I am currently on a sugar kick. But it’s not the kind you’re thinking of. It’s the kind where I am learning as much as I can about sugar. I’m seeking out the facts about this particular ingredient.

There are a few reasons why I’m doing this. Some are personal; I have struggled with undiagnosable fatigue, itchy skin, nasal congestion, etc. for years. I have long suspected the cause has something to do with food, and sugar is high up there on the list of possible triggers.

Some reasons are professional; I want to work with clients who would benefit from learning more about sugar and the role that it plays in their bodies and their diets. So I am trying to educate myself on the details so I can better help them.

Since I’m fascinated by what I’m learning, I wanted to pass some of that knowledge on. So in today’s post, I’m going to discuss what added sugar is, as well as how to identify foods with no added sugar. It’s trickier than you may think.

(Pin this post to read later)

What is sugar?

Before I get into talking about added sugars, here is a super-quick overview of what sugar itself is. From a physiological/nutritional standpoint, sugar is a type of carbohydrate that our bodies use for energy. It’s not one single thing though; the term “sugar” encompasses a variety of molecules with names like glucose, lactose, and sucrose. A single sugar molecule by itself, or only a few sugar molecules strung together, are called a “simple carbohydrate.” When it’s longer string of sugars, like in starches or fiber, then it’s called a “complex carbohydrate.”

When most of us hear the word “sugar,” we probably think of familiar sugar products, such as brown sugar added to oatmeal or cane sugar used in baking. Those are just large amounts of simple sugar molecules all together in one place.(1)

This means that the word “sugar” is kind of ambiguous. We can use it when describing a single sugar molecule, a string of sugar molecules, or an ingredient that we can recognize and purchase at the grocery store. For the purposes of this article, I am focusing on the latter.

How can I identify which packaged foods have sugar and which don’t?

Now that you know what sugar is, let’s talk about how to find it in different food products. Today we’re going to focus on foods that come in packages. That’s because all packaged foods are required to have a Nutrition Facts Label and an Ingredient List. These are handy tools for discovering both how much and which types of sugar have been added to products.

Finding sugar on the Nutrition Facts Label

The first place to start our hunt for sugars is on the Nutrition Facts Label. The Nutrition Facts Label is the label that shows up on all packaged foods that provides information about what that product contains. There have been different iterations of it, and the most updated version of it was fully released as of July 2021.(2)

This new version includes additional information about sugar. Specifically, it now tells the consumer how much sugar a product contains overall (”Total Sugars”), as well as how much sugar has been added to that product (”Added Sugars”). Both of these show up under the heading of “Total Carbohydrates,” because, as noted above, sugars are a type of carb.

Total Sugars vs. Added Sugars

So what’s the difference between Total Sugars and Added Sugars? Total Sugars is the sum of two things: sugar that is a naturally occurring part of an ingredient plus Added Sugars. For instance, apples contain fructose and milk contains lactose. You can’t use an apple or milk as an ingredient without having those naturally occurring sugars come along for the ride.

Added Sugar, on the other hand, does not naturally occur as an inherent part of one of the product’s ingredients. It is a separate ingredient, added to the product intentionally. The amount of added sugar is noted on the line that says “Added Sugars,” and it is included as a part of the Total Sugar calculation.

So in case you were wondering, that’s why a product can have 0 g of Added Sugar and 12 g of Total Sugar. That 12 g comes from a naturally-occurring sugar source, like lactose in milk.

One last bit of information about the Nutrition Facts Label. You always want to look at the Serving Size when trying to figure out how much sugar a product contains. If it’s a one cup Serving Size with 12 g of added sugar per serving, but you eat two cups of it, then you are actually getting 24 g of added sugar.

Finding sugar on the Ingredient List

While the Nutrition Facts Label will tell you how much added sugar there is in a product, the Ingredient List will identify the particular type(s) of sugar used. You can find the the Ingredient List below or in close proximity to the Nutrition Facts Label on a packaged food.

(I honestly spend more time looking at the Ingredient List portion of food labels than I do the Nutrition Facts portion. That’s because, generally speaking, I am more concerned about what the food is physically made of than the number of calories or grams of fat that it contains.)

The Ingredient List will give you the names of all the ingredients in order of their predominance. That is, the first ingredient is the one used in the largest amount in that product, the next most is second, and so on. So a packaged food product contains the largest amount of the first few ingredients and the smallest amount of the last ingredients.(3)

The many names for added sugar

When you’re looking for sugar on the Ingredient List, it can show up in so many different forms. As part of my sugar-self-education, I am reading a book called Sugarproof. It contains a handy chart called “Some Common Names for Sugar.” The list is not exhaustive, and it is 81 items long! (I tried to find a similar list online to share with you, but was unable to. This site from UCSF sugarscience has a shorter version.)

