Just How Much Sugar Are You Eating Anyway?

Your cereal could contain up to 50% sugar.

Believe it or not, the average person consumes 115 to 160 pounds of sugar per year! And according to a recent study, kids today eat as much as 45 teaspoons a day! How is it possible to eat that much sugar?

Because it’s in almost everything you eat . . . including foods that are NOT sweet. That’s right. Open your food pantry and pull out the peanut butter, pasta sauces, canned vegetables, boxed dinners . . . even table salt! All of these have sugar and not because it’s required but rather because the food companies know you’re addicted to it. And the more addicted you become to sugar, the more likely it is that you’ll reach for their product.

Far-fetched? Not at all . . . here are some surprising sugar facts . . .

• A small bottle of orange juice has 10.5 teaspoons of sugar.
• Up to 50% of the ingredients of breakfast cereals are made up of sugar.
• An innocent bowl of tomato soup can contain 8 teaspoons of sugar.
• A 2/3 cup of fruit-flavored yogurt is loaded with 7 teaspoons of sugar. Other sugar-containing foods include white flour, commercial vegetables oils, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetables oils, MSG, and canned and bottled juice.

By the way, do you know how much sugar health authorities recommend as an absolute maximum limit per day? Only 10 teaspoons. (There goes that daily cup of orange juice.)

When you’re done, you’ll probably be looking at a very bare cupboard. And that’s good. Because it’s time to turn the ship around and sail for healthier shores. It’s time to give your body the food it was designed to thrive on.