As I’ve mentioned before, added sugar is considered the most dangerous part of the Standard American Diet. It’s no longer just reserved for sweets anymore and instead found in soooo many different products including breads, crackers, snack foods, yogurts and even salad dressings.
The really tricky part though is that added sugar is listed under a variety of different names that could easily be overlooked. Plus, even if you do a quick check to make sure it’s not among the top three ingredients listed (and what the product contains the most of), you could miss the fact that many companies use three or four different types of added sugar in a single product, so they will all end up lower on the list. Sneaky, I know!
Below are all the names we found … I know it’s a lot to look out for when checking ingredient labels, but I promise this is an important one!
Names for Added, Refined Sugar*
- Agave nectar
- Barbados sugar
- Barley malt
- Barley malt syrup
- Beet sugar
- Brown sugar
- Buttered syrup
- Cane juice
- Cane juice crystals
- Cane sugar
- Caramel
- Carob syrup
- Castor sugar
- Coconut palm sugar
- Coconut sugar
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Corn sweetener
- Corn syrup
- Corn syrup solids
- Date sugar
- Dehydrated cane juice
- Demerara sugar
- Dextrin
- Dextrose
- Evaporated cane juice
- Free-flowing brown sugars
- Fructose
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Glucose
- Glucose solids
- Golden sugar
- Golden syrup
- Grape sugar
- HFCS (High-Fructose Corn Syrup)
- Icing sugar
- Invert sugar
- Malt syrup
- Maltodextrin
- Maltol
- Maltose
- Mannose
- Molasses
- Muscovado
- Palm sugar
- Panocha
- Powdered sugar
- Raw sugar
- Refiner’s syrup
- Rice syrup
- Saccharose
- Sorghum syrup
- Sucrose
- Sugar (granulated)
- Sweet sorghum
- Syrup
- Treacle
- Turbinado sugar
- Yellow sugar
Also be on the lookout for Unrefined, Added Sugar…
- Honey
- Pure maple syrup
*Source: Sugar Science
Once again sugar itself is not the problem – it’s the quantity in which it’s being consumed. So if you’re going to indulge in some of these sweet ingredients just make sure you don’t exceed the recommended daily allowance for added sugar, which is 6 teaspoons (24 grams) for women, 9 teaspoons (36 grams) for men, and 3 teaspoons (12 grams) for children.
Did I miss any names for sugar on this list? If so, please share below in the comments!
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I have understood date sugar (have to read the labels of course) was simply dried dates that were ground to a sugar consistency. A whole food. It will not dissolve in liquids of course, but not refined, if you get one that is organic, or labeled without all the additives. Is this true?
Great question!! YES…. Lisa… Please Answer! Thanks!
Hi. It is certainly less processed than other forms of sugar. Here is a good example with info on the product: http://www.shilohfarms.com/date-sugar-organic/. Lisa was pointing out all the names of which added forms of sugar can appear on a label.
Thanks for the list this is very helpful.
Wow! That is quite a list. I knew there was a lot of different kinds of sugar out there but your list makes it seem even more ridiculous.
Alcohol sugar should be added to this list.
I was shocked to learn there was such an ingredient in my sugar free pancake syrup.
Hi Ann, Alcohol sugar is not technically a sugar. It is an alcohol that is used in sugar free products as a replacement for sugar. So your sugar free pancake syrup is sugar free. Sugar alcohol is in those diabetic friendly foods,since not sugar diabetics can consume it. I believe that is why it was developed, more as a medical food replacement, but of course it has made its way into a lot of foods to make it sugar free, “health food washed”. However, it is not natural and has its own side effects, some of which are not pleasant if you consume much of it!
What are the side effects of alcohol sugar, aspartame, stevia, and other sugar substitutes?
Stevia is from a plant and doesn’t have any side effects. Sugar alcohols can cause digestive issues.
“Not pleasant” – for me that meant an entire afternoon spent in the work bathroom when I accidentally ate 2 sugar-free mini peppermint patties!!
What does the average American consume a day?
The last stat I saw was 19.5 teaspoons per day.
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OMG! That is quite a list. I knew there was a lot of different kinds of sugar out there but your list makes it seem even more ridiculous.THEY ARE KILLERS. I WISH TO EVERYONE SEE THE WEBSITE. I LIKE TO HELP YOU
Hello! I found maple syrup in a granulated form. Would that meet real food guidelines?
Hi there. Technically, that is one step more processed but I use it, too. :)