Ten Surprisingly Sugary Foods

By Tina McCarthy, DivineCaroline

My New Year’s resolution? When the clock struck midnight, I vowed to cut my sugar intake by eliminating sweet treats like cookies, chocolate, and soda from my diet.

On the first day of 2010, I ate strawberry yogurt for breakfast, snacked on a granola bar before lunch, sipped on vitamin water, and enjoyed a savory serving of pasta for dinner. At the end of the day, I was feeling pretty good about my fresh start. That is, until I read the labels. As it turns out, I had consumed almost 100 grams of sugar (more than twice the recommended daily amount) in this so-called attempt at eating healthier.

This whole debacle prompted me to do some research on sugar-packed snacks that masquerade as health foods. Here are the most deceiving culprits:

1. Breakfast Bars
Sure, they may have less sugar than a glazed doughnut, but breakfast bars aren’t nearly as healthy as you may think. Nature Valley’s Vanilla Yogurt Granola Bars and Nutri-Grain’s Cereal Bars cram 13 grams of sugar into a single serving. Being organic doesn’t make Health Valley’s Cereal Bars any better; they’ll even get you one gram closer to your daily sugar limit.

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Read more: Diet & Nutrition, Eating for Health, Food, Health, sugar

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Sisilie B.

5:03AM PDT on Sep 7, 2011

The spaghetti sauce came as a unwelcome surprise to me!

send a green star

Janice R.

11:39AM PDT on Jun 15, 2011

A warning about "plain" yogurt - some brands carry a "plain sweetened" version, which, to my chagrin, I discovered by accidently purchasing it. I buy plain to mix with the overly sweetened flavoured versions, so this really annoyed me. In fact, I think I'll write the company (Danone) right now. It also annoys me that the convenient tubes for kids have sooooo much sugar. Let's get them hooked young, right? (I've already written yoplait about that.)

Vetch H.

8:12AM PDT on Jun 11, 2011

I am from Germany and visited Usa last year. It took me a long time to find soy milk without added sugar. Though I must admit this isn't that easy over here in Germany it's still a lot easier than in Usa.

And, my bad, I visited Starbucks (yea, they're overpriced and overrated and over here) this spring, for the first and the last time ever.
I ordered a cappuccino with soy milk, and I asked "is your soy milk sweetened?" Guy says "no", I pay an enormous price, take a sip: bleah! Of course it was sweetened.

Carol C.

10:46AM PDT on Jun 9, 2011

Good to know. Thank you.

Charlene S.

2:17PM PDT on Jun 2, 2011

Good information. Many supposedly "healthy" products are, as pointed out in this article, loaded with sugar. I read labels before I buy anything and I've completely given up on boxed cereals (except for Erewhon) and all energy/health bars.

David N.

9:55PM PDT on May 31, 2011

Thanks for the article. Some I knew... and some were surprising.

Danielle H.

10:49AM PDT on May 20, 2011

THANK YOU

Malgorzata Z.

1:35PM PDT on May 19, 2011

Bardzo ciekawe informacje, niestety cukier ukrywa się w wielu produktach, w których nie przypuszczalibyśmy, że jest i to w dużych ilościach. Często mylą nas nazwy, a rzadko - niestety - czytamy skład.

Lynda P.

8:31AM PDT on May 19, 2011

So difficult, today, to go the home- grown or home -made route
with such busy family schedules. Usually both parents and just trying to get everyone to the dinner table at a reasonable hour can be a daily challenge. One learns that organization is key and it pays to cook large amounts and freeze future meals.
I think the only answer is to add moire hours to the day!!

Yvonne T.

3:37PM PDT on May 18, 2011

all my life I have problems with sugar. I love it and I dont have a problem with weight until now but I know that sugar is not healthy. To eat 200g choclate a day and some cakes- no problem for me:-(( .....now at least i started to eat only honey and no sugar