Nutrition Q & A
How Can I Tell If Foods Have Added Sugar?
There are two kinds of sugar—naturally-occurring and added. On food labels, both kinds of sugar are included in "sugars" listed on the Nutrition Facts panel.
Naturally-occurring sugars are found in many foods. For example, dairy products, such as yogurt and milk, and fruit—both healthy choices—contain naturally-occurring sugars. Lactose is the sugar in milk and yogurt; fructose is the sugar in fruit.
To determine if a food product has added sugar, check the ingredient list for these words: brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, sucrose, syrup and table sugar.
Note: Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. Those in the largest amounts are listed first.
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