It happens all the time that people cut out dessert and soft drinks and think, Okay, I’ve got this sugar thing solved. But then all day they’re eating things that have what we call hidden sugars. These are things that aren’t dessert and don’t always immediately seem sweet but can be packed with added sugars. Don’t just blindly accept foods because they seem healthy or natural or are attached to wellness-y buzzwords. (Fat-free and gluten-free foods are common culprits, because food producers make up for the change in taste by adding sugar.) Education is important here—know which foods to look out for and read labels before you buy.

There are countless words that would indicate added processed sugar, and there are dozens and dozens of different forms of sweeteners that are added to foods, including sucrose, dextrose, corn syrup, and brown rice syrup.

Here are some of the main culprits: Cereals and energy drinks are absolutely crammed with sugar. Dried fruits are a source many people don’t suspect either. Certain salads, like coleslaws and most cucumber salads, are loaded with it, too. Cereal, granola, granola bars, and instant oatmeal packets are just crazy. Soups, jerky, pasta sauces, BBQ sauces, and salad dressings—astounding. Even things like French fries and sushi rice, which most of us would never expect to have sugar.

And coffees. Some of them are decadent and obvious—mocha frappuccinos or gingerbread lattes and the like. On the other hand, you could be ordering a regular coffee with an alternative milk, and it’s not guaranteed that it’s the unsweetened kind. You usually don’t have any information available to you on how much sugar is in whatever your coffee shop is using. (If you’re buying an alt milk at the store, go for the unsweetened kind. Otherwise, you’re often better off, sugar-wise, with regular milk.)

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