At least not by sugar alone! If you are trying to cut sugar from your intake be sure to consider the difference of added sugar versus natural sugar. Read your ingredients do not just read the grams of sugar.
Yes fruit contains sugar but many other nutrients as well. Take a pomegranate (currently in season) for example, it has 12g of sugar. This might lead you to dismiss it. Don’t. It is also a good source of fiber (3.5g) and contains antioxidants, vitamin C, K, B6 and high in antioxidants.
Compare the pomegranate to another snack such as a pumpkin muffin (a favorite seasonal item) contains 53g of sugar from local bakeries (less if homemade). This sugar is added. While pumpkin by itself has 3.2g of sugar it does also contain a lot of beneficial nutrients such as vitamin A, C, B6, potassium, iron, calcium and magnesium. The rest of the sugar in the muffin is added.
When making decisions about your nutrition intake do not exclude foods based on one nutrient. Carbohydrate, protein and fat are all needed for our bodies to function at their best. Test your Sugar knowledge:
- Which food has more sugar?
- Stuffing (1 cup) vs. Whole Wheat Dinner Roll
- Tomato Juice (1 cup) vs. Clementine
- Butternut Squash (1 cup) vs. Green Bean Casserole (1 cup)
Answers: 1. whole wheat dinner roll 2. tomato juice 3. green bean casserole
All foods fit!
