I have ditched sweets -- obvious sweets like cookies, candy, ice cream, doughnuts, my favorite brownies. There's just no question they're loaded with refined sugar. And I don't want any part of it.

What about foods not so apparently doused with tiny white granules?

Foods with hidden amounts of refined sugar are dangerous because we don't recognize some of them as sugary. We may mistakenly believe they are healthy enough, and then overdo it when we consume these items.
For comparison sake, let's consider some definite sugar-laden treats. Think in terms of teaspoons here -- actually picture a teaspoon from your silverware drawer so you can truly appreciate these totals.

A four-ounce slice of chocolate cake with icing has 10 teaspoons of refined sugar. A five-ounce slice of pecan pie has 12, an 11-ounce thick shake has nine, and your average two-ounce chocolate bar has seven. Not shocking.

Here's what surprises me -- 16 ounces of cola contains 12 teaspoons of refined sugar -- much higher than I would have guessed considering a glazed doughnut has six. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich has five to seven teaspoons. Eight ounces of fruit yogurt has eight, and an eight-ounce glass of chocolate milk or sweetened Kool-Aid has six.

The next time you grab something to eat, check out the sugar content. It will likely be listed in grams -- one gram = .2 teaspoons -- but with a little math, you can make the conversion. If you are not very math savvy like me, try to eat foods with less than five grams of sugar. This will keep you at about one teaspoon. It will keep you on a path toward good health too.

Thank you Canyon Ranch for this insight.