Many people concerned about maintaining a healthy lifestyle concentrate their efforts on ensuring that the food and drink, which they consume is healthy. However, there a number of surprising “healthy” foods, which contain high levels of sugar, which could compromise your diet. According to a new report from Credit Suisse, many of these foods can contain high levels of sugar. The report highlights this by comparing the sugar level of these foods with the amount of sugar found in Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
How Does the Sugar in These Foods and Beverages Compare With the Sugar in Doughnuts?
Coffees: Many of us have heard of the potential health benefits of consuming coffee. This amazing beverage has been shown to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Regularly consuming coffee has also been documented in lowering the risk of developing dementia including Alzheimer’s disease in later life. However, you should consider how much sugar is contained in your favorite coffee beverage. Even before you add any sugar yourself, some coffee drinks can contain a surprising amount of sugar. For example, a Grande Latte from Starbucks contains seventeen grams total sugar. This is the equivalent sugar of almost two doughnuts. When you consider that most people rarely consume just one coffee per day, this is a startling level of sugar consumption.
Smoothies and Fruit Juices: Smoothies and fruit juices can be an excellent way to assist us in consuming one of our five a day fruits and vegetables. They can give us a real vitamin boost and will usually be present as an essential aspect of many healthy eating diets and plans. However, some of these drinks can contain surprising levels of sugars. For example, a Tropicana eight ounce 100% orange juice contains a sugar level of twenty-two grams, which is the equivalent sugar of over two doughnuts. Alternatively, a “Walla super food” twelve-ounce smoothie has been shown to contain a whopping sugar level of fifty grams. This means you would be consuming the same amount of sugar as you would find in five doughnuts.
Salads and Sandwiches: Many people opt for a salad or sandwich as a healthier option when eating out. However, care should still be taken to watch the content of sugar. Although on most menus the salad would represent the healthier option, it is still worth examining how much sugar it could contain. For example, a California Pizza Kitchen Thai Chicken Salad contains approximately four and a half times more sugar than a doughnut, an astonishing forty-five grams per serving. The sandwich chain Subway has built a reputation on offering healthier fresh sandwiches, but the sugar content of their Sweet Onion Terraki Chicken six-inch sandwich contains a sugar level of seventeen grams. This is almost twice the sugar level that you would find in a doughnut.
Yogurt: Yogurts can be a healthier alternative as a dessert or sweet treat. However, it is worth checking the sugar content to be sure if it is actually healthy. A Yoplait Original yogurt has been shown to contain a sugar level of twenty-seven grams. This is the equivalent sugar of over two and a half doughnuts.
Waters: Many people incorporate bottled waters into their healthy eating plans, but this could also be a sugary mistake. Some forms of bottled water contain very high levels of sugar, which would negate some of the benefits of exercising if you are drinking it after your visit to the gym. For example, Vitamin Water bottles contain a sugar level of thirty-three grams per twenty ounce bottle. This would be the same sugar consumption as eating almost three and a half doughnuts. With the recommended water consumption level of sixty-four ounces per day, this would mean an additional one hundred and five grams of sugar added to your diet each day, the equivalent of over ten doughnuts.
High levels of sugar in the diet have been linked to a number of different illnesses and conditions in the long term. Therefore, it is important to consider the level of sugar in any of your “healthier” options to determine whether it is truly healthier or not. Processed foods may have large amounts of sugar hiding in them and if you want to treat yourself to an occasional doughnut, then that should be your informed decision.
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