Sugar is in countless food products, and it can be difficult for us to even realize it. Did you know to truly determine if a product contains added sugar you need to read the ingredients list? That’s right – you can’t just look at the nutrition facts panel. Continue reading to learn:
How to determine if a food has added sugar
Alternative names for sugar (spoiler alert…those food companies try to trick us!)
Common products with added sugar – some may surprise you!
Added sugar is not needed in our diet. We need carbohydrates, however carbohydrates are different from added sugars. It is important to note that on a nutrition facts panel “total sugars” and “added sugars” are not the same. Added sugars dictates how much sugar was added to the food. Total sugars dictates how much sugar is in the food, which could be added sugars + natural sugars.
The American Heart Association recommends we limit the amount of added sugar in our diet to the following:
Women: Less than 24 grams
Men: Less than 36 grams
To put this into perspective, 1 teaspoon of sugar = 4 grams. Continue reading to learn how much added sugar is in common food products.
How to Determine if a Food has Hidden Added Sugar
To truly determine if a product has added sugar, you need to read the ingredients label. On the nutrition facts panel you can usually see if a food has added sugar. Check out the picture to the right.
You can see under “Total Carbohydrates,” there are “2 grams Added Sugars” included.
However, even if a label says 0 grams, you need to read the ingredients to determine if there is actually 0 grams of an ingredient. This is because if a product has <0.5 grams, it can say 0 grams on the food label. See the example below.
The label says, "Includes 0 g Added Sugars," but when you read the ingredients list it has sugar in the label!
You may think since it’s <0.5 grams it isn’t much. However, look at the serving size - 2 tablespoons. If you have a 1/4 cup of salsa with chips, this would be 4 tablespoons of salsa. The sugar in this could add up.
Alternative Names for Sugar
When looking for sugar on an ingredient list, unfortunately it won’t always be as easy as seeing “sugar” labeled. Below is a chart of other items that could mean "sugar" when it is found on a label.
Common Products with Added Sugar
We all know that sweets and treats contain added sugars. Besides these, there are many items with “hidden” added sugars. Some will likely surprise you! Check out the chart below for common foods that contain added sugar.
Now, let’s give you some examples:
Glazed Walnuts
Serving Size: 3 tablespoons
Added Sugars: 8 grams
Types of Sugar in this Product: Sugar and Tapioca Syrup
You May be Thinking: Nuts are nutrient dense, right?
What we Say: Nuts are nutrient dense, however you need to be mindful of the other ingredients that are in them, as well as the portion size.
Original Granola
Serving Size: 1/3 cup
Added Sugars: 7 grams
Types of Sugar in this Product: Organic Coconut Sugar
You may be Thinking: Granola is healthy for me!
What we Say: Granola can have a lot of added sugar. Be sure to check your labels!
Ketchup
Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
Added Sugars: 3 grams
Types of Sugar in this Product: Cane Sugar
You May be Thinking: I don’t use a lot of ketchup.
What we Say: Have you ever measured the amount of ketchup you put on a burger or dip your french fries in? It’s usually more than a tablespoon. There are definitely brands that don’t have any added sugar, you just need to read the ingredient label to find them.
BBQ Sauce
Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
Added Sugars: 9 grams
Types of Sugar in this Product: Brown Sugar, Sugar, Apple Juice Concentrate and Lime Juice Concentrate
You May be Thinking: I only use a small amount of BBQ sauce.
What we Say: It’s very easy to overconsume condiments. 2 tablespoons really isn’t that much. Think if you have BBQ ribs - there’s a lot more than 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce on a serving size of ribs!
Which of the above items surprised you the most with its added sugar content? Let us know in the comments!
*This blog post is meant to provide you with insight. If you want to consume some of these items, then that is your choice (I consume all of these items on occasion!) This is not meant to shame anyone. Many individuals do not know what is actually in the food they are consuming, so this post is about educating everyone.
Conclusion
We do not need added sugar in our diets to function as humans, but boy do I know it’s tasty! Hopefully some main takeaways from this post include:
The only way to know if an item doesn’t have sugar in it is to read the ingredient label.
There are many foods that have “hidden” sugars in them. Marketing of items truly is madness!
Sugar has many different names. Too bad it can’t be as easy as seeing “sugar” on a label.
The next time you’re at the grocery store I encourage you to read a few labels prior to purchasing an item. You may be surprised at what hidden added sugars you find!
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