14. Ketchup
Ahh ketchup, or you might call it tomato sauce. Either way, it’s the mainstay of the condiment shelf in fridges up and down the country. We use it on everything from a dip for chips and pizza crusts to smothering our sausage or fish finger sandwiches.
Sadly though, it’s often high in sugar, either from the concentrated tomatoes or added extra sugars. Sugars cause our blood glucose levels to spike and we feel full of energy. Quickly though, levels dip and we feel hungry, and craving that sugar hit once more.
Let’s also talk about high fructose corn syrup, or HFCS. HFCS is a type of highly processed sugar and is often found in ketchups and other sauces. It’s thought to slow down our metabolism, meaning that we don’t always hear those signals that we’re full, and we carry on eating even though technically, we’re not hungry.
However, in the UK, HFCS can only be used by food manufacturers under a production quota. That is, it can only be used in minimal amounts, which has meant that many UK food manufacturers don’t use it. It’s a different story in the US, where it’s use is unrestricted. So it’s good to check the label in case your ketchup has been imported!
