Many of us are eating at least three desserts everyday, but we don’t even realize it. The average American currently consumes fifty-seven pounds of sugar in one year, which is roughly seventeen teaspoons per day. Compare this sugar intake to an average consumption of two pounds per year, two-hundred years ago. Our bodies are simply not built to have the ability to synthesize the amount of sugar that is commonly use today, resulting in a surge of type II diabetes, heart disease, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

You may be thinking it’s extreme to state that the average person consumes the equivalent of three desserts per day. While candies, cakes, cookies, and ice cream are obvious examples of sugar culprits, due to the sugar industry exceeding 100 billion dollars in recent years, sweeteners are added to the majority of our foods. The industry is so profitable they must defend and downplay the effects of sugar as shown by statements on their own website such as “Sugar is simple, amazingly functional and it’s part of a balanced diet.” And yes, sugar can be consumed in true moderation but when you have a 100-billion dollar industry whose primary interest is profits, our food supply ends up being plagued with a highly unbalanced proportion of sugary products, making it virtually impossible to escape its presence. It’s no surprise our society’s health is on the decline when this money-fueled product is the primary culprit for a host of preventable diseases, and since sugar triggers the same responses in the body as some narcotics, it puts us at high risk for long-term addiction.

To give you more clarity about how big this sugar business is, manufacturers add sugar to seventy-four percent of all of our packaged foods. So even if you tend to skip the traditional dessert foods, you are still (likely) getting far more than the recommended daily intake. An added concern, our society labels many of these sugar-laden foods as healthy which blindly leads the masses down a path of weight gain and sugar-related diseases. How many times have you seen the “heart-healthy” selections on a restaurant menu or the “fit breakfast” at a wellness-based hotel? Let’s examine one of these typical meals which many of us choose to make an attempt to start the day off on the right foot.

Heart-Healthy Fit Breakfast Menu

Small plain croissant

Small Fruit, Yogurt, Granola Parfait

Orange Juice

Heart healthy breakfasts are typically classified by one characteristic and that is being low in fat, meaning less than three grams of fat per 100 calories. No other considerations are explored so we end up with recommended “healthy” fare that has exponential amounts of sugar, and that sugar, if not burned, will turn into fat. The above-listed meal has only 490 calories which is very moderate, however, it contains 85 grams of high-glycemic carbohydrates and 55 grams of sugar! It is recommended that a full day's worth of food should have more than 25 grams of sugar for women and 37 grams for men, so this one small breakfast blows those numbers out of the water. You can only imagine what the full day of sugars will add up to be after starting the day with this meal.

Of course, this is just one example of one breakfast, so let's have a look at some other sugar-filled foods that are touted has "healthy choices" in many nutrition circles. Below you will find ten of the most sugar-filled foods that may just surprise you!

1. Health Choice Café Steamers Sweet and Sour Chicken frozen meal: this low-calorie packaged entrée has 65 grams of carbs and 22 grams of sugar.

2. Kiwi Strawberry Vitamin Water: Just one 20-ounce bottle has 33 grams of carbs and 22 grams of sugar.

3. Spaghetti Sauce; !/2 cup has 13 grams of carbs and 12 grams of sugar.

4. Nature's Baker Fig Strawberry Bar: One package (two small bars) has 38 grams of carbs and 20 grams of sugar.

5. Kellogs Honey Smacks Cereal: 3/4 cup has 25 grams of carbs and 16 grams of sugar, and adding one cup of milk will almost double the sugar content.

6. Yoplait Thick and Creamy Peaches and Cream: One small serving has 31 grams of carbs and 28 grams of sugar--that's more than many ice creams.

7. BBQ Sauce: Just two tablespoons has 17 grams of carbs and 15 grams of sugar.

8. Orange Juice: one cup has 24 grams of carbs and 22 grams of sugar.

9. Nature Valley Protein Cranberry Almond Crunch Granola: 1/2 cup has 31 grams of carbs and 14 grams of sugar--add that to the yogurt and double whammy!

10. Gold Peak Salted Caramel Cold Brew Coffee: One 15-ounce bottle has a whopping 55 grams of carbos and 53 grams of sugar!

At Doctor's Best Weight Loss, we realize that a sugar habit is hard to kick because, as you can see, we are surrounded by it! Check out our sweet-tasting snacks that won't sabotage your waistline or blood sugar levels here!