Added Sugar QUIZ - This or That?

There are two types of sugar in this world; natural occurring sugars or added sugars. Natural occurring sugars for example are those in fruit (fructose) and milk (lactose). Added sugars are those that manufacturers add during the processing of foods, before they hit the shelves. Added sugar is everywhere in places you won’t expect.

In fact, sometimes healthy snacks are not always healthy. See if you know which item contains more sugar:

Test Your Sugar Knowledge:

1. 2 pieces Raisin Swirl Toast OR 1 mini Kit Kat
2. Applebee’s Oriental Grilled Chicken Salad OR 4 Krispy Kreme’s Glazed Donuts
3. 20 oz. Strawberry X-Treme Smoothie from Smoothie King OR 20 oz. Sierra Mist
4. Chocolate Chip Clif Bar OR Snickers full-size candy bar
5. Nonfat Okios Vanilla Greek Yogurt OR Yoplait Greek 100 Protein Yogurt
6. KIND Peanut Butter Granola Clusters OR Bear Naked Peanut Butter Granola
7. Barilla Marinara Sauce OR Ragu Marinara Sauce

Answers:

1. Raisin Swirl Toast (12 g); 1 mini Kit Kat (11 g)
2. Applebee’s Oriental Grilled Chicken Salad (50 g); 4 Krispy Kreme’s Glazed Donuts (40 g)
3. 20 oz. Sierra Mist (62 g); 20 oz. Strawberry X-Treme Smoothie from Smoothie King (52 g)
4. Snickers full-size candy bar (26 g); Chocolate Chip Clif Bar (21 g )
5. Nonfat Okios Vanilla Greek Yogurt (15 g); Yoplait Greek 100 Protein Yogurt (7 g)
6. Bear Naked Peanut Butter Granola (12 g); KIND Peanut Butter Granola Clusters (11 g)
7. Barilla Marinara Sauce (9 g); Ragu Marinara Sauce (7 g)

Were You Surprised by the Results?

Sugar isn’t so sweet for our health. We don’t need it to function properly. Added sugar only leads to extra pounds resulting in obesity which can put you at a higher risk for heart disease, diabetes, and other comorbidities. According to the American Dietary Guidelines, the recommendations for added sugar are to consume less than 12 teaspoons of per day. 1 teaspoon of sugar is equal to about 4 grams.

From the quiz you just took, you can see that something seemingly healthy, like the Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad you might reach for has about 13 teaspoons of sugar in it. This already puts you over the recommended sugar for the day. That doesn’t include the creamer you added to your coffee this morning or that cookie you snacked on after lunch.

Follow These Tips to Reduce the Added Sugar in Your Diet!

1. Drinking water over the daily soda
2. Find juice that uses 100% fruit
3. Choose items that say reduced sugar on the label
4. Choose nutrient rich snacks like fruits, vegetables, whole grain crackers, low-fat and low-calorie cheese or yogurts.

I hope you start to think twice about added sugar in your diet! And as always, reach out to a CHI Health Dietitian for more questions.