7 hidden sources of sugar to hunt down

Your sweet tooth isn't making you any healthier, but you can keep it in check. The advice below will help you get your sugar consumption down to healthy levels.

Canada is drowning in sugar. And it is getting worse. Although not all of us take sugar in our coffee, and we sprinkle less on our cereals, we are actually consuming more, hidden away in processed foods, leading to weight problems and obesity.

Even worse, as sugary foods often replace more healthy foods, nutrition experts say the influx of sweets indirectly contributes to diseases such as osteoporosis, heart disease and cancer.

Choose sugar-free and reduced-sugar alternatives to foods such as baked beans, ketchup and cereals, when available.

The only way to know if the processed food you're buying contains sugar is to know its many aliases or other forms. Here are the common ones:

• Brown sugar, corn syrup, dextrin, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, high-fructose corn syrup, galactose, glucose, honey, hydrogenated starch, invert sugar, maltose, lactose, mannitol, maple syrup, molasses, polyols, raw sugar, sorghum, sucrose or turbinado sugar.

• Cough syrups, chewing gum, mints, tomato sauce, baked beans and cold meats often contain sugar.
• Even some prescription medicines contain sugar.
• For a week, be particularly vigilant and scan every possible food label. Make a mental note of what you discover.

Many are full of sugar. You want one with less than eight grams of sugar per serving or, preferably, one that is unsweetened altogether. Use diced fruit instead to sweeten your cereal.

5. Are you too busy to eat? When you go without breakfast, lunch or dinner, your blood sugar levels drop, and that propels you towards high-sugar (often convenience) foods to quell your cravings.

Have you ever stopped to think about the sugar quotient of a cosmopolitan? How about a margarita or mai tai?

• Drink mixers and many alcoholic beverages are absolutely thick with sugar.
• Stick with beer, wine or, if you prefer spirits, mix them only with unsweetened soda water or drink them straight.
• Of course, a glass of soda water with lime will also do just fine.

• Studies find that many sweet foods, such as doughnuts, muffins, ice cream and so on, are also high in fat, more than doubling the calorie load.
• When you do indulge in sweet foods, choose fat-free options, so you get the full flavour of a favourite food with none of the calories from the added fat.
• Understand that fat-free does not mean sugar free!