“No Sugar Added” doesn’t mean there is no sugar.
Hidden Sugar-Tricky labels:
- Many people believe that when a label states “No Sugar Added” that the product contains no sugar. This isn’t always true.
Foods that naturally contain sugar such as fruits and vegetables can be added to any food and that product can still be labeled “No Added Sugar”. Juice such as grape juice contains 36 grams of sugar per cup even if there is no sugar added. All of the sugar in the product occurs naturally in the grapes. 36 grams equals almost 9 teaspoons. So, a cup of grape juice labeled “No Sugar Added” contains 9 teaspoons of sugar.
Ingredients
- The ingredients listed on the container can be misleading.
Ingredients List
The ingredients list is normally on the back of the can or package and will look something like this:
Ingredients: Whole grain wheat, sugar, salt, natural flavors, vitamin B1.
The ingredients are always listed in descending order, based on weight. The largest (heaviest) is always first and the smallest (lightest) is always last. So, if a cake is made with two cups of flour, one cup of sugar, and one teaspoon of salt. The ingredients would be listed as follows: flour, sugar, salt.
Not all ingredients have to be listed. If the ingredient is considered safe, not a common allergen and only used in small amounts, it may not be required to be listed on the label.
Since ingredients are listed in descending order from most to least, you should be able to compare how much sugar is in different products, right? This is not always true.
Some manufactures add several different types of sugar to their product. The product may contain one cup of white sugar, three quarters of a cup of brown sugar and one quarter cup of honey. The total sugar content is two cups from the total assorted sugars. If the product also contains one and a half cups of flour, the ingredients will be listed like this: flour, white sugar, brown sugar, honey.
At first glance it looks like the product contains more flour than sugar, but in reality, it actually contains one and a half cups of flour and two cups of total sugars. By breaking down the sugar in the product into different types of sugars, flour can be listed as the first ingredient making it look like the product contains more flour than combined sugars.
Sugar Goes by Many Names
- What makes it even more confusing is there are many names used for different types of sugar.
Sugar
Sugar, honey, brown sugar, blackstrap molasses, high fructose corn syrup are all common terms used for sugar on labels. Also look for words ending with the letters “ose” such as sucralose, dextrose, glucose, lactose, and fructose. The suffix “ose” is used in biochemistry to name different types of sugar.
Sugar substitutes
Erythritol, Xylitol, Sorbitol, Aspartame, Saccharin, Stevia
Other names for sugar-natural and artificial:
Acesulfame Potassium, aspartame, blackstrap molasses, brown sugar, confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, glucose, fructose, high fructose corn sugar, high fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, malt syrup, maltitol, maltodextrin, maltose, mannitol, maple sugar, molasses, neotame, saccharin, sorbitol, stevia, sucralose, sucrose, sugar, sorghum syrup, turbinado sugar, and xylitol. This list is not all-inclusive.
Get the Nutrition Facts
A food can be called sugar-free if it contains less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving. A serving is whatever the manufacturer states it is on the label.
The only accurate way to determine how much sugar a product contains is to read the section of the label called Nutrition Facts. It lists added sugar as well as the total amount of all sugars in the product, those occurring naturally in the product and those added for each serving.
Nutrition Facts
6 Servings per Container
Serving Size 4 oz
Amount per Serving
Calories 200
% Daily Value
Total Carbohydrate g 20%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugar 10g
Includes 0g Added Sugar 0%
Important Information.
I am a Business Consultant and holistic health professional. I am not a medical doctor. This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for proper medical treatments or care. Always consult with your medical doctor before making any changes to your diet, lifestyle, or fitness programs.
