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!
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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!
Tamika says
I was wondering if Monk Fruit would count as a real food?
Julie says
Hello! I found maple syrup in a granulated form. Would that meet real food guidelines?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hi there. Technically, that is one step more processed but I use it, too. :)
Monica says
Monk fruit sweetener
Suzanne says
What does the average American consume a day?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
The last stat I saw was 19.5 teaspoons per day.
Ann says
Alcohol sugar should be added to this list.
I was shocked to learn there was such an ingredient in my sugar free pancake syrup.
Lori says
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!
Plamen says
What are the side effects of alcohol sugar, aspartame, stevia, and other sugar substitutes?
Amy Green says
Stevia is from a plant and doesn't have any side effects. Sugar alcohols can cause digestive issues.
Amy Green says
"Not pleasant" - for me that meant an entire afternoon spent in the work bathroom when I accidentally ate 2 sugar-free mini peppermint patties!!
Elizabeth says
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.
Nicole says
Thanks for the list this is very helpful.
Phil Sumner says
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?
Dina says
Great question!! YES.... Lisa... Please Answer! Thanks!
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
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.
linzie says
Crystalline fructose, which, according to Dr. Mercola, is even worse than high fructose corn syrup.
Marie says
I've seen labels recently that add "(glucose-fructose syrup)" after the HFCS.
Katherine Steiner says
I'm currently reading a book called 'Ingredients: A Visual Exploration of 75 Food Additives and 25 Food Products' by Dwight Eschliman that might be of interest to those interested in this blog post.
James says
The problem is more than added sugar: its the 'simple' sugars. These are currently listed on food labels. Whatever the source, they need to be assessed. If the food is 'natural', check a nutritional database. Unless you know what you put in your mouth, you can't get basic control of your body.
Cynthia says
Thank you for the list. A good reminder of things to watch for on food labels. I don't know if it technically is a "Sugar" but stevia is very sweet!
jennifer says
I recently came across monk sugar? on a label. What is that? The item was tagged as not artificially sweetened.
Erica says
Monk fruit is what the monk sugar is from. Most likely processed the same way as other fruit sugars are.
Deb says
Brown rice syrup is another one
Sarah Dickison says
rebiana, erythritol A.K.A. Truvia is created by Coca Cola, and is actually from Corn...since it would be impossible to commercially farm enough from the fruit plants to sell en mass.
Narise says
Does trivia count as a sugar or is it in a different class?
Narise says
I meant truvia
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Truvia is an artificial sweetener.
Taste of France says
I recently learned that cane sugar was introduced to Westerners at the same time as tobacco. Two things that are best avoided.