Sugar; you know it’s bad for you so you do the right thing and try not to eat too many cakes, sweets, candies, and desserts. You might have stopped adding sugar to your coffee too and even made the switch to diet soda. Not that artificial sweeteners are a whole lot better than sugar but that’s another story.
All of these strategies are a good way to lower your sugar intake and yet, a large percentage of the population still consumes way too much sugar.
The problem is that, even if you cut obvious sugar from your diet, it is often hidden away in foods that you might be forgiven for thinking contain little or no sugar. Sugar is often concealed in plain sight by food manufacturers and given names that disguise the presence of sugar.
The thing is, when you see sugar on a food label, this refers solely to the presence of sucrose or table sugar. If a nutrition label says 5 grams of sugar, it means the food you are considering eating contains around one teaspoon of sucrose. However, other sugars are not listed the same way and are counted as part of the carbohydrate content despite being sugars too. Those food manufacturers are very sneaky!
So why the underhanded and intentionally deceptive labelling?
Quite simply, the food manufacturers know that many of us are on the lookout for sugar and want to try and avoid it. By hiding the sugar content in plain sight, they aren’t breaking any laws but people who are less label-savvy are duped into eating more sugar than they might otherwise want to.
Adding sugar to foods makes you want to eat more of it. That’s why sugar turns up in some pretty obscure foods that it really doesn’t belong in. Potato chips and soups are good examples, and more than 70% of processed foods are also loaded with sugar.
Sugar, in any form, is addictive. You’ll know this already if you have ever tried to give up sugar. But sugar addiction is good for food manufacturers; it means you’ll keep on spending your hard-earned money on the food they want you to buy. However, all the sugar is not only bad for your teeth and your weight but bad for your healthy too. Excess sugar consumption is inextricably linked to a host of serious medical conditions. From Alzheimer’s disease to cancer to heart disease to diabetes – sugar is the leading cause.
By being more sugar aware, you are less likely to inadvertently consume too much sugar. Make sure you not only check the nutrition label but also the ingredients list on the food you buy. Remain vigilant and be on the lookout for sugar and it’s many different names.
Check out the list below to discover 61 different names for sugar…
- Agave nectar
- Barbados sugar
- Barley malt
- Barley malt syrup
- Beet sugar
- Brown sugar
- Buttered syrup
- Cane juice
- Cane juice crystals
- Cane sugar
- Caramel
- Carob syrup
- Castor sugar
- Coconut palm sugar
- Coconut sugar
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Corn sweetener
- Corn syrup
- Corn syrup solids
- Date sugar
- Dehydrated cane juice
- Demerara sugar
- Dextrin
- Dextrose
- Evaporated cane juice
- Free-flowing brown sugars
- Fructose
- Fruit juice
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Glucose
- Glucose solids
- Golden sugar
- Golden syrup
- Grape sugar
- HFCS (High-Fructose Corn Syrup)
- Honey
- Icing sugar
- Invert sugar
- Malt syrup
- Maltodextrin
- Maltol
- Maltose
- Mannose
- Maple syrup
- Molasses
- Muscovado
- Palm sugar
- Panocha
- Powdered sugar
- Raw sugar
- Refiner’s syrup
- Rice syrup
- Saccharose
- Sorghum Syrup
- Sucrose
- Sugar (granulated)
- Sweet Sorghum
- Syrup
- Treacle
- Turbinado sugar
- Yellow sugar
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22 Comments
how come maple syrup is on the list ?
Hi Irmine,
Maple Syrup is a natural sugar. This is a list of all the names that exist for sugar. And that’s why is in the list. Same applies to Fructose for example.
Are Stevia and Xylitol considered sugars. They aren’t on the list???
Hello Marc,
Stevia is not a sugar, is a natural sweetener. But, there are some “stevia” processed sweeteners that are pure added sugar. I didn’t know about Xylitol, from my quick research it seems to be used as an artificial sweetener in products like chewing gum, toothpaste and drugs but not really a household sweetener. What product do you use/eat that contains it? Have a great day.
Hi,
I am trying to quit sugar. Over the last few days, I have had just a tiny bit in my breakfast porridge but nothing else at all during the day. I have had a lot of fruit though and some fresh orange juice and some raisins when I craved something sweet but I have not had many cravings. I felt better immediately, from day one. I feel less tired and more alert mentally. Also, I don’t feel the urge to keep eating biscuits or chocolate. I have lost a bit of weight too and that is a real bonus. It will be interesting to see what happens if I can keep it up.
