As I mentioned in a previous article the average American adult and child consumes approximately ¾ lb. of sugar daily which equals 5 pounds of sugar a week! And then we wonder why we have such a problem keeping our weight at a normal level.

I am going to teach you another great way to become a “Nutrition Detective” through making comparisons between labels on difference food products. Once you learn this simple “Sugar Tip” you won’t be able to be ‘fooled’ any longer by confusing conversions and trying to figure out just how much sugar is contained in a serving and in the entire contents of the products you buy.

“Sugar Secret Tip”

Answer this question: do you know how many grams it takes to equal a teaspoon of sugar? I had no idea until I went to a Juice Plus+® Health Lecture years ago and Judy Stickler, a RN from California, gave me this clue. She told us that 4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon. Learning this information caused me to become a smart Nutrition Detective. Today no one can trick me anymore about the hidden sugars in the foods I eat because I religiously check the label contents of the foods I buy.

For example, what if the Nutrition Facts Chart (food label) on a can of fruit cocktail said 23 grams of sugar, and the can contained two servings of ½ cup each (1 cup total). Do you know how many teaspoons of sugar are in that can? What if the Nutrition Facts Chart on a 20 oz. bottle of soda said 27 grams of sugar and it contained 2 ½ servings? Do you know how many teaspoons of sugar are in that bottle of soda?

Well, guess what? No one can trick you any more because you now know the hottest “Sugar Secret Tip” on planet Earth. All you have to do is divide the number of sugar grams by 4 to find out how many teaspoons it contains per serving. Why? Because 4 grams of sugar equals one teaspoon, so remember the number 4. See below.

• Fruit Cocktail: Twenty-three grams of sugar divided by 4, equals 5.75 grams of sugar in one serving which is a 1/2 cup. But what if you ate the whole can? You would need to double the sugar count (5.75 grams times 2 equals 11.5 teaspoons of sugar) in the whole can.
• 20 oz. bottle of soda: Twenty-seven grams divided by 4 equals 6.75 teaspoons of sugar per serving. But I bet you drink the entire bottle. If you do, then you need to take 6.75 grams times 2.5 servings, which equals 16.88 teaspoons of sugar in that bottle. WOW!

Let me ask you another question. Would you take a 20 oz. glass of plain water and put 16.88 teaspoons of sugar in it and drink it? That is what you are doing to yourself if you drank that soda.

Another reason not to eat sugar is it has NO nutritional value and it causes you to crave even more sugar, even if it is ‘artificial’ sugar and has no calories. Perhaps it would be a good thing for you to consider cutting down, or better yet, eliminate all sweetened drinks. In addition, sugar (even as little as 2 teaspoons) can cause the body’s micronutrients to change radically, throwing your blood chemistry out of balance.

So from this moment forward, make sure you check the food items that you’re simply throwing into your shopping cart and make sure you check the Nutrition Facts Chart and divide the number of sugar grams by 4 to find out how many teaspoons of sugar you are eating. And, just as important, don’t forget to check how many servings are in that food item too. Remember: by becoming a smart Nutrition Detective, every sugar calorie you save will add up in lost pounds and inches around your waist and hips at the end of the month.

There are a lot of great websites that can teach you how to read the Nutrition Fact Chart on all food items. Learning how to read food labels will change the way you shop and eat, and you will soon be the slim and trim person you have always wanted to be.