Manufacturers are increasingly including dangerous ingredients in products, masking their dangerous names under new ones. Today we will talk about "hidden" sugar and products containing it.
Many of us try to limit the consumption of sugar, realizing the harm that it does to our body. However, the rejection of biscuits and sweets doesn’t mean that you have excluded sugar from the diet. It would be too easy.
Let’s talk about such products and learn how to read correctly product info.
What are we talking about?
Of course, different types of natural sugar are contained, for example, in fruits or milk and do not have a negative impact on us, what can’t be said about those products to which it is added artificially. Many people do not even suspect that there are dozens of varieties of sugar, which we do not even notice when choosing these or that products.
A few years ago in the UK, a large-scale study was conducted and its results shocked many adherents of a healthy diet. Scientists have proven that the amount of sugar in popular foods and in so-called "healthy" foods has grown significantly over the past 30 years. And this is due primarily to the desire of manufacturers to improve taste and extend shelf life without serious financial costs.
Grocery list
1. Instant porridge
With the current dynamic pace of life, in the morning, we do not always find time in to prepare a full breakfast, believing that such a porridge is a healthy and useful alternative. Unfortunately no. And if 30 years ago it contained about 10 grams of sugar per 100 grams of product, which, of course, is also not so small, today this figure is an average of 17 grams.
2. Whole wheat bread
The interest in healthy eating entails an increase in demand for related products. If you think that whole wheat bread is much more useful than its white colleague from refined flour, then the figures speak louder than any words. Such bread contains about 4 grams of sugar, whereas before it was exactly 2 times less.
3. Yoghurts
Another category of products that we consider dietary is all kinds of yoghurts. We got used to drinking yogurts for breakfast. However, such a breakfast is not only able to cover the daily sugar rate, but also is disastrous for the entire hormonal system due to a sharp release of insulin. As many as 8 teaspoons for a small bottle of yogurt - too high for healthy and dietary nutrition.
4. Low-fat products
From yoghurts, cottage cheese and other products with a low fat content, we usually do not expect a dirty trick and are happy to include in your diet. However, reducing fat content in dairy products makes them less attractive to our taste buds. To recreate the taste and texture of your favorite treats, manufacturers increase the content of other not always useful components, including sugar. Please note, most often this ingredient goes second or third on the list.
5. Muesli
Advertising in the media actively convinces us to start the day with simple cooking and such useful ready-made breakfasts. Meanwhile, the amount of sugar in flakes and muesli literally goes off the scale and can be up to 50% of the total weight. In products that are positioned as for children, these indicators are the highest. By the way, the salt content in these products is also quite large, and the calorie content is comparable to donuts and chocolate.
6. Juices
Many of us like to refresh ourselves with a glass of cool fruit juice, thinking that in this way we are adding variety to our diet and filling the body with vitamins, but this is not so. Packaged juices contain not only a large number of artificial colors and preservatives, but also sugar. Nutritionists regularly argue whether there is a real benefit from juices or it is better to eat the whole fruit, getting not only vitamins and microelements, but also fiber. There is one thing where their opinions converge: if you want to drink really useful juice - do it yourself.
7. Carbonated drinks "without sugar"
Manufacturers of carbonated drinks diligently monitor changes in consumer tastes and world trends in nutrition. That is why recently we have increasingly been meeting on the shelves drinks marked as "light" or "zero", meaning that the sugar content is reduced or absents. One well-known company recently even has released its popular drink with a useful stevia, but, unfortunately, this is another trick. The sugar content in sodas remains dangerously high (about 9 spoons per glass), but is now masked under new names for the consumer.
8. Ready-made sauces
Perhaps many will now wonder why producers add sugar to seemingly unsweetened sauces. However, as I said, this ingredient not only improves the taste, but also, like salt, acts as a preservative. So, in a usual ready-made ketchup sugar content reaches 15 grams, and in barbecue sauce - up to 30 grams in each standard package. Sugar is also added to mayonnaise, and to low-fat salad dressings. That's why I recommend making sauces by yourself. Homemade mayonnaise or ketchup, adzhika or tkemali. All this is much tastier and more useful than the purchased analogues.
9. Sausages
Despite the fact that educational institutions include, for example, sausages in the diet of schoolchildren, unfortunately, we do not have to talk about the benefits of these products, especially for the child's body. In addition to high fat content, the presence of transgenic soy and glutamate sodium, sausages also contain a fairly large amount of sugar, an average of 20 teaspoons per kilogram of product.
How to read labels correctly?
At the moment, there are about 54 names for sugar in food. The most common are all, ending in "-ose": sucrose, maltose, glucose and so on. Also, it is often enough to find on the label molasses and corn syrup. They are also popular substitutes for sugar in the food industry. When reading the labels in the store, do not forget that the closer the ingredient to the top of the list, the higher its content is.