Top 5 Foods with secretly high amounts of sugar (that you’re probably eating)

I love this time of the year.  We are all fresh from our Christmas and New Year holidays and are motivated to make 2020 our fittest and healthiest year yet.  If, like so many others, you wish to get leaner and fitter this year, then it’s no surprise to learn that around 75-80% of your fat loss will come from your diet, not from your training.  Now, not to talk myself out of a job (because I really love my work), your body fat levels really are a result of the food you put in your mouth, not how many minutes you spend at the gym.

Sugar as we all know is so bad for you and you should avoid it at all costs!  Naturally there are some foods with natural sugars inside, like Fruit for example, which are ok.  But added sugars really is the worst! 

There are obvious examples like, ice cream, soft drinks, chocolate, lollies, etc that we know is bad for us and only enjoy as occasional treats.  I won’t be talking about those here because you know this already.  There are, however, so many foods with hidden sugars that sneak past our defences and cause us to consume more sugar than we realise!  We think we’re eating healthy but secretly, these foods have clever marketing and have sucked us in.

Now, I have kept this article short so it doesn’t take long to read.  It’s designed for you to have a quick read and think about the sugar in each of these foods without over thinking it. Therefore, it doesn’t have detailed sciencey stuff.  If you want to look further into any of these particular foods, go ahead!

Here are 5 foods that have secret high amounts of sugar:

1)      Tomato/BBQ Sauce

A staple in all of Australian kitchen pantry’s and bloody nice on Burgers and Meat Pies.  There are differing brands but generally speaking a tablespoon of these sauces contains a teaspoon of sugar (or 4 grams of sugar).  In fact, a quarter of the bottle is made up of sugar so please be careful when adding any of these to your meal.

Also, Sweet Chilli Sauce has double the amount of sugar than these sauces do!  Yep, that’s right, it is made up of more than 50% sugar!

2)      Flavoured Yoghurt

Whilst unflavoured Greek yoghurt is very healthy and popular amongst gym nuts, flavoured yoghurt (and “Low Fat Yoghurt”) is a secret sinner.  Once again brands vary, but flavoured yoghurt can contain up to a whopping 7.5 teaspoons in a 160ml tub!  It’s a shame, as marketing companies brand these yoghurts as “Diet” and “Low Fat”.

Thankfully yoghurts are getting better and sugar levels are decreasing, but please check the label of your favourite yoghurt tub.

3)       Canned Fruit 

We all have grown up with our parents telling us to eat our daily fruits, but in all cases, reach for fresh fruit as opposed to the canned (or even dried fruit). A typical contains about 20 grams of sugar (or 5 teaspoons) and cans that are packed with syrup as opposed to juice can be even worse.

So beware these little creatures on the supermarket aisles.

4)      Salad Dressings

So, it’s 2020 and you’ve committed to eating healthy, which means you are now eating Salads for lunch instead of Burgers/Chinese Food, etc.  Salads are awesome, and are the best option the vast majority of times when eating out.  But there is a secret sugar hit in their lurking….

The wrong salad dressing can add extra calories, sodium, saturated fats and preservatives to your healthy nutritious salad.  Then there’s the sugar.  Like the other foods on our list, there are healthier versions than others, so choose your dressing carefully. 

The worst offenders contain up to 10 grams of sugar per 2 tablespoons of dressing (which is the average serving of salad dressing).

Stick to Olive Oil, vinegers and perhaps a squeeze of lemon juice.  Then give yourself a high five for eating a healthy salad!  I know I do.  Yep, people on the food court look at me weird.

5)      Muesli Bars

These ridiculously popular food for snacks and lunchboxes (heck, even I sometimes put this in my son’s school bag) are marketed as a healthier snack for kids.  But, please be careful, because (you guessed it) some bars pack up to 11 grams of sugar per bar (or 29 grams of sugar per 100g serving size). The chocolate coated varieties are even worse!

Now, all muesli bars have some amount of sugar in them, but like most other foods on this list, pick the ones with the least amount of sugar in them.  A quick trick is to avoid the ones with dried fruit in them.

So what did you think of the list? Any of these shock you? Are you guilty of eating any of these?  Please let me know.  Wishing you a lean, fit and fabulous 2020!

Jerome Samaha

Dad Joke expert

Balmain Health Club