5 Healthy foods that are spiking your blood sugars

Supermarkets are oversaturated with products fighting for your attention, and you may be being misled without realising it. Clever packaging and marketing traps means many ultraprocessed foods are being labelled as ‘wellness staples’. Words like ‘low fat’, ‘light’ or ‘diet’ can be especially misleading and may actually secretly be foods that spike blood sugar and sabotage your metabolic goals.

Though not all these foods are automatically unhealthy, some of them may contain more rapidly available sugars or carbohydrates than you might expect. If you’re trying to manage your blood glucose levels, it’s time to look beyond the marketing and get the facts straight.

This article examines the common hidden sugars in ‘healthy’ foods and explores the top five health traps you may be falling into.

The 5 ‘healthy’ traps

1. Oat milk: Oats can be a healthy addition to a diet, as they’re high in soluble fibre, plant protein, and complex carbohydrates that release energy slowly. This is why we like to use whole rolled oats in recipes like our Carrot Cake Overnight Oats.However, the process of liquidising oats into a drink changes their structure and makes the carbohydrate more readily available, turning it into a food that spikes blood sugar. The oat starches breaking down into simple, free sugars therefore increases their glycemic response and potentially leads to energy crashes later on.

To avoid additional hidden sugars in healthy foods like oats, opt for dairy milk instead. If you’re lactose intolerant, go for a lactose-free dairy milk, or unsweetened almond milk for a vegan alternative with a lower impact on blood sugar levels.

2. Muesli bars and commercial granola: Granola and cereal bars can be convenient options that feel healthier than sugary cereal alternatives. However, ‘wholegrain’ packaging doesn’t necessarily mean low in sugar. Some products are packed with syrups and dried fruits, which are essentially hidden sugars in healthy foods, as well as high-carb fillers that lack protein and trigger afternoon slumps.

Instead, reach for convenient options like healthy protein bars, which offer protein and fibre to keep you fuller for longer, rather than just being a food that spikes your blood sugar.

3. ‘Light’ or ‘low-fat’ dressings: Due to common health myths you may think that low-fat dressings are the obvious choice when trying to eat well. However, there are beneficial kinds of fat that can actually aid a health journey, and opting for low-fat options rids a dressing of its benefits.

Low fat products often remove beneficial omega-3 fatty acids the body can’t produce on its own, as well as limiting the food’s potential for helping the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Additionally, removing healthy fats often inadvertently adds hidden sugars in healthy foods as manufacturers recreate the textures of higher-fat products by loading them up with harmful additives, starches, inflammatory seed oils and thickeners.

4. Flavoured ‘low-fat’ yogurts: Similarly to our previous point, another one of the foods that spike blood sugars in the ‘health’ aisle is flavoured low-fat yogurts. Yogurt can be a great high protein way to start your day, but the kind you buy matters. Unlike full-fat Greek yogurt, flavoured yogurts have often had the healthy fats stripped out of them and are packed with sugar contents that would rival some desserts.

Amongst the studies exploring the hidden sugars in healthy foods, one survey of 921 yogurt products sold in the UK found that 55% of low-fat yogurts contained between 10-20g of sugar per 100g.¹ Whereas Greek-style yogurts contained significantly less, with most of their sugar coming from naturally occurring lactose. This is why we use Greek yogurt as the basis for many of our breakfasts and desserts on The Fast 800 Programme.

5. Fruit juices and fruit smoothies: If you’re wanting to steer clear of foods that spike your blood sugar then eat your fruit, don’t drink it. Stripping away the fibre found in the cell walls of fruits sheds most of their nutritional benefits. Where fibre can help regulate blood sugars, fruit juices and smoothies can create a rapid hit of fructose straight to the liver.

If you fancy a smoothie try a protein shake instead, or if you’re craving fruit juice try a fibre blend drink. They’ll help satisfy cravings and provide a satiating beverage to enjoy on-the-go with added protein and fibre to keep you fuller for longer. Our range of shakes come in a variety of delicious flavours, and our Cloudy Apple Fibre Blend offers the same juicy, refreshing feeling with all the fibre that fruit juice misses out on.

For more information on foods that spike your blood sugar, and the hidden sugars in healthy foods, sign up for your 7-day free trial of The Fast 800 Programme here. There you’ll find helpful meal plans and delicious recipes that help to regulate your blood sugars, as well as guided exercise and mindfulness resources, an exclusive interactive Community and access to our on-hand health experts. Get practical support, without the confusion, all in one place today.