What’s the saying? “A spoonful of sugar can help the medicine go down…” but what about 17 spoonfuls? On average Americans eat 17 teaspoons of sugar a day. Eating that much sugar can result in actually needing medicine due to the following health problems: high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and liver disease. In this edition of Healthy Bytes we’ll teach you how to read the food labels so you can spot the hidden sugars in your food.

We all know sugar by it’s obvious name Sugar, but what about it’s many aliases? By now we are familiar with High Fructose Corn Syrup and even Corn Syrup, but what about the Maltose, or Barley Malt, many wouldn’t guess those are other names for sugar.  According to the University of California San Francisco, there are at least 61 different names for sugar that can be listed on food labels.

Sugar Aliases

Agave nectar

Dehydrated cane juice Maltol
Barbados sugar Demerara sugar

Maltose

Barley malt

Dextrin Mannose

Barley malt syrup

Dextrose

Maple syrup

Beet sugar

Evaporated cane juice

Molasses

Brown sugar

Free-flowing brown sugars

Muscovado

Buttered syrup

Fructose

Palm sugar

Cane juice

Fruit juice

Panocha

Cane juice crystals

Fruit juice concentrate

Powdered sugar

Cane sugar

Glucose

Raw sugar

Caramel

Glucose solids

Refiner's syrup

Carob syrup

Golden sugar

Rice syrup

Castor sugar

Golden syrup

Saccharose

Coconut palm sugar

Grape sugar

Sorghum Syrup

Coconut sugar

High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) Sucrose

Confectioner's sugar

Honey

Sweet Sorghum

Corn sweetener

Icing sugar

Syrup

Corn syrup

Invert sugar

Treacle

Corn syrup solids

Malt syrup

Turbinado sugar

Date sugar Maltodextrin

Yellow sugar

Now that you know the many aliases of sugar, let’s talk about where these aliases are showing up. It’s not always in treats like cookies or desserts. You’ll find these sneaky sugars in many processed foods like salad dressings, sauces like ketchup or barbeque, cereals, milk substitutes and canned foods like baked beans or soup.

 

The easiest way to avoid hidden sugars in your food is by eating whole foods and avoiding processed foods. However, if you are faced with a nutrition label, now you have a guide to help you navigate sugar and all it’s aliases.