Here are some of the items off the Sugarproof list:

1. Agave nectar
2. Apple juice concentrate
3. Brown rice syrup
4. Coconut nectar
5. Date sugar
6. Dextran
7. Maltodextrin
8. Molasses
9. Palm sugar
10. Sorghum syrup (4)

As you can see, some of the items on this list look healthy. Others are less recognizable and seem more like chemicals than food ingredients. Regardless of how they appear to us as consumers, they “count” as “added sugars” when they are used in making a food product.

Here are two different food labels for you to look at. Even among breakfast cereals, there can be quite a bit of variation in the number of ingredients and the amount of added sugar a product contains:

What does it mean when the package says “No Added Sugar”?

The term “no added sugar” is something called a “nutrient content claim” by the government. This means that when the words “no added sugar” show up on a food label, that product is required by law to meet certain criteria:

“No added sugars” and “Without added sugars” are allowed if no sugar or sugar containing ingredient such as jam, jelly, or concentrated fruit juice is added during processing. Must state if food is not “low” or “reduced calorie.” (5)

It’s clear from this definition that a product that says “no added sugar” cannot have sugar, in any ingredient form, added to it. However, what is less clear is what IS allowed to be included: sugar alcohols, artificial sweeteners, and low calorie sweeteners.

If you are just looking to avoid sugar, then this is no big deal. However, if you are also looking to avoid foods that have sweetness added to them, it is. And while an assessment of the pros and cons of using artificial sweeteners is beyond the scope of the current post, I will say this: artificial sweeteners are 100’s to 1000’s of times sweeter than table sugar, and I avoid them in my own house. (6)

How does this translate into identifying foods with no added sugar

Now that you know where to look for sugar and its sources on packaged foods, let’s do a little detective work. Let’s search for foods that contain no added sugar.

There are a few ways to do this. One is to buy whole foods, or foods without packages. A banana or almonds bought in the bulk bin section of the grocery store have only 1 ingredient; therefore, 0 g of added sugar.

Another is to educate yourself about the unexpected places that sugar lurks in packaged goods. Once you know that sugar is commonly added to a product that you use, you can use your label-reading skills to identify which products in that category do not contain added sugar. Then make those the brand you purchase. Once again – it’s not always obvious. Here is a list of some unexpected foods that contain sugar:

• Peanut butter
• Ketchup (and condiments in general)
• Pasta sauce
• Marinades
• Canned soup
• Bread and butter pickles
• Deli meat
• Granola bars
• Yogurt
• Kefir
• Hot dogs
• Sandwich bread

You can also ask me to help you, since that’s what I’m here for 🙂. I can create a meal plan that meets your needs and preferences that has low to no added sugars.

Side note – just because something is “organic” does not mean that it automatically contains no added sugar. Organic foods are wonderful, but sometimes people attribute extra traits to them that they don’t possess.

Meal and snack foods with no added sugar

In order to make this actionable for you, here’s a quick list of a few meal and snack ideas with no added sugar:

Easy meals with no added sugar

• Breakfast – plain oatmeal with natural peanut butter*, banana, and unsweetened soy milk stirred in
• Lunch – high-quality packaged bread or fresh bakery bread* with deli meat*, cheese, and mustard*
• Dinner – pasta with bolognese sauce (sugar-free marinara sauce* with ground beef stirred in) with steamed vegetables

Easy snacks with no added sugar

• Celery or apples with natural peanut butter*
• Carrot sticks and hummus
• Plain yogurt with fresh or frozen fruit stirred in

*Items with an asterisk may contain added sugar, so check the label.

If you’d like to work with me, I can help you create meal plans with no added sugar.
Reach out using the button below!

References

1. Duyff, R.L. (2017) Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics complete food and nutrition guide. 5th edition. Boston ; New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 345-346.
2. ‘Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label’ (2023) FDA [Preprint]. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/changes-nutrition-facts-label (Accessed: 29 March 2023).
3. ‘Overview of Food Ingredients, Additives & Colors’ (2023) FDA [Preprint]. Available at: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-ingredients-packaging/overview-food-ingredients-additives-colors (Accessed: 30 March 2023).
4. Goran, M.I. and Ventura, E.E. (2020) Sugarproof: the hidden dangers of sugar that are putting your child’s health at risk and what you can do. New York: Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House. p. 29.
5. Wartella, E.A., Lichtenstein, A.H. and Boon, C.S. (2010) FDA Regulatory Requirements for Nutrient Content Claims, Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols: Phase I Report. National Academies Press (US). Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209851/ (Accessed: 29 March 2023).
6. RD, K.S. (2023) ‘Are Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners Safe?’, Food Insight, 23 January. Available at: https://foodinsight.org/facts-about-low-calorie-sweeteners/ (Accessed: 27 March 2023).