Which has more sugar - soda or fruit juice?

In the midst of planning and preparing a healthy, delicious meal I discovered my newest obsession: FOOD LABELS. I now read food labels (Nutrition Facts and ingredients lists) like I read books.

It's like I'm on a scavenger hunt in search of hidden / added sugars in beverages. "No Added Sugars" listed on food labels can be a misleading claim, and not the same thing as saying "no sugar." Companies take real fruit, concentrate it into pulp or puree, and then use it to sweeten beverages. Because it comes from fruit, food labeling laws allow the sweetener to be called natural, and the claim "no added sugars" is permissible, even though the fruit is basically processed into sugar or syrup.

Here are 4 tips to help you think before you drink:

1. Read the Nutrition Facts: If Added Sugars are listed, look at the number of grams in one serving size.

2. Check the Ingredients List: If Added Sugars are not listed in the Nutrition Facts or if the beverage label says "no added sugars," then look at the list of ingredients. If you see fruit pulp, concentrate or puree, there's sugar in your drink!

3. Visualize the number of teaspoons of sugar you're about to drink: Convert the grams listed in the Nutrition Facts panel by dividing grams by 4 to get the number of teaspoons of added sugars.

4. Limit sugar consumption to a maximum of 12 teaspoons per day or less (per World Health Organization guidelines). Natural sugars from whole fruits and whole vegetables do not count as part of the 12 teaspoons per day limit.

So, what has more sugar: soda or fruit juice? CLICK HERE to grab your ADDED SUGAR CONTENT IN BEVERAGES freebie to find out. You'll love it! 

Be well,