8 Foods That Contain Alarming Amounts Of Sugar

Okay let's get this straight; sugar is not good for your health, in no way. All it can do is wreak havoc in your body if you consume it in large quantities and too frequently. It makes your skin age faster, gives you some extra inches around your belly and can have a bad toll on your internal organs as well. To make matters worse, sugar can be addicting too. A number of people out there are making efforts to cut down on their sugar intake; however, it is pretty easy to underestimate the amount of sugar you consume, thanks to all the supposedly healthy foods available in the market.

Here's a list of 8 such foods which contain an alarmingly high quantity of sugar, much more than you know about.

1. Low-fat yogurt

The low-fat prefix is good enough to mislead you into believing that a particular food is healthy. But trust us; these varieties are indeed the unhealthiest. One such food item is yogurt. Yogurt surely is healthy, but not all varieties of this are healthy. The low-fat variety of yogurt contains added sugar for enhancement of flavor. Just one cup of low-fat yogurt contains 12 teaspoons of sugar. This is more than the daily requirement of both men and women. Instead, you could opt for full fat and Greek yogurt.

2. Ketchup

It is made from tomatoes and tomatoes are rich in Vitamin C, so ketchup must be healthy. Well, it's not. If we look at the numbers, one tablespoon of ketchup contains one teaspoon of sugar. So ketchup-lovers, be mindful of your portions.

Fruit juices also contain the minerals and vitamins of a whole fruit, but there is one additional ingredient and that is sugar. And this additional ingredient is present in abundance, especially in the packed fruit juices. Natural and freshly extracted fruit juices are also high in terms of sugar. This is one of the easiest ways to consume more sugar because one glass of juice contains way more sugar than one complete fruit.

4. Protein bars

A fun way to get more protein in your diet is eating protein bars. But these bars contain more than just proteins. They are high in terms of sugar as well. Some varieties of this popular snack contain 30 grams of sugar in one bar which makes it more of a candy bar.

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5. Packed soups

Drinking soup is a great way to add some more vegetables to your diet. Traditionally, soup does not contain sugar but the packed variety of does. Some packed varieties of soup could contain ingredients like sucrose, maltose, fructose corn syrup and other unhealthy syrups. These, together increase the quantity of sugar in soup. Check the product ingredients mentioned on the label and opt for that variety which contains low sugar.

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6. Breakfast cereal

One of the easiest and the most convenient breakfast options is cereal. But most of these breakfast cereals could be adding too much sugar to your diet, especially if you are into daily consumption. Some cereals could contain as many as 3 teaspoons of sugar in just one serving. So check the label of the cereal and opt for a variety which is low in terms of sugar.

Green tea is healthy, but how healthy is flavored green tea? Low caffeine and high antioxidant content of this beverage can be a healthy boon for you. But if you wish to pamper your taste buds a bit and opt for the flavored variety, you could just be adding an enormous amount of sugar to your diet. This makes the purpose of green tea futile.

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8. Spaghetti sauce

Spaghetti sauce is delicious but are you aware of how much sugar it contains? One single serving of this sauce contains 10 grams of sugar, which in no way is a healthy option. Instead, you could make one at home without added sugar.

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Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.