31 Foods That Have More Sugar Than a Doughnut

The American Heart Association and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend limiting your daily added sugar intake to nine teaspoons (38 grams) for men and six teaspoons (25 grams) for women. I strongly recommend limiting your daily fructose intake to 25 grams or less from all sources, including natural sources such as fruit — regardless of whether you’re male or female. That equates to just over six teaspoons of total sugar a day. The average American, however, consumes about 20 teaspoons of added sugar a day, which is more than three times my recommended amount. There’s simply no doubt that the overconsumption of sugar is fueling the obesity and chronic disease epidemics we’re currently struggling with, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s. Most people are aware that sugar is present (in abundance) in sweet processed foods like doughnuts, cakes, and candy. Yet, many are unaware of just how much sugar they’re consuming, as it’s oftentimes hidden under other less familiar names, such as dextrose, maltose, galactose, and maltodextrin, and found in foods you wouldn’t necessarily expect. According to SugarScience.org, added sugars hide in 74 percent of processed foods under more than 60 different names! So, needless to say, if you eat processed foods then consuming more than the recommended daily amount of sugar is far easier than you might think. 31 Foods with More Sugar Than a Doughnut: Doughnuts are one of the worst foods you can eat, and they’re also one of the most sugar-laden. So they serve as a good barometer of sugar content. If the food you’re eating contains more sugar than a doughnut, it’s probably not doing your health any favors. There’s more to a food’s nutritive value than its sugar content alone (so eating a piece of whole fruit with 10 grams of sugar is going to offer you far more value than a doughnut with 10 grams), but the point is that even some “healthy-sounding” foods are too high in sugar to actually be healthy. Krispy Kreme's original glazed doughnut contains 10 grams of sugar. Take Part, Business Insider, BuzzFeed, and Mother Jones compiled 31 foods that have more sugar than this, some of which may surprise you. 1. Chili’s Caribbean Chicken Salad with Grilled Chicken = almost 7 doughnuts (67 grams of sugar) 2. Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino = 6 doughnuts (64 grams of sugar) 3. Jamba Juice Banana Berry Smoothie, small = 6 doughnuts (60 grams of sugar) 4. Odwalla Superfood Smoothie, 15.2 ounces = 5 doughnuts (50 grams of sugar) 5. Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcake = 4.5 doughnuts (45 grams of sugar) 6. California Pizza Kitchen Thai Chicken Salad = 4.5 doughnuts (45 grams of sugar) 7. Kraft French Style Fat Free Dressing = 4 doughnuts (42 grams of sugar) 8. Dunkin’ Donuts Reduced-Fat Blueberry Muffin = 4 doughnuts (40 grams of sugar 9. Snapple Peach Tea = 4 doughnuts (39 grams of sugar) 10. Burger King Chicken, Apple, and Cranberry Garden Fresh Salad = 4 doughnuts (38 grams of sugar) 11. Craisins Dried Cranberries (1.75 ounces) = 3 doughnuts (34 grams of sugar) 12. Vitamin Water, 20 ounces = 3 doughnuts (33 grams of sugar) 13. Naked Pomegranate Blueberry Juice = 3 doughnuts (32 grams of sugar) 14. McDonald’s Fruit and Maple Oatmeal = 3 doughnuts (32 grams of sugar) 15. IHOP Whole Wheat Pancakes with Banana, 4 pancakes, no syrup = 3 doughnuts (32 grams of sugar) 16. Pom Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice, 8 ounces = 3 doughnuts (31 grams of sugar) 17. Starbucks Greek Yogurt and Honey Parfait = 3 doughnuts (30 grams of sugar) 18. Starbucks Blueberry Muffin = 3 doughnuts (29 grams of sugar) 19. Stonyfield Fat Free Blackberry Blend Yogurt = 3 doughnuts (28 grams of sugar) 20. Can of Coca-Cola = 2.5 doughnuts (26.4 grams of sugar) 21. Yoplait Blackberry Harvest Yogurt = 2.5 doughnuts (26 grams of sugar) 22. Tropicana Orange Juice, 8 ounces = 2 doughnuts (22 grams of sugar) 23. Nutella Spread, 2 tablespoons = 2 doughnuts (21 grams of sugar) 24. Campbell’s Classic Tomato Soup on the Go = 2 doughnuts (20 grams of sugar) 25. Dole Mixed Fruit Cup = 1.5 doughnuts (17 grams of sugar) 26. Subway 6" Sweet Onion Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich = 1.5 doughnuts (17 grams of sugar) 27. Motts Applesauce (one cup) = 1.5 doughnuts (16 grams of sugar) 28. Nature Valley Chewy Trail Mix Fruit and Nut Granola Bar = 1 doughnut (13 grams of sugar) 29. Kellogg’s Froot Loops = 1 doughnut (12 grams of sugar) 30. Prego Fresh Mushroom Italian Spaghetti Sauce = 1 doughnut (11 grams of sugar) 31. Luna Bar = 1 doughnut (11 grams of sugar) Source: mercola, 5/18/16.