TEN “HEALTHY FOODS” WITH A LOT MORE SUGAR THAN YOU THINK
TEN “HEALTHY FOODS” WITH A LOT MORE SUGAR THAN YOU THINK Blog #83
Dr. Spiker Davis D.D.S. 713-781-2800 Dr. Matt Guerre D.D.S. 713-781-2800
In collaboration with Dr. John Seger M.D. Cardiologist 713-791-9444
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I believe the mouth is the WINDOW TO YOUR HEALTH. I also believe that as individuals we need to take care of our health-nobody else is going to do it for us. I am chronically reading every article and every research I can find on health and diet. RECENTLY, I read an article about foods that most of us think are healthy, but if you look closely, in my opinion they are very unhealthy mainly because of the SUGAR CONTENT! Let’s explore these NOT SO HEALTHY, HEALTHY FOODS. And please realize that these foods are marketed as healthy foods but in many cases, they are loaded with tons of calories and tons of sugar that in my opinion are NOT HEALTHY!
First, let’s look at what foods are considered healthy. There is no good definition that everyone uses so I am going to give you my definition of what foods are considered healthy. In my opinion, healthy foods contain protein, fiber, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals and they provide little or no added SUGAR. Added sugar provides NOTHING of nutritional value so they are called “EMPTY CALORIES”. Unfortunately, many foods that are labeled as healthy are really nothing but a bunch of empty calories. These empty calories actually do nothing for us other than make us fatter and unhealthy. So instead of buying something that sounds healthy like “FAT FREE”, Gluten Free, Keto Friendly, Wheat Free, Natural, Organic etc., please take a look at the label and see if you think they are healthy. If healthy eating is important to you, please make sure to read the labels and check for added sugar and chemicals that you cannot pronounce. So below are 10 “HEALTHY FOODS” that contain a lot more sugar than you think and a lot more sugar than is considered healthy. And remember that the American Heart Association says that you should not consume more than about 4-6 tablespoons or about 20-30 grams per day. As a dentist, I think it should be even less. Easy to say but hard to do!
1. PROTEIN BARS-I used to eat them all the time because I thought they were so healthy and so simple. A few of them can be healthy but in general they have way too much sugar and calories. For example, Nature Valley Oats and Honey Granola Bars pack in 11 grams of Sugar!! Gatorade Protein bars weigh in at 28 grams of sugar. Read the labels.
2. LOW FAT YOGURT– In my opinion, the only way to get something that is low fat to taste good is for the manufacturers add a lot of Sugar. For example, Yoplait berry yogurt has about 13 grams of sugar.
3. WHOLE GRAIN BREAKFAST CEREAL. As a kid, I ate some cereal from a box every day ranging from Fruit Loops to Raisin Bran. In today’s world it is now WHOLE GRAIN RAISIN with 9 grams of SUGAR.
4. LOW FAT MILK-I remember my mom making me put the LOW-FAT MILK on my Raisin Bran so it would be healthy. LOW FAT MILK has 12 grams of sugar. And Chocolate Milk has 24 grams of SUGAR!!
5. NON-DAIRY MILK-A lot people are now using this in their coffee. Chobani Oat Milk has 7 grams of sugar. I guess I better drink it black.
6. CANNED SOUP-I love soup and for years I would take an entire can of soup and mix it with low fat milk. It tasted great but packed in about 32 grams of sugar.
7. INSTANT CEREAL OR OATMEAL-I love oatmeal and it has some good health benefits. Many people put sugar, milk, and fruit on their cereal. But instant oatmeal in a package has about 10 grams of sugar before your own personal additions.
8. DRIED FRUIT-Prunes are one of my favorite-they pack in 66 grams of sugar in a cup. If I ate that many prunes I think I would blow up but even 3-4 prunes pack about 15 grams.
9. DRIED CRANBERRIES-the ones from Ocean Spray provide a staggering 25 grams of Sugar per serving.
10. GLUTEN FREE BREAD-regular bread usually contains about 1-2 grams of sugar but Gluten Free bread ranges from 3-4 grams.
SUMMARY-It is obvious that your mouth is the window to your health. In my opinion, we need to eliminate SUGAR and processed foods from our diet. Sugar, along with lots of chemicals and additives are in almost anything in a container, package or bottle. It also appears that we should eliminate anything that is fat free as it also contains a lot of added sugar. Please switch to fresh foods and unprocessed foods and in my opinion, avoid the fast-food restaurants as they are loaded to the gills with all kinds of chemicals, sugars and salts. Remember, the American Heart Association recommends only 6 tsps. (about 24 grams) of SUGAR PER DAY! And guess what, we all CHEAT once in a while, or least it is very difficult to avoid all processed foods and SUGAR. Just do the best you can and learn to read the labels and avoid as much SUGAR AND PROCESSED FOOD as possible.
“THE MOUTH IS THE WINDOW TO YOUR HEALTH”. BRUSH AND FLOSS TWICE DAILY, AVOID SUGAR FOR 2023, AND SEE YOUR DENTIST AND PHYSICIAN REGULARLY.
Spiker Davis D.D.S. drspikerdavis@thepaleodentist.com John Seger M.D. Matt Guerre D.D.S.
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