There's a reason why that jar of Prego can taste as good as a home-cooked sauce from a nonna's kitchen: It's got sugar in it. Loads of it. To be precise, just 1/2 cup of Prego Fresh Mushroom Italian Sauce has 11 g of sugar -- the same amount that's in a glazed Krispy Kreme donut.
Eat this instead: If you read labels and compare brands, it is possible to find a sauce with no added sugar. Another alternative is to make your own spaghetti sauce from chopped canned tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and a little dried basil.
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Yogurt
Yogurt might seem like the ultimate health food, but you'd be surprised by how some flavors, like the Key Lime Pie-flavored Yoplait, can be as sugar-loaded as an actual slice of pie. The Yoplait has 29 g of sugar -- that's the equivalent of 1 1/2 Twinkies! However, Ansel says, "It's worth noting that about 12 g [of sugar] is from lactose, the natural sugar found in milk. Naturally occurring sugars like this aren't nearly as much of a concern as added sugars because they come packaged with a bundle of nutrients. What you really want to watch out for is added sugars." And yogurt -- especially those with fruit on the bottom -- is typically loaded with added sugars.
Unfortunately, Ansel says food manufacturers aren't required to separate natural sugars from added sugars on the nutrition facts panel. The only way to know is to check the ingredient list. Look for common added sugar ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, glucose, honey, or evaporated cane juice.
Eat this instead: Sweeten plain Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey and some fresh berries or sliced bananas.
When I think of the most decadent, fattening food I can eat, my mind doesn't go to the high-priced, frou frou chocolate éclair or the rich and creamy New York cheesecake. No, I think more along the lines of pure sugar, cream, and processed chemical goodness that comes in a pretty plastic wrapper: the all-American Twinkie.
I love those little rolls of heaven, but they definitely don't love me. That's because just one Twinkie has a whopping 18 grams of sugar, which knocks out nearly 100 percent of my daily sugar quota in one fell swoop. So I steer clear of my favorite dessert and reach for healthier foods instead. If I'm craving something sweet after lunch, I make a fro-yo run; if I'm still feeling hungry after dinner, I have a bowl of cereal.
But here's the thing: Karen Ansel, MS, RD, co-author of "The Calendar Diet: A Month by Month Guide to Losing Weight While Living Your Life," says some of the "healthy" picks at your grocery store have more sugar than your off-limits desserts. In fact, things like whole wheat bread, yogurt, and granola have more grams of sugar than the ubiquitous Twinkie.
And the real danger comes not just because we eat these fattening foods, but because we think they're healthy, says Ansel. "Everything is OK in moderation," she says. But of course, when we think a food is good for us, we tend to snack with abandon. The result? An ever-expanding waistline.
While the "healthy" daily amount of sugar is up for hot debate right now (the World Health Organization says added sugar should make up no more than 10 percent of your daily caloric intake; the American Heart Association says it should only make up 4 percent), all experts agree we're consuming too much of the white stuff. The AHA says added sugars like high-fructose corn syrup and table sugar found in sodas, desserts, and other processed foods are responsible for Americans' overall increase in calorie consumption and the subsequent rise in obesity.
Over the past 30 years, Americans have consumed an average of 150 to 300 more calories per day than we used to -- and we haven't increased our physical activity. And experts say most of these extra cals are coming from added sugars. It's no wonder more than two-thirds of us are battling obesity.
To stay in your skinny jeans, watch out for these "healthy" (read: high-sugar and highly fattening) foods.
