The hidden sugars in your favourite foods and how to spot them

We all know foods like desserts, soft drinks and confectionary contain high levels of sugar, however many foods that seem healthy like yoghurt or cereal are actually riddled with sugar too. In fact, you may be shocked at the amount you’re actually eating. 

Often, products labelled as ‘light’ or ‘low-fat’ can contain more sugar than the regular versions. So the best way to avoid eating too much is to know what foods it’s hiding in.

Breakfast cereal 

Cereal can seem like a healthy and convenient choice, but most ‘healthy’ brands are loaded with sugar. The World Health Organisation recommends capping your daily sugar consumption at about six teaspoons – yet a standard serving of cereal has almost three.

“Some cereals have up to 11 grams of sugar per serving, which is almost 3 teaspoons of sugar,” Sydney-based nutritionist Angela Emmerton explained to Starts at 60.

To avoid excess sugar, she suggested sticking with old-fashioned oats or opting for a bowl of Weet-Bix instead – which are both pretty low in sugar.

Fruit juices

Despite seeming like a healthy choice, fruit juice can contain almost the same amount of sugar as some soft drinks.

“Whilst appearing super healthy on the bottle… they’re usually loaded with sugar,” Angela added. “On average you’ll find 4tsps of sugar per serving. Remember a serving is usually 100mls and most people would drink 200 to 250mls of juice, which equates to 8-10tsps of sugar in one glass.”

Still feeling like fruit? It’s usually best to choose whole fruit to minimise your sugar.

Store-bought sauces

“If you’re adding a little flavour to your stir-fry from a bottle, be aware,” Angela warned, revealing that these can have around four teaspoons of sugar in a jar. 

“A good stock of herbs and spices could be a healthier option if you want to keep your sugar low,” she suggested.

She added that the best way to avoid hidden sugars when buying prepackaged food is to make sure you check the back label to identify any hidden sugars.

Flavoured yoghurts

Yoghurt can be a highly nutritious food, however not all yoghurt is good for you.

Angela explained: “Don’t be fooled by the marketing on the front of a pack… saying ‘no preservative, artificial colours or flavours’. All flavoured yoghurts will contain sugar in some form.” Instead, she recommended opting for full-fat natural yoghurt and flavouring it with fresh fruit yourself.

Tonic water

It may seem the healthy option, but it turns out there are little to no benefits of choosing tonic water over any other sugary drink. In fact, one serving contains at least four teaspoons of sugar.

If you enjoy a glass of gin and tonic, Angela suggested switching the tonic to soda water.

What do you think? Did you know this?