I got the sugar blues

This week I went to a class at Whole Foods Market in Mason about the effects of sugar on the body. It was about an hour long and I learned some new things. One of the most simple, but interesting, is how some food products can lead you to think they have less sugar than they really do.

If you're a label reader, like me, you know ingredients are listed in the order of the amount is makes up of the product. For instance if water, or granola, or sugar is listed first, that means that ingredient is the most used in the product. Ingredients are listed in descending order of the use, with the last one being the least used. But what can happen in some foods is that different types of sugars are listed separately in the ingredients list making it appear that there is less total sugar in a product than there really is.

There are lots of names for added sugars including corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, maltose, dextrose, sucrose, honey, and maple syrup.

So what's the big deal about sugar? Too much sugar can contribute to obesity, tooth decay, heart disease, poor nutrition and more.

Keep this in mind as your watching your sugar intake. The average American gets more than 22 teaspoons of added sugar each day. But the American Heart Association recommends six teaspoons a day for women and nine for men. And one gram of sugar equals about 4 teaspoons. A 12 oz. serving of regular soda has 37-46 grams of sugar!!!

So it's not easy to keep sugar counts low, but it's something to shoot for! Find the sugar counts in more drinks here.

Watch out for those "healthy" yogurts

As far as I know, there aren't yogurts out there that are "bad" for you, but some are more nutritionally sound than others. I have a few that I really like, and I'm on the Greek yogurt kick now. There are some that I have decided to stop eating because of their high added sugar content.

Take a look at the yogurt you are eating, how many grams of sugar does it contain per serving? Does it have added sugars? A lot of low-fat and light yogurts have added sugars in them to make them taste better. Also look for higher protein and fiber content. Anything with more fiber and more protein will stick with you longer and keep you from getting so hungry in between meals. If you're counting calories, keep in mind that those with fruit and honey will have more sugar and calories, even if they are natural ones, so keep an eye out!

Some people don't like the taste of Greek yogurts, and there are some absolutely yucky tasting ones out there in my opinion. I suggest if you want to try something more nutritionally sound, try out a few, at different price points, and find what tastes suit you best. I have two or three I like and when one of them goes on sale, that's what I go with that week! Nutritious and frugal; that's a good combo if I do say so myself!

What kind of yogurts do you like? Share! My very favorite is Fage, followed by Oikos. I also like the Athenos brand. A tasty store brand is the carbmaster Kroger yogurt.