Americans consume an average of 82 grams of added sugar a day. That's more than you'd find in six Breyers Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches. But truth is, a good part of the excess sweet stuff isn't coming from ice cream or cookies or even soft drinks--it's coming from the sources we'd least expect. Open your pantry and start scanning ingredient lists. We're willing to bet that nearly every food you buy contains at least one of these blood sugar- spiking elements: modified food starch, maltodex-trin, cane sugar, crystallized cane juice, evaporated cane juice, honey, tapioca syrup, brown sugar, brown rice syrup, barley, or anything with "ose" at the end of it.
Food manufactures have an arsenal of empty carbohydrates at their disposal, and they're not shy about using them to make everything we eat taste like candy.
Cereal
Just because your favorite cereal doesn't have a cartoon character on the box doesn't mean it isn't still loaded with sugar. Not even heart-smart logos and bloated health claims can salvage the contents of boxes like Post Raisin Bran, General Mills Basic 4, or Multi-Bran Chex, all of which have more sugar than the same-size bowl of Froot Loops. Stick to cereals with high fiber to sugar ratios ensure a wholesome start to your morning.
Eat This!
Post Shredded Wheat Original
(1 cup)
170 calories
1 g fat
0 g sugars
6 g fiber
There's one ingredient in this box: whole wheat. Either eat it as is or add cinnamon and ground flaxseed--together they will give your blood sugar the smoothest ride possible.
Not That!
Kellogg's Smart Start Original Antioxidants
(1 cup)
190 calories
0.5 g fat
14 g sugars
3 g fiber
The numbers don't lie; this box has more blood sugar-spiking impact than Apple Jacks and about the same as Frosted Flakes. That's because sugar in its various forms shows up no fewer than 10 times on the ingredient list.
Yogurt
Here's an interesting fact: Milk is the only animal product to be naturally sweetened. That's probably why most people don't think it's odd to lift a creamy spoonful of yogurt to their lips and get a dessert-like blast of flavor in return. But the truth is that nature's treats are more subtle. In fact, if you haven't been skimming ingredient lists, you might never have tasted real, unadulterated yogurt. The stuff you've been eating is a candified version of the real thing, and it's probably jacking your blood sugar ever higher with each cup you eat.
Eat This!
Stonyfield Farm Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt, Plain
(1 container, 5.3 oz)
80 calories
0 g fat
6 g sugars
15 g protein
At the very least, you should convert to plain yogurt and sweeten it at home with real fruit, but if you want to do one better, switch over to creamier Greek yogurt. It has three times as much slow-digesting protein as the regular version.
Not That!
Yoplait 99% Fat Free Cherry Orchard
(1 container, 4 oz)
170 calories
1.5 g fat (1 g saturated)
27 g sugars
4 g protein
The marketing brains at Yoplait are hoping that by painting 99% Fat Free on the label, they will divert your attention from the ingredient list, which exposes this yogurt for the dangerous snack that it is. By using more sugar, than fruit, they gave this cup as much sugar as three Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls.
Food manufactures have an arsenal of empty carbohydrates at their disposal, and they're not shy about using them to make everything we eat taste like candy.
Cereal
Just because your favorite cereal doesn't have a cartoon character on the box doesn't mean it isn't still loaded with sugar. Not even heart-smart logos and bloated health claims can salvage the contents of boxes like Post Raisin Bran, General Mills Basic 4, or Multi-Bran Chex, all of which have more sugar than the same-size bowl of Froot Loops. Stick to cereals with high fiber to sugar ratios ensure a wholesome start to your morning.
Eat This!
Post Shredded Wheat Original
(1 cup)
170 calories
1 g fat
0 g sugars
6 g fiber
There's one ingredient in this box: whole wheat. Either eat it as is or add cinnamon and ground flaxseed--together they will give your blood sugar the smoothest ride possible.
Not That!
Kellogg's Smart Start Original Antioxidants
(1 cup)
190 calories
0.5 g fat
14 g sugars
3 g fiber
The numbers don't lie; this box has more blood sugar-spiking impact than Apple Jacks and about the same as Frosted Flakes. That's because sugar in its various forms shows up no fewer than 10 times on the ingredient list.
Yogurt
Here's an interesting fact: Milk is the only animal product to be naturally sweetened. That's probably why most people don't think it's odd to lift a creamy spoonful of yogurt to their lips and get a dessert-like blast of flavor in return. But the truth is that nature's treats are more subtle. In fact, if you haven't been skimming ingredient lists, you might never have tasted real, unadulterated yogurt. The stuff you've been eating is a candified version of the real thing, and it's probably jacking your blood sugar ever higher with each cup you eat.
Eat This!
Stonyfield Farm Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt, Plain
(1 container, 5.3 oz)
80 calories
0 g fat
6 g sugars
15 g protein
At the very least, you should convert to plain yogurt and sweeten it at home with real fruit, but if you want to do one better, switch over to creamier Greek yogurt. It has three times as much slow-digesting protein as the regular version.
Not That!
Yoplait 99% Fat Free Cherry Orchard
(1 container, 4 oz)
170 calories
1.5 g fat (1 g saturated)
27 g sugars
4 g protein
The marketing brains at Yoplait are hoping that by painting 99% Fat Free on the label, they will divert your attention from the ingredient list, which exposes this yogurt for the dangerous snack that it is. By using more sugar, than fruit, they gave this cup as much sugar as three Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls.
No comments:
Post a Comment