Increased awareness about the risks of over and excess sugar consumption in processed foods has led many people to cut down on sugar. Still, many people are unaware that several sauces, beverages, and snacks that are not sweet may be secretly loaded with lots of hidden sugar. Therefore, it is crucial to be aware of such foods, which might lead to harmful outcomes.
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Barbecue (BBQ) Sauce
BBQ sauce can make a tasty dip or marinade. However, two tablespoons of sauce can contain around 9 grams of sugar. Around 30% of the weight of BBQ sauce contains pure sugar. It makes it easy to consume a lot of sugar without meaning if you’re liberal with your servings. Choose the sauce and check the labels with the least added sugar to ensure you aren’t getting too much. Also, remember to watch your portions.
Ketchup
Like BBQ sauce, ketchup contains high amounts of sugar. The extra calories in ketchup can lead to weight gain and also wreak havoc on blood sugar levels. Therefore, it is important to check the nutrition label on these products before buying them.
Mayonnaise
Most mayonnaise products claim they contain zero grams of sugar per serving, but the ingredients clearly show sugar is involved. The USDA lists a 15.6-ounce tablespoon of mayonnaise as having 0.55 grams of sugars. So, if you’re adding regular mayonnaise, then fat is more problematic than sugar. The light substitutes sugars for fats to maintain flavor, so they have more stealth sugar.
Honey mustard
Many people use honey mustard as a lower-fat alternative to mayo, and they think it’s quite healthy because there are antioxidants in honey. But in many popular brands, honey is listed last on the ingredient list, where you can see high fructose corn syrup and sugar at the top. Sugar counts can be up to 3 grams per tablespoon which means this condiment packs at least 6 gm of sugar when you put your meal with the sweet stuff.
Spaghetti Sauce
All spaghetti sauces contain some natural sugar, as they contain tomatoes. However, many pasta and spaghetti sauces contain added sugar. Make your sauce from scratch to ensure you aren’t eating any unwanted or extra sugar in your sauce. However, if you need to buy artificial spaghetti sauce, check the ingredient label and pick one that either doesn’t have sugar on the ingredient list or is listed very close to the bottom. That indicates that it’s not a major ingredient.
Teriyaki sauce
Teriyaki sauce contains:
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- Plain sugar.
- High fructose corn syrup.
- Cane syrup to get the sweet flavor out from the saltiness of the soy.
Depending on which brand you use, you could add 2 to 7 grams of sugar per tablespoon.
Hoisin sauce
Hoisin sauce is a popular condiment for meat and stir-fried foods. Hoisin sauce is also a top condiment when it comes to sugar content. Sugar is the main ingredient in most bottled ingredient lists; a single tablespoon can contain 9 or 10 grams. A 1-tablespoon serving of hoisin sauce has 4.91 grams of sugar, but you should be aware that many brands hit a higher mark.
Final Words
Added sugars aren’t a significant part of your diet. Although small amounts are ok if eaten in large quantities regularly, they can cause serious harm. The best way to avoid mixed and hidden sugars in your meals is to eat homemade ones, so you know what’s in them. However, if you buy prepackaged sauce, make sure you check the label to know any hidden or added sugars when eating foods from the above list.
