Many people count sugar in their diet only when they are consuming table sugar. But surprisingly many foods contain hidden sugar, sneakily disrupting our weight loss and fitness goals. We will tell you about some of these foods with hidden sugar.
1. Raisins
Raisins are basically dried grapes. The dehydration process for any fruit results in a concentrated form of the original fruit. Therefore, raisins contain high antioxidant content which means you get more antioxidant benefits eating raisins as compared to grapes. Antioxidants are the substances which protect your body from free radical damage and keep your body healthy. But since grapes are high in sugar, raisins tend to very high in sugar content. A half cup of raisins contains approximately 250 calories, while the same serving of grapes contains only 50 calories. So consume raisins for their benefits, but always keep a watch on the quantity.
2. Chinese food
Chinese foods are generally high in sugar because of added syrupy sauces. These sauces are added to chinese food in high amounts to enhance the flavours. For example, 1 serving of Chinese orange chicken which is 162 grams provides approximately 20 grams of sugar. Therefore, avoid adding these syrupy sauces to your Chinese food to cut down the sugar content. Also, control consumption of commercially available Chinese food.
3. Packed fruit juice
Many people include packaged fruit juices in their diet hoping to get the goodness of the whole fruit or freshly squeezed fruit juice. But these packed fruit juices are actually loaded with excessive sugar. Have you ever wondered why every pack of a certain fruit juice brand tastes the same? This is because it is processed in a certain automated manner with high sugar and chemical additive content and there is very little of the actual fruit. All the ingredients in it are accurately measured to make sure every pack of juice produced tastes the same. Replace your packed fruit juice with whole fruit to get the goodness of fruit.
4. Coleslaw
Coleslaw is a salad consisting primarily of shredded raw cabbage dressed most commonly with mayonnaise, vinegar and other seasoning. Cream or sour cream could also be used. Other crunchy vegetables like carrot can be added in addition to cabbage. But coleslaw salad available in commercial restaurants and supermarkets is loaded with sugar as added sugar enhances the flavour. Therefore, whenever you order a salad always ask for dressing on the side. This will help you in controlling intake of the dressing, resulting in lower sugar intake.
5. Flavoured yoghurt
Yoghurt is a fermented food made from milk. It is a good source of calcium, protein, vitamin D and healthy bacteria. But packed or flavored yoghurt available in the market is loaded with excessive sugar to enhance the taste of the product. Around 200 grams of flavored yogurt contains 25 grams of added sugar which increases calorie intake by as much as 100 calories for a 200 gm serving. Therefore, instead of going for packed flavored yoghurt from the supermarket, add sliced fruits to plain yoghurt for greater benefits, but the same flavor and taste.
6. Tomato Ketchup
Because of the acidic nature of tomato, pure tomato ketchup can turn out to be sour or excessively tangy. Therefore, to control the taste of ketchup, sugar is added to it. 1 tablespoon of tomato ketchup, which is around 15 grams, contains approximately 4 grams of sugar. These numbers seem too little to cause any damage but imagine the amount of sugar intake when you use ketchup in food dressings. Therefore, instead of using tomato ketchup in food try to made do with fresh tomato puree.
Replace these sugar loaded foods with fresher and more natural options to cut down the sugar and calories from your meals.