5 ‘healthy’ foods that have more sugar than you realise

We all know that sugar is generally pretty bad for you. Cutting down on sugar will not only help you shed extra weight, but will keep your heart and cholesterol levels healthy.

Here are 5 foods, generally perceived as healthy, that contain more sugar than you may think!

1. Muesli/Granola bars

Muesli, granola or seed bars, such as Jungle Bars, contain a lot of sugar. As sugar is sticky and adds sweetness to tasteless foods (such as granola) it is often used as a binding agent in these bars.

Added chocolate or yoghurt at the base of the bar only increases the sugar percentage, so it’s important to make sure of the sugar content on the packaging.

Raw, vegan granola bars are a better option as they mostly do not contain sugar or sweetened dairy.

2. Cereal

Breakfast cereals are very popular, but they are somewhat of a dark horse when it comes to sugar.

While parading as healthy and full of fibre and vitamins, most breakfast cereals contain unholy amounts of sugar. Artificially sweetened cereals such as Coco Pops and Fruit Loops, can have up to 15 grams of sugar per serving.

A better alternative would be to eat all bran cereal that is specifically made without sweetners. Pure, raw muesli and plain yoghurt can be just as delicious and filling as sugary cereals.

3. Fruit Juice

While natural, freshly squeezed juice only contains its own, natural sugars, most supermarket fruit juices are loaded with extra sugar.

It’s always important to look at the label on the bottle. If the bottle says 60% real fruit juice, you can be sure that the remaining 40% contains a lot of added sweeteners.

One liter of un-pure fruit juice can contain as much as 25 grams of sugar.

4. Flavoured Yoghurt

No one can deny that yoghurt is good for you. It’s packed full of probiotics and vitamins that help keep your insides healthy.

However, artificially flavoured or sweetened yoghurt can do more bad than good. Many yoghurts are flavoured to either strawberry or vanilla or chocolate, and these are the one’s that contain as much as 14 grams of sugar per 25ml serving.

Choose yoghurt that contains real fruit pieces or stick to plain, unsweetened Greek or Bulgarian yoghurt.

5. Dried Fruit

Dried fruit is a great snack. It’s super high in fibre, vitamins and minerals that keep your energy levels high and your body healthy.

However, as some fruits contain a lot of natural sugar, eating too much dried fruit can result in a serious sugar overdose.

Try and stick to dried fruits that are naturally not as high in sugar and steer clear of dried fruit or dried fruit sticks covered in extra sugar. And remember – moderation is key.