Resources to Quit Sugar
Sugar Quantity Quick Reference
It can be shocking to discover just how much sugar, fruit juice concentrate and HFCS is included in drinks, condiments, bread and more. Read the label. Check out the below charts for a quick reference to a very short list of common drinks and foods.
Drinks
| Drink | oz | Simple Carbs | % of RDV | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g | Tsps | Cal | ||||
| Coca-Cola | 12oz | 39g | 9.5tsps | 140cal | : 163% | : 108% |
| Pepsi-Cola | 12oz | 41g | 10tsps | 150cal | : 171% | : 114% |
| Orange Crush | 12oz | 43g | 10.2tsps | 195cal | : 179% | : 119% |
| Ocean Spray 100% Cranberry Juice* | 8oz | 36g | 8.6tsps | 140cal | : 150% | : 100% |
| Orange Juice | 8oz | 26g | 6.2tsps | 110cal | : 108% | : 72% |
*Claims no sugar added - uses fruit juice concentrates.
Since a large quantity of sugar comes in the form of soft drinks. Be sure to read the ingredients, beverage produces will advertize "No Sugar Added", most of the time this means they've used fruit juice or fruit juice concentrate instead of sugar. Please understand that this has all the same negative effects of sugar on our bodies.
Sauces
| Sauce | Tbs | Simple Carbs | % of RDV | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g | Tsps | Cal | ||||
| Trader Joe's Organic Ketchup | 1Tbs | 5g | 1.2tsps | 20cal | : 21% | : 14% |
| Stubb's Spicy BBQ Sauce | 2Tbs | 6g | 1.5tsps | 25cal | : 25% | : 17% |
| Sweet Baby Ray's Original Barbecue Sauce | 2Tbs | 17g | 4.1tsps | 70cal | : 71% | : 47% |
| Sky Valley Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce | 1Tbs | 1g | 0.25tsps | 5cal | : 4% | : 3% |
| Trader Joe's Organic Coconut Aminos | 1Tbs | 5g | 1.2tsps | 20cal | : 21% | : 14% |
As you can see, sauces vary wildly in their quantity of sugar. We have to read the labels if we want to know what we're consuming.
Foods
| Food | Qty | Simple Carbs | % of RDV | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g | Tsps | Cal | ||||
| Banana (medium) | 1 | 7.1g | 1.7tsps | 105cal | : 30% | : 20% |
| Strawberries | 1 cup | 4.1g | 0.9tsps | 49cal | : 17% | : 11% |
| Cherries | 30 | 12g | 2.9tsps | 150cal | : 50% | : 33% |
| Apples (medium) | 1 | 12.6g | 3tsps | 105cal | : 53% | : 35% |
| Zucchini | 1 cup | 3g | 0.72tsps | 29cal | : 13% | : 8% |
I hope these shed some light on how natural foods contain considerably less sugar than anything processed and packaged when you consider the satiating and nutritional quality. Comparing the natural sugars present in fruits or vegetables to processed sweeteners isn't fair as natural foods always have fiber and other useful nutritive enzymes, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and contribute to your health. The RDV is for added sugar, aka processed sweeteners, so it's not even relevant to fructose naturally found in fruit.
About our Recommended Daily Value (RDV)
Our tables calculating the % of RDV are based on a maximum of 36g per man and 24g per woman. These numbers are in accordance with the AMA, AHA, and CDC for added sugars.