Most people are aware that sugar is present (in abundance) in sweet processed foods like doughnuts, cakes, and candy.
Yet, many are unaware of just how much sugar they’re consuming, as it’s oftentimes hidden under other less familiar names, such as dextrose, maltose, galactose, and maltodextrin, and found in foods you wouldn’t necessarily expect.
According to SugarScience.org, added sugars hide in 74 percent of processed foods under more than 60 different names!1 So, needless to say, if you eat processed foods then consuming more than the recommended daily amount of sugar is far easier than you might think.
Added Sugars Versus Natural Sugars: What’s the Difference?
One problem with processed food is that when you look at the label, you have no way of knowing how much of the sugar is natural to the food itself and how much of the sugar was added. According to endocrinologist Robert Lustig, one of the most well known crusaders speaking the truth about the real dangers of sugar, it’s important to distinguish between natural food-based sugars and added sugar, because clinical trials have shown that consuming added sugar, such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and other forms of processed fructose, can increase your risk factors for cardiovascular disease within as little as two weeks.
Food-based sugars tend to be far less hazardous, in Dr. Lustig’s opinion. Lactose, for example, which is a natural sugar found in dairy, does not cause any major harm, according to Dr. Lustig. Still, I believe that if you are insulin/leptin resistant, then limiting ALL forms of sugar, including natural food-based sugars such as lactose, is advisable until your insulin/leptin resistance has been resolved.
Nutritionist, fitness trainer, and author JJ Virgin agrees with my assertion that even natural sugars can be problematic. For instance, agave, natural fruit juice, raw cane sugar, and any number of other natural sugars will still wreak havoc on your health. Virgin, who authored the book The Sugar Impact Diet: Drop 7 Sugars to Lose Up to 10 Pounds in Just 2 Weeks, says:
“[S]ugar is really public enemy number one… That’s why I chose to focus on it. I don’t think added sugar is really the problem; I think it’s what’s in a lot of our food that we don’t recognize [as sugar]. Whether it’s having apple juice (which is worse for you than a soda), or having a yogurt sweetened with fruit juice concentrate, or whether you’re just thinking that fruits are free for all, these are all creating problems.
I wanted to create a structured program that could help someone break free of those sugar cravings, drop the weight forever, and then let them go back and [do a food] challenge… in order to connect the dots between what happens when they drink one of those big fruit smoothies that are supposed to be so healthy.”
13 Foods with More Sugar Than a Doughnut
Doughnuts are one of the worst foods you can eat, and they’re also one of the most sugar-laden. So they serve as a good barometer of sugar content. If the food you’re eating contains more sugar than a doughnut, it’s probably not doing your health any favors.
There’s more to a food’s nutritive value than its sugar content alone (so eating a piece of whole fruit with 10 grams of sugar is going to offer you far more value than a doughnut with 10 grams), but the point is that even some “healthy-sounding” foods are too high in sugar to actually be healthy.
Krispy Kreme’s original glazed doughnut contains 10 grams of sugar. Take Part, Business Insider, BuzzFeed, and Mother Jones compiled 31 foods that have more sugar than this, some of which may surprise you.2,3,4,5
- Chili’s Caribbean Chicken Salad with Grilled Chicken = almost 7 doughnuts (67 grams of sugar)
- Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino = 6 doughnuts (64 grams of sugar)
- Jamba Juice Banana Berry Smoothie, small = 6 doughnuts (60 grams of sugar)
- Odwalla Superfood Smoothie, 15.2 ounces = 5 doughnuts (50 grams of sugar)
- Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcake = 4.5 doughnuts (45 grams of sugar)
- California Pizza Kitchen Thai Chicken Salad = 4.5 doughnuts (45 grams of sugar)
- Kraft French Style Fat Free Dressing = 4 doughnuts (42 grams of sugar)
- Dunkin’ Donuts Reduced-Fat Blueberry Muffin = 4 doughnuts (40 grams of sugar
- Snapple Peach Tea = 4 doughnuts (39 grams of sugar)
- Burger King Chicken, Apple, and Cranberry Garden Fresh Salad with Chicken = 4 doughnuts (38 grams of sugar)
- Craisins Dried Cranberries (1.75 ounces) = 3 doughnuts (34 grams of sugar)
- Vitamin Water, 20 ounces = 3 doughnuts (33 grams of sugar)
- Naked Pomegranate Blueberry Juice = 3 doughnuts (32 grams of sugar)
Here are 15 more foods with more sugar than a doughnut
Read next – Are You Ready to Break Free from Sugar?
