How Much Sugar There Is in Our Favorite Foods

Most of our favorite foods contain processed sugar, however, we are often unaware of the exact amount. It’s necessary to be aware of the excessive consumption of glucose, as it can have serious consequences for our health.

5-Minute Crafts offers you a graphic guide with the sugar content of processed products, like sodas, energy drinks, sauces, and candy, that we frequently include in our diet.

What the recommended amount of sugar is

• According to the American Heart Association, the daily sugar intake limit for women is no more than 6 teaspoons, while for men, it shouldn’t exceed 9 teaspoons.

Drinks

Most of the beverages we consume contain a large amount of sugar. If you want to take a step toward a healthy lifestyle, reduce your intake and try to drink them only once or twice a week.

Here are some examples with their equivalent in teaspoons of sugar:

• One 600 ml (20 oz) bottle of a soft drink = 16 teaspoons of sugar
  
• One 750 ml (25 oz) bottle of a sports drink = 15 tsp
  
• One 472 ml (16 oz) bottle of chocolate milk = 13 tsp
  
• One 473 ml (16 oz) bottle of artificially flavored tea = 12 tsp
  
• One 330 ml (11 oz) can of carbonated soda = 10 tsp
  
• One 350 ml (12 oz) bottle of artificial fruit juice = 10 tsp
  
• One 355 ml (12 oz) can of flavored coffee = 9 tsp
  
• One 350 ml (12 oz) can of vegetable juice = 6.5 tsp

Sauces and syrups

When we prepare pasta, pizza, hamburgers, or hot dogs and add syrup to pancakes, we don’t always realize that these products contain a certain amount of added sugar that exceeds the recommended daily limit.

• 1 tbsp of tomato sauce equals 1 tsp of sugar.
  
• 1 tbsp of BBQ sauce contains 2 tsp of sugar.
  
• ½ cup of pasta sauce equals 3 tsp of sugar.
  
• 1 tbsp of maple syrup equals almost 2 tsp of sugar.
  
• 1 tbsp of chocolate syrup has 2.5 tsp of sugar.

Sweets

Most of us love sweets, like ice cream, dessert, and candy. It’s very difficult to resist the temptation, however, these products are the ones that raise our glycemic index the most since they’re made with processed derivatives of white sugar.

Here are some examples of the sweetest ones.

• 1 chocolate sandwich cookie or 1 chocolate chip cookie = 1 tsp of sugar
  
• 1 individual bar of chocolate with cajeta = 2.5 tsp of sugar
  
• 1 tbsp of chocolate hazelnut spread = 2.5 tsp of sugar
  
• 1 glazed donut = 3.5 tsp of sugar
  
• 1 cup vanilla ice cream = 7 tsp of sugar

Recommendations

• Opt for matcha tea, coconut water, or vegetable juice made with low-sugar ingredients.
  
• Before purchasing a product, check the label with nutritional values or visit the manufacturer’s website to verify the grams of sugar per serving.
• When you feel like a snack, a nutritious option is to eat a small portion of nuts or whole grains.
  
• Instead of sweetening your juice, coffee, or tea with sugar, turn to natural alternatives, such as cinnamon, ginger, or vanilla extract.
  
• Drink matcha tea, coconut water, or vegetable juice made with low-sugar ingredients.