Diabetes, people who are losing weight or those who just want to be healthier, are now doing so by watching what they eat specifically foods with high amounts of sugar. There are many foods that don’t require much research or label reading to know they are “high” sugary foods; however, here I will list the top three sources of foods that have surprisingly high amounts of sugar that you wouldn’t think. 

#1 — Condiments. This consists of things like ketchup, barbeque sauce, or certain dips and sauces we love to use at home or at our favorite restaurants. Adding these items to your sandwiches, breakfast delights, or other foods during the day can really add up and get in the way of us reaching our goals. 

#2 — Low Fat Foots. Food marketers have become very creative in how they market towards the average consumer. They often times will use keywords like gluten-free, organic, Non-GMO, or other buzzwords to get the potential buyer to think the product is healthy or good for them. One of the terms we are now seeing is “low calorie.” When this key phrase is on the front of a food label, many people will buy it thinking it is a good option. 

The problem with “low calorie” foods is they are many times “low fat.” Fats have more calories per gram (9) when compared to proteins and carbohydrates (4). This means when you find low calorie or low-fat foods, they may have lower amounts of calories due to the absence of fat; however, in many instances, you will see an increased amount of sugar. The way around this is to be certain you read the labels before buying the product. 

#3 — Sports Drinks. For years we have come to know that sodas, juices, and other sweetened beverages are things we should avoid; however, now we are seeing that “sports drinks” have become beverages we thought were healthy but in many instances have just as many grams of sugar as all of the aforementioned beverages we know to avoid. 

We must remember, food and beverage manufactures have one goal and that is to make you a consumer for life. The only way to do this is to make you think the product is good for you while tasting good at the same time! By adding sugar to these sports drinks; however, marketing the product to those who are active, the consumer can many times assume it’s good for them when in actuality it’s not. The BEST beverage you can consume is good old fashion H20.