Flavored Yogurt Cups Pack a Sweet Punch
Here’s where breakfast gets tricky. While yogurt sounds healthy, some flavored yogurts are mega added sugar bombs. Some even have as much as 24 grams of sugar per half cup. That’s almost as much as the 27 grams of sugar in a regular-sized Snickers bar.
The problem isn’t just the fruit – it’s all the extra sweeteners manufacturers sneak in. Turns out, fruit-flavored yogurts are sweetened with more than just fruit. Shapiro’s thoughts: “I’m not a fan of the fruit-flavored yogurts, because they do have a ton of added sugar. What looks like a healthy breakfast choice might actually be sabotaging your morning before it even begins.
Breakfast Cereals Hide Their True Identity
Remember those colorful boxes promising a nutritious start to your day? Think again. About 70 percent of Americans eat cereal, with the majority having it every single week, according to a recent CivicScience report. Cereal remains a breakfast and snack staple in most households, so it’s that much more important to choose a box that serves your nutritional needs. Yet, many popular cereals on grocery store shelves are comparable to candy with the amount of sugar they pack.
Many of these cereals will have 10 to 14 grams of “added sugar” per serving, and some will have more. The worst part? Breakfast cereals in the U.S. now contain more sugar, fat and salt, while key nutrients like protein and fiber are on the decline, according to research published May 21 in JAMA Network Open. Even cereals marketed as healthy options can pack a sugary surprise that rivals your favorite candy bar.
Granola: The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Granola has fooled us all with its wholesome appearance. Check the nutrition label and you may see as many as 200-plus calories in a tiny ⅓-cup serving—along with lots of added sugars and saturated fat. While the testing confirmed that a few of them resemble a dessert more than a breakfast cereal, we also found better options.
While we could have easily put granola cereals or protein bars in this entry, it’s granola bars that may just be the most popular and misleading. Often advertised as healthy choices due to their fruit and fibre, they can also contain huge helpings of sugar, depending on the brand. A peanut butter Nature Valley bar packs in 11 grams of sugar, about the same as a chocolate-coated Quaker Chewy Dipps Bar, which clocks in at 12 grams. That’s almost reaching the sugar levels of a Snickers bar while masquerading as health food.
Smoothie Bowls: Dessert in Disguise
Sure, it has all kinds of “superfoods,” but this bowl is essentially just a smoothie with seeds and granola on top. “I tell people to steer clear of anything with more than 15 grams sugar per serving,” Middleberg says. Many smoothie bowls at popular chains easily exceed this recommendation.
Smoothies can be a great source of whole fruit, but this is is just crazy: Many small fruit smoothies sold at chains around the country have around 50 grams of sugar, which is a lot whether it’s added or natural. Same goes for bottled smoothies—and both are often mixed with juice, which packs all the sugar of fruit without the fiber, and extra sweeteners. You’re basically starting your day with liquid candy topped with more sugar.
Muffins: Cupcakes Without the Frosting
That blueberry muffin from your favorite coffee shop? It’s basically a cupcake without the frosting. But if you’re grabbing a reduced-fat blueberry muffin at Dunkin Donuts, buyer beware: the fat grams might rank 25 percent lower than a regular blueberry muffin, but you’re still going to consume 39 grams of sugar with that breakfast which is going to leave you scrambling for a sugar fix from the vending machine mid-morning.
Part of the issue is the size: Muffins have gotten huge. What used to be a reasonable portion has morphed into a calorie and sugar bomb that exceeds a Snickers bar by a significant margin. You might as well be eating cake for breakfast – because essentially, that’s what you’re doing.
Instant Oatmeal Packets Tell a Sweet Lie
Oats are healthy, right? Not when they come in those convenient flavored packets. Beyond that, James warns against store-bought oatmeal itself. “Most people are having ‘quick oats,’ which are more processed and have less than 2 grams of fiber per serving. People think oats are healthy, but they’re pretty much a morning sugar bomb.”
A package of Quaker Real Medleys Oatmeal Apple Walnut contains a whopping 32 grams of sugar. That’s more sugar than a Snickers bar hidden in what most people consider a healthy breakfast choice. The convenience comes at a cost – your blood sugar stability and energy levels throughout the morning.
Pancakes: Stack Up the Sugar
Weekend pancake breakfasts might be a family tradition, but they’re also sugar disasters waiting to happen. Let this sink in: Two typical plain pancakes you might get at a diner (we looked at offerings from IHOP) have 22 grams of sugar—that’s almost as much sugar as three delicious mini Snickers bars. And after you add your syrup (which you know you’re going to) that sugar count is going to get even higher.
The fluffy, innocent-looking stack on your plate is basically a sugar delivery system. Before you even pour that maple syrup, you’re already close to matching a candy bar. Add the syrup, and you’ve blown past it completely. No wonder you feel sluggish by mid-morning after this seemingly wholesome breakfast.
Store-Bought Smoothies: Liquid Sugar Bombs
Those convenient bottled smoothies in the refrigerated section seem like healthy choices, but they’re often worse than eating candy. Where the sugar comes from: bananas, nonfat frozen yogurt (ingredient list unavailable), blueberries, raspberry sherbert (ingredient list unavailable) Sure, you’re slurping some fruit, but you’re also slurping the equivalent of about 15 teaspoons of sugar. “Smoothies are dangerous because they often have things mixed in, like syrups or frozen yogurt, that just add more sugar,” says Shapiro, who isn’t a big fan of smoothies and suggests just eating fresh fruit instead.
The problem with these liquid sugar bombs is that your body processes them like soda, not like whole fruit. You get all the sugar without the fiber that would normally slow absorption, leading to blood sugar spikes that make you crave more sugar throughout the day.
Breakfast Bars: Candy Bars in Disguise
Those protein and energy bars marketed for breakfast? They’re often just candy bars with better marketing. Often, protein bars are more like candy bars if comparing sugar content to sugar content. For example, a Snickers bar has 28 grams of sugar, with 26 grams coming from added sugars. Several energy bars on the market have equally high sugar content.
The cruel irony is that these bars are positioned as healthy alternatives to traditional breakfast foods, but they’re delivering just as much sugar as the candy they’re supposed to replace. You think you’re making a smart choice by grabbing a breakfast bar instead of donuts, but nutritionally, you might as well have grabbed the donut.
Flavored Coffee Creamers Add Hidden Sweetness
That splash of flavored creamer in your morning coffee might seem harmless, but it’s quietly sabotaging your sugar intake before your day even begins. Coffee creamers may include sneaky sugar sources, usually in the format of cane sugar or syrups. For example, a vanilla coffee creamer contains around 5 grams of added sugar per tablespoon. This can add up quickly if you aren’t careful how much creamer you add to your morning coffee. You may find you’re already starting your day with upwards of 10-15 grams of added sugars.
Most people use way more than one tablespoon of creamer, especially in large coffee cups. If you’re using three or four tablespoons in your morning joe, you’re getting close to the sugar content of a Snickers bar before you even eat anything. It’s the sneakiest sugar source because it seems so minor compared to food, but those tablespoons add up fast.
