How Much Sugar Is In That?

The sweet stuff—both natural and added—lurks everywhere. See how sugar savvy you are.

March 27, 2013
This is your body on fructose

Americans eat a lot of sugar. And we mean a lot of sugar—on average, about 130 pounds a year. To put that in perspective: In boxing, that's the same weight as a junior lightweight—a whole person...with muscles. (Get your sugar cravings under control and lose weight while still enjoying the sweets you love with Sugar Smart Express.)

So what's the big deal?

Here's what's supposed to happen when you eat: Your stomach produces a hormone called ghrelin to signal your brain that you're hungry. As you start eating, your pancreas releases another hormone called insulin, which enables your body to store glucose (which you get from food) as fat. Finally, in response to the insulin, your fat cells send out a third hormone, leptin, which travels to your brain to tell it to decrease your appetite. When everything works, you're unlikely to overeat, and you can burn energy properly.

Here's what happens if you eat too much sugar (which Dr. Lustig considers more than 200 calories worth of added sugar): The subsequent insulin rise can make you put on weight. But, according to endocrinologist Robert Lustig, MD, large amounts of fructose are what really wreak havoc on your system. Although both glucose and fructose are types of sugar, fructose doesn't stimulate the pancreas to release insulin the way glucose does, and it doesn't cause ghrelin levels to drop or leptin levels to rise, so your body doesn't know when it's had enough. Without those internal controls, you're liable to gain weight.

Regularly consuming lots of fructose also causes your liver to accumulate fat, which makes it resistant to insulin. To compensate, your pancreas has to release more and more insulin, until finally this large, overworked gland burns out, sugar collects in your blood, and you have type 2 diabetes. What's more, the strain on your liver can lead to high blood pressure, lipid buildup, heart disease, and more abdominal ("bad") fat.

Finally, fructose may also reduce your enjoyment of food. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter, signals pleasure, and new studies show that if you eat too much fructose, you tamp down your dopamine receptors so that it takes more and more fructose to feel pleasure. That's how sugar can easily become an addiction, which is why it's so hard to give up.

Your first step? Knowing how much sugar you're really eating. Here's what's lurking in 20 everyday foods...

Chocolate milkshake

Size: 10.6 oz (small)

Sugar: 62 grams

White chocolate candy

Size: 1/2 c

Sugar: 50 grams


Size: 1/2 c

Sugar: 43 grams

Gummy worms

Size: 10 worms

Sugar: 43 grams

Fruited yogurt

Size: 8 oz

Sugar: 43 grams

Milky Way candy bar

Size: 1 bar

Sugar: 36 grams

Grape juice (unsweetened)

Size: 1 c

Unsweetened: 35 grams

Coke or Sprite

Size: 12 oz can

Sugar: 33 grams

Pina colada

Size: 4.5 oz

Sugar: 31.5 grams

Orange juice (unsweetened)

Size: 1 c

Sugar: 20 grams

Applesauce (sweetened)

Size: 1/2 c

Sugar: 19 grams

Vanilla pudding

Size: 1/2 c

Sugar: 19 grams

Sweet-and-sour chicken (frozen entrée)

Size: 1 entrée 

Sugar: 16 grams

Blueberry muffins

Size: 1 muffin

Sugar: 15.5 grams

More from Prevention: 10 Crazy Ways To Sweeten Without Sugar


Size: 1/2 c

Sugar: 13 grams

Carrot juice (unsweetened)

Size: 1 c

Sugar: 9 grams


Size: 1/2 c

Sugar: 9 grams

Fast-food double cheeseburger on bun

Size: 1 double cheeseburger

Sugar: 9 grams

Plain cake doughnut

Size: 1 donut

Sugar: 8 grams

Spaghetti sauce

Size: 1/2 c

Sugar: 7 grams

More from Prevention: The Quest To Get A Sweets-Loving Family Off Sugar