They say “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” & I would have to agree. Getting a good quality breakfast down you will set you up for the day, but with many breakfast options being high in sugar, it is no surprise that the rising rates of obesity and diabetes, as well as chronic diseases like heart disease and hypertension are all linked with sugar.

The problem lies with processed foods packed with high amounts of sugar (namely sucrose and  high fructose corn syrup). And it’s not just the obvious such as, soft drinks, chocolate, and cakes. Manufacturers have snuck sugar into many low-calorie, low-fat, so-called health foods, which leads to the question. Are you consuming more sugar than you think for breakfast?

Here is selection of popular breakfast options that may surprise you as being high is sugar as many are seen as a “healthy” option.

 

Flavored Yogurt

Most yogurts can contain 6 to 7 teaspoons of added sugar in one serving, so try to imagine yourself layering that amount of sugar onto plain yogurt. A better option is to go Greek which you can naturally sweeten with a little honey .You can also add a little natural sweetness by adding a little fruit or nuts such as almonds.

 

 

Bran Muffins
A bran muffin is sold to you as a high fibre option to start your day keeping you regular, but did you know that their is over 20 grams of sugar in most bran muffins and can vary from 200 – 450 calories per serving.

 

Ketchup

When eating a cooked breakfast, most people will add ketchup for flavour & think nothing of it, but this is where being label savvy really counts because you may not see the word “sugar” in the ingredients list. Other words that are sugar-type ingredients are corn syrup, glucose, fructose, sucrose which are all commonly found in ketchup.

 

 

Instant Oatmeal

Eating Oatmeal in theory sounds a great idea, but a serving of Quaker’s Flavored Instant Oatmeal can contain as much as 14 grams of sugar. If you must do instant, hunt for the natural or low sugar options.

 

Juice

 Although labels like “all natural” and “100 percent juice” sound healthy, it would be a wise choice to just ignore them. Despite the wholesome promise of such statements on the carton in big, bold print, a serving of Tropicana Pure Premium Smooth Style Orange Juice contains 4 table spoons per serving.