Sugar is often one of those hard to pronounce I-have-no-idea-what-the-heck-this-is items on the nutrition label. Because of this it often gets overlooked or "hides" on the ingredient list.
By Any Other Name...
Generally speaking sugar is sugar. There are 2 categories of sugar you are probably already very familiar with: Nutritive and non-nutrative sweeteners. In other words regular sugar and calorie-free sweeteners. Both of these types of sweeteners have a myriad of names that you might see on a nutrition label.
Nutritive aka regular sugars include:
Quite a list, right? Basically all these terms mean one thing: Sugar! Some are higher in fructose than others , but basically they are all sugar.
Side Note on Fructose: Pretty much all of these sugar have fructose in them. Fructose may possibly lead to more fat storage and for some in large quantities can cause stomach upset, but it is not the evil health killer its been made out to be. It is actually a building block used to make lots of sugars, even the natural sugar found in fruit.
Non-nutritive aka calorie-free sweeteners include:
Recognize any of these? Most of us don't use the names of these sugars regularly, but you probably eat them daily without even knowing it, especially if you use sugar free foods.
Side Note on Calorie-Free:
These are often sweeter than regular sugars because of their molecular shape. In other words, you need less of these to get the same sweetness of regular sugar. They have less calories because 1) your body can't absorb them and therefore cannot use them for energy/calories or 2) they provide so few calories and you need so little to sweeten a food it comes out to be less than 5 calories per serving.
What Does This Mean?!
Most people I talk to who are trying to eat little or "no" sugar want to pull their hair out when trying to read labels. Its confusing, no doubt about it. Make it easy on yourself by using these tips:
Questions? Feel free to ask! I love hearing what you want to know more about!
By Any Other Name...
Generally speaking sugar is sugar. There are 2 categories of sugar you are probably already very familiar with: Nutritive and non-nutrative sweeteners. In other words regular sugar and calorie-free sweeteners. Both of these types of sweeteners have a myriad of names that you might see on a nutrition label.
Nutritive aka regular sugars include:
- Brown sugar/white sugar/raw sugar/sucrose
- Cane sugar/evaporated cane juice/turbinado sugar
- Dextrin/glucose/dextrose
- Honey/levulose
- Fruit sugar/fruit juice concentrate
- Date Sugar
- High-fructose corn syrup/fructose/corn syrup
- Molasses
- Maple syrup
- Mannitol
- Maltose/malt syrup
Quite a list, right? Basically all these terms mean one thing: Sugar! Some are higher in fructose than others , but basically they are all sugar.
Side Note on Fructose: Pretty much all of these sugar have fructose in them. Fructose may possibly lead to more fat storage and for some in large quantities can cause stomach upset, but it is not the evil health killer its been made out to be. It is actually a building block used to make lots of sugars, even the natural sugar found in fruit.
Non-nutritive aka calorie-free sweeteners include:
- Sorbitol
- Xylitol
- Tagatose (aka Naturlose)
- Cyclamate
- Aspartame (aka Equal)
- Acesulfame-K (aka Sunette)
- Saccharin (aka Sweet'n Low)
- Sucralose (aka Splenda)
- Neotame
- Stevia (aka NuStevia)
Recognize any of these? Most of us don't use the names of these sugars regularly, but you probably eat them daily without even knowing it, especially if you use sugar free foods.
Side Note on Calorie-Free:
These are often sweeter than regular sugars because of their molecular shape. In other words, you need less of these to get the same sweetness of regular sugar. They have less calories because 1) your body can't absorb them and therefore cannot use them for energy/calories or 2) they provide so few calories and you need so little to sweeten a food it comes out to be less than 5 calories per serving.
What Does This Mean?!
Most people I talk to who are trying to eat little or "no" sugar want to pull their hair out when trying to read labels. Its confusing, no doubt about it. Make it easy on yourself by using these tips:
- "Sugars" in the nutrition facts includes natural sugars and added sugars, so don't stress out about that number, just check the ingredients
- Compare different brands of foods (i.e. yogurt) and get the one that has the fewest sugars, it likely has the fewest added sugars
- Make sure the sugars are at the bottom of the ingredient list, not the top, so you are getting less of them
- Eat more natural foods (fruits, vegetables, and grains) and less processed foods (soups, sauces, pastry, cakes, sweet breads) because processed foods have more sugar added to them
Questions? Feel free to ask! I love hearing what you want to know more about!