Think your sweet tooth is harmless? Well, it just might bite you back. The average American is wolfing down 460 calories from added sugars every day. That's more than 100 pounds of raw sugar per person per year (enough to make 3,628 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!).
What's at risk with all this sugar intake isn't just another cavity; refined carbohydrates cause spikes in your blood sugar levels, tell your body to store fat, and put people at increased risk for diabetes. That's another way of saying that it puts people at increased risk of blindness, sexual malfunction, heart attack, and premature death.
All that from a simple candy bar or soda? Consider this: A dollar will buy you about 75 calories' worth of fresh broccoli, but food manufacturers can use that same dollar to purchase 1,815 calories of sugar. And thanks to government subsidies, high fructose corn syrup, the synthetic sweetener found in so many of the foods in our grocery stores, is even cheaper.
It should come as no surprise, then, that added sugars are sabotaging nearly ever packaged and prepared food we put in our bodies—pasta sauces, smoothies, even whole-grain breads. It's why we created the Eat This, Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide, the brand-new follow-up to our national bestselling nutrition books.
To help you avoid the impact of stealth sugars that run rampant through our food supply, we've sifted through all the nutritional data to name the eight biggest sugar bombs in America. Keep them from blowing up in your neighborhood.
Most sugar-packed breakfast cereal
Quaker Natural Granola: Oats, Honey & Raisins (1 cup)
Warning: Granola's healthy reputation is way overrated. The problem is those healthy-sounding oats are invariably bathed in a variety of sweeteners, making it not only one of the sweetest cereals in the aisle, but also a caloric overload. In fact, one cup of this stuff has more sugar than two servings of Lucky Charms.
Most sugar-packed salad
Uno Chicago Grill's Spinach, Chicken and Gorgonzola Salad
The candied walnuts on this salad help to make it sweeter than a double-scoop cone of Ben & Jerry’s Butter Pecan ice cream. Choose a more sensible meal and save the sugar calories for dessert (which you'll share, right?).
Most sugar-packed side dish
Boston Market's Cinnamon Apples
This apple dish is right up there with the one Eve served to Adam, and you know how that worked out. Boston Market's sickly sweet side consists of apples overwhelmed with sugar, brown sugar, soybean oil, and cornstarch. Oh yeah, and a pinch of cinnamon—which is about the only healthy thing about it. If you want this dish done right, make it at home.
Most sugar-packed sandwich
Subway's Foot-Long Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki
The most distressing part: this sandwich finds its way onto Subway's "healthy" menu. Ignore the claims of low fat that adorn the menu board; the teriyaki sauce contributes nearly 10 teaspoons of sugar to the sandwich, which will soon find their way to your waistline. Before you go out next, be warned about the 20 worst restaurant foods in America.
Most sugar-packed "healthy" food
Panera’s Pumpkin Muffin
Stop thinking of muffins as health food and start thinking of them as cake. They're made from refined flour, contain only trace amounts of fiber, and can pack more sugar than two ice cream bars. Have one of these for breakfast, and you've sabotaged your diet for the whole day.
Most sugar-packed kids' meal
Oscar Mayer Maxed Out Turkey & Cheddar Cracker Combo Lunchables
Kids love Lunchables, and for the usual reason: It's a candy box. Too bad so many busy parents use them to fill empty lunchboxes. But this kids' meal has more calories than a Whopper and more sugar than two Snickers bars; suddenly, packing their lunches becomes more of a priority. Anything to avoid that prepackaged candy and sugary drink.
Most sugar-packed breakfast
Bob Evans' Stacked & Stuffed Strawberry Banana Cream Hotcakes
Despite the fruity name, this is truly one of the worst breakfast entrées in America. Each stack has 25.5 teaspoons of sugar—that's more sugar than six funnel cakes. This is their diabetic special—one that contributes to the disease, instead of curing it.
The most sugar-packed food in America
Baskin Robbins Large York® Peppermint Pattie Shake
Baskin Robbins' line of candy-based beverages are horrendous on so many accounts: Each large shake has a day's worth of calories, up to three day's of saturated fat, and an ingredient list so long—some more than seven inches—it requires an advanced degree in chemistry to decipher. This particular caloric catastrophe has more sugar than 11 Peppermint Patties.
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