50 Shades of Sugar: Get to know their names

If you are avoiding sugar in your new lifestyle then you must be aware that sugar goes by countless names, many of which you may not recognize. Authority Nutrition's article below shares these alternative sugar names as follows.  

Food manufacturers use this to their advantage. They purposely add many different kinds of sugar to their products so they can hide the actual amount.

By doing this, they can list a “healthier” ingredient at the top, and mention sugar further down. So even though a product may be loaded with sugar, it doesn’t necessarily appear as one of the top 3 ingredients.

To avoid accidentally consuming a lot of sugar, it may be wise to look out for the following names of sugar in ingredient lists:

·      Types of sugar: beet sugar, brown sugar, buttered sugar, cane sugar, caster sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar, golden sugar, invert sugar, muscovado sugar, organic raw sugar, raspadura sugar, evaporated cane juice and confectioner’s sugar.

·      Types of syrup: carob syrup, golden syrup, high fructose corn syrup, honey, agave nectar, malt syrup, maple syrup, oat syrup, rice bran syrup and rice syrup.

·      Other added sugars: barley malt, molasses, cane juice crystals, lactose, corn sweetener, crystalline fructose, dextran, malt powder, ethyl maltol, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, galactose, glucose, disaccharides, maltodextrin and maltose.

There are many more names for sugar, but these are the most common.

If you see any of these in the top spots on the ingredients lists, or several kinds throughout the list, then you can be sure that the product is high in added sugar.

Bottom Line: Sugar goes by many names in ingredient lists, many of which you may not recognize. These include cane sugar, invert sugar, corn sweetener, dextran, molasses, malt syrup, maltose and evaporated cane juice.

Source: Authority Nutrition