. Fruit Juice. More specifically, fruit juice cocktails. Regardless if it says, "Made from real fruit," fruit juice cocktails tend to be filled with water, sugar, and a hint of juice concentrates--may as well have seven Dunkin’ Donuts Sugar Raised Donuts! Be sure to grab juices made with 100% juice. Opt for V8 Fusion Light Pomegranate Blueberry instead. It has about a third of the sugar of any fruit juice cocktail at just 10 grams, and about half the calories--plus all the nutrients!
What do you think of these health food impostors? Which will you give up? Let us know what you think in the comments!
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