Body
7 “healthy” foods that contain a lot of sugar
In recent years, sugar has become a clear villain in the fight against obesity, diabetes, heart disease and more. It’s a battle that’s only getting harder to win as more and more so-called “health” foods flood the market only to be found as containing more sugar than soft drinks. The Guardian has exposed seven of the biggest culprits claiming to be “healthy” but really doing damage to your waistline.
- Pasta sauce – Pasta isn’t pasta without a delicious sauce, but Mars, the company behind Dolmio, warned last year that their products should be consumed only “occasionally”. A 500g jar of the brand’s Bolognese sauce contains the same amount of sugar as a Mars bar.
- Soup – Soup is a popular choice among busy dieters, but pre-packaged soups are filled with sugar and salt. A can of Heinz classic tomato soup contains a whopping 19.4g of sugar – that’s more than four teaspoons.
- Chilled and frozen meals – Often touted as weight loss aides, these meals may be low-fat, but the flavour is made up with sugar. For example, Weight Watchers’ Beef Lasagne has only six grams of fat but 12 grams of sugar.
- Yoghurt – You’ve heard this one before but we always seem to forget that low-fat fruit yoghurts contain high levels of added sugar. A 100g tub of strawberry Yoplait has 12.8g of sugar.
- Flavoured water – It’s widely believed to be the healthy alternative to soft drink, but flavoured water is anything but. In fact, there’s 15g of sugar in a 500ml bottle of Glaceau Vitaminwater Revive.
- Cereal bars – These grab-and-go options for breakfast usually seen with taglines such as “slow-release energy”, but one serving size of Belvita breakfast biscuits (fruit and fibre flavour) will set your daily sugar intake back by 11.6g.
- Ketchup – We’re always worried about the impact those hot chips are having on our weight, but we should be just as concerned with our favourite condiments. Just one tablespoon serving contains 3.4g of sugar – that’s 22.8g per 100g!
Which of these high-sugar “health” foods surprised you the most? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Related links:
How to cut down on your salt intake
3 reasons to be wary of low-fat products