You flick on the TV only to be bombarded with a barrage of advertisements for so called “healthy” choices. Chief among them are these foods which may be promoted as healthy but in reality are loaded with sugar and keep you stuck in the throes of sugar addiction. If you’re ready to kick sugar to the curb then start ditching these toxic health foods.

1. Fruit juice

Juice is terrible because it contains no fibre so even if it’s 100% juice with no added sugar, the reality is that fruit sugar is still sugar. It still causes your blood sugar to spike dramatically and it’s just as addicting and bad for you as pop or kool-aid.

2. Dried Fruit

Dried fruit is okay in moderation, or when eaten with some nuts and seeds for protein. If you find yourself popping a date in your mouth every time you get a sugar craving and thinking it’s healthy, think again. Dried fruit is like nature’s candy.

3. Pasta Sauce

Store-bought pasta sauce has a ridiculous amount of added sugar. Prego traditional spaghetti sauce has 40g of added sugar! Always read your labels, or better yet, make your own tomato sauce so you know EXACTLY what’s in there.

4. Bread

Ah bread! People like to pretend that they’ve cut sugar yet they’re still eating bread. Bread turns into sugar in the body. Add to that the inflammatory effects of gluten and bread becomes a ticking time bomb for illness to ensue.

5. Noodles

Both pasta and rice noodles are pure refined carbohydrates, which like bread, turn into sugar once they break down in your body. They may be fun to slurp, but you can make noodles from vegetables that are just as tasty and won’t spike your blood sugar.

6. Instant oatmeal

Instant oatmeal may seem like a quick and healthy breakfast, and it sure is convenient. But unfortunately just one serving of this stuff can pack as much as 15g of sugar! Opt for making your own oats, check out this recipe for sugar-free overnight oats.

7. Smoothies

Smoothies can be really healthy and delicious, but the ones you get from Orange Julius, Naked, Odwalla or those premade store-bought smoothies are a far cry from a health food. They want to make smoothies approachable for most people and thus they make them super sweet and tasty. Because most people aren’t too open to trying a green smoothie (not like you, you cool cat).

8. Yogurt

Yogurt has got to be the worst on the list. Especially because it’s promoted as this great healthy food but most of the time flavored yogurt is FULL of junky additives including high-fructose corn syrup as a sweetener. If you want to eat yogurt, buy it plain and sweeten it with some berries or mashed banana.

9. Granola

Like oatmeal, pre-made granola is riddled with added sugar and dried fruit which only makes matters worse. Eating granola for breakfast is like having a big old cookie with your coffee.

10. Protein bars

Protein bars are either full of added sugar or contain toxic sugar substitutes like aspartame. Read protein bar labels very carefully, even the popular cliff bar contains a whopping 22g of sugar per bar!

Want even more great tips to help you lose weight, improve your digestion, increase your energy and end your sugar addiction once and for all?

Then grab my free “10 Ways To Have More Energy” Guide here!

To your wellness,

Rachael Alexander