I had mentioned in a previous post (which can be found here) that added sugars have different names. This week, I am going to give you a handy guide to finding the sneaky little bastards (as in, grams of sugar) in your food.
Added sugars generally are carbohydrates added to something that are not naturally there. Foods like fruits, vegetables, and plain milk (as in not flavored milk, like chocolate or strawberry). So something like unsweetened tea would most likely not have added sugar, but if the tea is sweetened with a nutritive sweetener (as in it provides Calories or energy the body can use) then it has added sugars.
UHDS has these listed as names recognized by the FDA for added sugar:
- anhydrous dextrose
- brown sugar
- confectioner’s powdered sugar
- corn syrup
- corn syrup solids
- dextrose
- fructose
- high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
- honey
- invert sugar
- lactose
- malt syrup
- maltose
- maple syrup
- molasses
- nectars (e.g., peach nectar, pear nectar)
- pancake syrup
- raw sugar
- sucrose
- sugar
- white granulated sugar
Now, these are only the ones recognized by the FDA. More names are appearing on food labels such as:
- cane juice
- evaporated corn sweetener
- crystal dextrose
- glucose
- liquid fructose
- sugar cane juice
- fruit nectar
So why does all this matter? Well, the FDA cites that diets higher in added sugars are often lower in nutrient dense foods, meaning the foods with a lot of added sugar have little nutrients. Often, they are called “junk food” or “shit food.” Diets lower in added sugar also appear to have less risk of developing cardiovascular disease. On the new food label, as I wrote about prior, there is a new section dedicated to added sugar, because of this reason.
Have you found any other names for added sugar? Please comment them below!
The Nutrition Punk 