Sugar Is Sneaky
This is the first of a two-part series on sugars. In a next one we will be covering low- and non-caloric sweeteners, ie artificial sugars. Today, we are starting with “added sugars” and we’ll give you five tips on how to be a sugar detective.
As a refresher, on January 1, 2021, the Nutrition Facts Label was updated, and one of those updates was the addition of “Added Sugars.” You can read more about it in our January 11, 2021 blog post titled “The New Food Label.”
What are “Added Sugars?”
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) defines “added sugars” as basically ANY sugars that are added during food processing.
This includes:
- free sugars added to foods by the manufacturer,
- foods packaged specifically as sweeteners (ie table sugar)
- sugars from syrups and honey,
- and “any naturally occurring sugars that are isolated from a whole food and concentrated so that sugar is the primary component (e.g. fruit juice concentrate)”.
The definition does NOT include:
- Any sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners, ie xylitol, erithrytol, sorbitol, etc
- Naturally occurring sugars, ie in dairy, fruit, and unsweetened dried fruit
Are Added Sugars a Problem?
Added sugars, if limited, can be part of a balanced and healthy diet. Specifically, the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines (DGA) recommend “less than 10 percent of calories per day starting at age 2.” Based on a 2,000 calorie diet, this equates to 200 calories or about 12 teaspoons.(1)
The World Health Organization, while also recommending no more than 10% of calories come from added sugars, but goes on to stress even: “A further reduction to below 5% or roughly 25 grams (6 teaspoons) per day would provide additional health benefits.”
Added sugars can quickly add up to more than the recommended amount, resulting in calorie consumption that exceeds your needs and contributes to weight gain, potential obesity and subsequent follow-on health conditions.
Sneaky Sugars
Many parents, caregivers, and school cafeterias hide nutritious ingredients in otherwise salty or fatty foods. Take for example slipping shredded or pureed carrots into a traditional Mac and cheese. Well, sugar is snuck into foods too, so we must be vigilant about detecting it!
It’s estimated that Americans are currently eating about 350 calories of added sugar a day (3.5 times the suggested amount for women). While most of these sugars come from sugar-sweetened beverages and baked goods, loads of sugars are being consumed without the consumer really knowing it. If we’re going to consume 350 extra calories, it sure would be helpful to be aware of it!
The Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics published a study titled “Use of Caloric and Noncaloric Sweeteners in US Consumer Packaged Foods, 2005-2009,” that identified that 75% of grocery products purchased at retailers contain some form of sweetener.
Similarly, when we look to the foods present in the Eatiquette app we see some unexpected added sugars, we found that 49% of the pasta and pizza sauces and 41% of the instant soups in our database contain sugar. And don’t be fooled by honey, it is still a type of sugar and can be found in 53% of granolas (alongside sugar and molasses). You may be surprised to learn that most instant and cube stocks and soups contain maltodextrin or malt sugar! That healthy soup could add up to a cookie if you aren’t careful!
The foods containing the most added sugars are, as you can imagine, ice cream (sugar, corn syrup), cereals (sugar, corn syrup), granola (honey,) and granola/cereal bars (sugar, honey and invert syrup).
When a healthy snack can turn into a sugar-laden dessert, we have to be savvy sugar detectives and watch our added sugars!
Select any product category from the right-hand legend and you’ll see which sugar types are present and what percentage of products contain it.
How to Detect Added Sugars in the Ingredients Panel
While you can look at the nutrition facts label and see a line specific to “added sugars,” how easy is it to detect the sugars in the “Ingredients” list? Well, it’s not easy at all, so we’ll help you be a sugar detective!
Food manufacturers are responsible for naming all ingredients that contribute to “added sugars,” but there is no codified, comprehensive list of sugar names.
You’ll find extensive lists online ranging from 29 to 61 variations of sugar names. Added sugars go by many names (aliases), such as agave, corn sweetener, dextrose, juice concentrate, glucose, honey, maltodextrin, maltose, molasses, sucrose, and anything with the words sugar, nectar, or syrup.
The top 15 most commonly used names in the Eatiquette food app can be found in the table above. The three most common sugars are:
- Sugar – in 65% of all products
- Corn Syrup – in 38% of all products
- High Fructose Corn syrup (HFCS) – in 16% of all products
The categories of food with the highest HFCS content in our database are ice cream and applesauce (nearly 30%).
After the top three, the most prevalent types of added sugars are “dextrose,” “cane sugar,” and “molasses,” as well as a bunch of versions of sugar such as “invert sugar” (sugar in liquid form) and “brown sugar, and a variety of “syrups.”
Five Tips for Detecting Sugar in Your Packaged Foods!
When you are choosing your foods, remember these 5 tips for spotting unexpected sugars:
- Four grams of sugar is equal to one teaspoon, so when you look at the “Added Sugars” on a food label, divide that number by 4 and you’ll know how many teaspoons you are consuming. The Food Label can also be a guide to whether or not a food is high or low in added sugars. 5% DV or less is a LOW source of added sugars, and 20% DV or more is a HIGH source of added sugars.
- The American Heart Association recommends an added sugar limit of no more than 25 grams (6 teaspoons) of sugar for women and 36 grams (9 teaspoons) for men. Mind you, children should be eating much less because they consume even fewer calories!! So keep these numbers in mind when shopping.
- Don’t expect added sugar to only be in sodas and ice creams, it can show up in everything from soups to applesauce.
- Check the ingredient list of all food items and be on the lookout for any of the sugar names listed above, especially the words “syrup,” “nectar,” “sugar,” or words ending in “-ose.” The Eatiquette app can help you identify specific sugar names.
- Take a good look at the serving size and consider whether you eat more or less than that. The Eatiquette app can help you compare added sugar in similar products on a same-weight basis.
In the next sugar blog, we’ll go into more detail about sweeteners that don’t contribute to calories but may contribute to sweetness, ie sugar substitutes and sugar alternatives. The overconsumption of any sweetener (even the “healthiest”) can stimulate more sugar cravings and make reducing sugar intake even more difficult.
Until then, keep your eyes open for the added sugars lurking in your food items!
Notes:
(1) “Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025,” n.d., 164.