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By Grace Siggers
Americans consume an average of 22-28 teaspoons of added sugar each day. Added sugars don't occur naturally in food the way fructose (naturally occurring sugar found in fruit) does -- they add calories but are often missing extra nutrients.
When reading the nutrition facts labels on foods in your supermarket, it's no surprise that you find plenty of sugar in most of the products.
To help you select which products are high in sugar, examine the nutrition information labels to check the sugar content.
Just because there's a nutrition-oriented statement on the package such as "contains whole grain," "excellent source of calcium," "fat free," "100% juice," or "25% less sugar" it doesn't mean the product doesn't contain a shocking amount of sugar. And, just because the brand name or product name sounds like it's good for weight loss, don't assume the food is low in sugar.
So exactly how much is a gram of sugar? "One" teaspoon of granulated sugar equals "four" grams of sugar.
Keep in mind, though, that the grams of sugar listed on the nutrition information label includes the natural sugars as well as added sweeteners like refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Also, many beverages that say they're 100% juice actually use juice concentrate to achieve their sweet flavor. This also reflects in the grams of sugar listed on the label.
So, Let's Eat and Drink Less Sugar!
Follow these tips:
Watch what you drink! Drink water instead of sugary drinks.
| Sugar Shocker Foods | Grams of Sugar |
| Flavored Yogurt -- 6 oz. strawberry (170 calories) | 26 |
| Oat Bran Cereal -- 1 cup (270 calories) | 20 |
| Instant Oatmeal -- 1 packet maple brown sugar -- 43 grams (160 calories) | 13 |
| Baked Beans -- 1/2 cup -- 130g (140 calories) | 12 |
| Tomato Soup -- 1 cup prepared (90 calories) | 12 |
| Spaghetti Rings -- 1 cup (170 calories) | 11 |
| French Dressing -- 2 Tbsp. creamy (160 calories) | 11 |
| Cereal Bar -- 1 mixed berry bar -- 37g (120 calories) | 11 |
| Granola -- 1/2 cup -- 48g (200 calories) | 10 |
| Ketchup -- 2 Tbsp. -- 34g (40 calories) | 8 |
| Spaghetti Sauce -- 1/2 cup -- 125g (80 calories) | 7 |
| Chewy Granola Bar -- 1 bar -- 24g (100 calories) | 7 |
| Frozen Pizza -- 1/5 supreme pizza -- 130g (300 calories) | 5 |
| Peanut Butter -- 2 Tbsp. creamy (190 calories) | 3 |
| Frozen Waffles -- 2 buttermilk waffles (190 calories) | 2 |
| Sugar Shocker Drinks | Grams of Sugar |
| Cola with Ice -- 44 oz. cup -- 510 calories (38 oz. cola, 6 oz. ice) | 128 |
| Orange Soda -- 20 oz. bottle -- 325 calories | 85 |
| 100% Juice Smoothie -- 15.2 oz. bottle -- 300 calories | 60 |
| Energy Drink -- 15 oz. can -- 200 calories | 54 |
| Sports Drink -- 20 oz. glass -- 125 calories | 35 |
| 100% Orange Juice -- 8 oz. -- 110 calories | 21 |
| Skim Milk -- 8 oz. -- 90 calories | 12 |
One sugar cube = 2 grams of sugar
NOTE: Nutrition information based on typical values for food and drinks shown and may vary by brand or manufacturer
For a printable version download Sugar Shockers Eat and Drink Less Sugarpdf