6 Surprising Sources of Sugar

Learn which foods in your diet are surprising sources of added sugar.

Most of us eat too much sugar. On average, Americans consume 475 calories of added sugars every day (that’s 30 teaspoons), which is 3 or 4 times what’s recommended by the American Heart Association.

If you’re trying to cut back on added sugars in your diet, you’ve probably already tackled the obvious sources: sugar-sweetened beverages and desserts.

But what about the less-obvious sources of added sugars? It’s difficult to know how much added sugars are in most processed foods because food manufacturers aren’t required to disclose the amount in their products on the Nutrition Facts Panel. But, unless there is fruit and/or milk (which contain naturally occurring sugars, fructose and lactose, respectively) in the product, you can safely assume the amount of sugar listed on the label is added.

Here are a few healthy foods that may have added sugars lurking in them:

—Rachel Johnson, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D. advisor for EatingWell Magazine

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