These Health Foods Are Sugar Bombs
When you are trying to lose weight and get healthy, the best thing to do is to eliminate sugar. Just look around at all the fad diets and health recommendations. While they all vary on opinion about whether to eat carbs or not, or whether meat is healthy or not, all of them can agree on one thing: sugar is bad. Sugar can cause inflammation in the body which leads to chronic diseases and even cancer. Sugar also suppresses the immune system and causes belly fat to store.
Once you decide you want to be done with sugar all together, then you will be on your way to better health. You already know to stay away from ice cream and candy bars. For example, a Snickers’ or Reese’s candy contains about 18 to 20 grams of sugar. That’s a lot, right!? What you might not know is that a lot of healthy sounding foods can contain that much sugar too. Watch out for these sugar-filled “health wannabes” that are sabotaging your diet.
Energy Bars
When you are in the need for an afternoon boost or a quick meal replacement, an energy bar seems like a good idea. Most energy bars are marketed as healthy and will contain healthy-sounding words on them, such as “Full of protein” or “All-natural”. However, these bars can actually contain anywhere from 13 to 25 grams of sugar. It would have been better to eaten a candy bar in some instances. Read the ingredients and try protein powder mixed with water for a better energy-filled pick-me-up.
Granola Bars
Just like energy bars, granola bars are held together by a whole lot of sugar. If you ever wondered how a bunch of oats and other healthy seeds and nuts could taste so good in a bar form, it is because they use a whole lot of sugar to do so. You can easily make your own granola bars that contain just oats, dried fruits, and nut butter.
Instant Oatmeal
Who doesn’t love the convenience of instant oatmeal? However, these little packets are another sugar bomb. Even the ones that boast “diet” or “less sugar” still have a huge amount of sugar in them, or use artificial sweeteners. Instead, make your own oatmeal and sweeten with a little bit of honey or fruit.
Fat-Free Yogurt
If you are buying something that says “fat-free”, then quickly turn it around and examine the sugar content. Many companies will add extra sugar in products to make them appealing to dieters.
Don’t let these fake health foods fool you and ruin your healthy lifestyle. Instead, check every label and avoid as many items as you can that have sugar in the ingredient list.