What’s in a name? A lot, if you are talking about added sugars. Added sugars can sneak into our diet, even though they are listed on ingredient labels. Eating too much added sugar will have a negative impact on your health.
Naturally occurring sugar—which gives fruit, some veggies, and milk their sweet taste—is perfectly healthy. You will find the most added sugars in processed items like soft drinks, candy, cookies, ice cream and things like sweet rolls.
Reading the ingredient label on processed foods can help to identify added sugars, but you have to be familiar with these names. Some might surprise you. Here is a list of names to watch for on food labels from choosemyplate.gov:
• 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.
You may also see other names used for added sugars, but these are not recognized by the FDA as an ingredient name. These include cane juice, evaporated corn sweetener, crystal dextrose, glucose, liquid fructose, sugar cane juice, and fruit nectar.
