Spotting the Sneaky Sugar

By: Morgan Davis, RD, LDN

You have learned to reach for a cup of chamomile instead of ice cream at night to quell your sweet tooth.  You have mastered your domain and can walk right past the donuts in the office break room.  And you know that a handful of vegetables and some homemade hummus will curb true hunger better than a handful of cookies.  But you may still be taking in more daily sugar than you think.

It is no secret that sugary foods such as regular sodas and birthday cake provide us with “empty calories,” i.e. foods that contribute calories to our day but do not provide us with any nutritional value or fill us up like fruits, vegetables and whole grains do. 

Excess calories from consuming too many sugary foods can cause weight gain, and nutrient deficiencies can occur if sugary foods take the place of healthier foods.  Consumption of too much sugar raises insulin levels and promotes inflammation, in turn raising risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, some cancers and dementia.

But you have nothing to worry about since you pass on desserts, avoid soda, and stopped using “white” sugar in 2006… right??!!  Unfortunately, sugar can be sneaky, and is present in many less obvious foods. 

Let’s say you start your day on a mission to be healthy- you grab a packet of Kashi Heart to Heart Instant Oatmeal, and even add a few walnuts because the dietitian said those are a healthy source of fat.  You wash your fiber-rich breakfast down with a cup of coffee- you only add like a tablespoon of flavored coffee creamer and you’re out the door!

Around 10am your stomach starts grumbling- it’s not quite lunch time, so you reach for a snack.  The dietitian said Greek yogurt has more protein than regular, so you grab a vanilla Fage yogurt and sprinkle a serving of low fat granola on top.  You also grab another cup of coffee with flavored creamer. 

For lunch, you’re on you’re A-game.  You packed a salad full of leafy greens, vegetables, grilled chicken and fat-free Catalina dressing.  It doesn’t quite hold you until the evening and you nosh on a clif bar before heading over to Wilmington Performance Lab for a great workout.

You’re feeling good after your workout and proudly serve up grilled salmon with teriyaki sauce, roasted vegetables and brown rice.  Then, you pass on dessert (since you are avoiding sugar) and relax with a cup of chamomile. 

At first glance, it seems like you did pretty good…right?  But let’s take a closer look at the ‘added sugars’ present in your day- when you tally up your oatmeal, coffee creamer, yogurt, granola, fat-free dressing, clif bar and teriyaki sauce, the damage is a whopping 56 grams of added sugar (we are not even counting the natural sugars present in fruits, vegetables and dairy). 

How bad is 56 grams you ask?  This is the equivalent to about 14 teaspoons of sugar and has contributed 225 calories to your day.  The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends the following to reduce risk of diabetes and other chronic diseases:

Women- limit added sugars to 6 teaspoons per day (about 24gm and 100 calories)

Men- limit added sugars to 9 teaspoons per day (about 36gm and 150 calories)

The AHA stated the reasoning for their recommendations as follows- “… excessive consumption of sugars has been linked with several metabolic abnormalities and adverse health conditions, as well as shortfalls of essential nutrients.”

So, how do you manage to avoid these added sugars?  Here’s a few tips to get you started:

1. Use less sugar-sweetened cereals.  This includes hot cereals such as flavored oatmeals and most of the cold cereals on the market, which are loaded with sugar.    
   • What to do instead- Prepare plain oats and sweeten naturally with fruit, spices such as cinnamon, and add a small handful of nuts.  If you’re a cold cereal fan, you can compare food labels to choose the cereal with the lowest sugar grams per serving, or mix your favorite cereal with a no sugar added variety such as Kashi Whole Grain Puffs. 
2. Watch out for packaged “healthy snacks.”  Items like protein bars and yogurt seems super healthy, but often include lots of extra sugars to sweeten. 
   • What to do instead- You can also use food labels to compare different protein bars and granolas on the market, or better yet, make your own!  It’s always a great idea to snack on less processed food such as a handful of heart-healthy almonds, celery served with nut butter or a piece of fresh fruit.  As for yogurt, you can purchase a brand that has a separate compartment for the fruit flavor (such as Fage) and just use enough of the sweetener to add flavor.  Or, choose plain yogurt and sweeten naturally with fruit and a little ground flaxseed.
3. Most sauces (ketchup, BBQ, teriyaki, marinades, salad dressings) come with a hefty dose of sweetness.  Foods and dressings labeled as “lite” or “fat-free” typically have extra sugars added to compensate for the loss of flavor.
   • What to do instead- Add fresh flavors instead of sugar, salt and fat.  Instead of teriyaki, make your own Asian marinade with fresh lime juice, brown rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic and a bit of lower sodium soy sauce.  For salads, opt for a full fat vinaigrette, or better yet- combine a good quality oil (olive, pumpkin seed, sunflower) with a balsamic vinegar.
4. Sugar by any other name…Remember to look for sugar in all its forms.  Anything that says syrup, sweetener and ends in –ose is sugar.  Here is a few examples of how you may sugar on a food label:

• Honey & Agave nectar
• Fructose, glucose, dextrose, maltose, saccharose, xylose, dextrin, maltodextrin
• Invert sugar
• Barley malt syrup
• Brown rice syrup
• Cane juice/sugar
• Maple syrup /molasses/treacle
• Coconut sugar/palm sugar/coconut palm sugar
• Corn sweetener/syrup/syrup solids
• High fructose corn syrup
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Raw sugar & turbinado sugar

Limit your choice of products that list any of the above in the first 3 ingredients.

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