Siobhan
Hi Siobhan,
I’m so happy to read your words, sounds exactly like when I started.Hope your story motivate others to reduce and avoid sugar. Thanks for sharing. Have a great day, good luck with your journey.
I am so tired of feeling bloated and craving all sorts of refined sugars and carbs. I decided to try a sugar free diet after reading your article and watching a fabulous documentary. While it’s only been one day, I feel a difference already! Thank you!
Hi Micheke,
Thanks for your words. I feel very honoured to know my words have motivated you to get rid of sugar and you already feel the benefits of it. That’s awesome ! Could you share the documentary please ? Good luck on your journey as you will feel better and better everyday, I can ensure you that. Have a great day.
I am on day 51 of cutting sugar out of my life. While it’s not all gone because as you’ve said it is in everything, I am scanning labels to try and stay “clean”.
I noticed right away my tastes changed and cravings for sweets disappeared. My only vice is chocolate and that is taken care of with chocolate flavoured protein powder and the occasional square of 75% dark chocolate. For some weird reason I no longer crave coffee. I used to wake up in the morning thinking about it ! It wasn’t for caffeine either because I’ve been drinking decaf for years.
Fat melted off my body and energy returned. I feel great.
Hi Carol ! Wowww so happy to hear that. Getting rid of sugar was a real life changer to me, and that’s why I started to learn more and write about it, to motivate others to feel the same. And more is about to come. Life is all about experimenting and learn with our mistakes. Have a great day, and thanks a lot for sharing your journey, you have made my day <3
Hello,
I am a male (40 years, European) and I do not eat added sugar since February this year (7 months already). I do not eat any sweets, sugary drinks, no fruit juice, no sugary meat products (salami etc. contains lots of sugar! – and in fact I only eat small fish when it comes to meat) and I must say it is very good. My weigt went down from 95 kg (209 pounds) to 85 kg (187 pounds). I have also replaced fruit with vegetables, as fruit contains lots of sugar.
HI Boris,
Thanks for your feedback. Yes, it’s amazing how you can easily lose weight only reducing added sugar from your diet. It’s easy, simple and free. That’s why I motivate everybody to at least try the challenge and experience the results. If you allow me to only point one thing about your comment. Fruit contains a lot of natural sugar, along with vitamins and fiber. Natural sugar present in fruit is not processed in the same way as the added sugar of chocolate, candies, and commercial cereals. I continue to eat everyday fruit for breakfast and I highly recommend it, especially for breakfast. I’ve written about the differences between added and natural occurring sugar on this article. Have a great day.
So, here is my deliberate sugar intake – sweetener in tea and coffee – total 1 – 3 cups a day – 2-6 packs of sweetener sachets that is…I do not eat chocolate or ice-cream and I always look for sugar content. I do have control and whenever I have strong urge once in a while, I eat it – not in excess though. I do not wish to train my mind that things are bad for eating but it is okay to eat anything as long as in control. My diet involves hard-cooked egg white, veggies, fruits, some rice, beans – pretty protein-rich. I would be dropping sweetener soon. I exercise/walk on a regular basis. I do not wish to drop milk as I think its advantages outweigh the sugar content. What are your thoughts on eating normal chocolates and ice-creams – frequency and quantity? Any additional tips would be great too.
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your comment. I perfectly understand your point “I do not wish to train my mind that things are bad for eating”. I have done this in the past and only worked for a few months, then I felt tired and frustrated and I’ve given up. That’s why I started with the challenges technic. A very simple idea, I will try something and see what happens, how I feel, do I feel any differences? do I experience any benefit?
I love ice-cream and chocolate, but I had a hard time to control myself so I end up a lot of times with my stomach hurting and bloated. Almost no energy, bad mood and depressed, after a frenzy of eating chocolate/ice-cream/or any high sugar food. The only way to control myself was not having chocolates and ice-cream at home, and it worked. But then once in a while, I would buy chocolate to watch a movie at home. 5 minutes after the chocolate was already gone and so was my energy. That’s when I decided to try 20 days without sugar, just to see what happens.
First days were hard, I realize I had a strong sugar addiction. Every time I resist to eat any high sugar food, my energy levels went up. After the first week my mood and focus had greatly improved and no more bloated sensation (more about my no-sugar story here).
Now, back to your question. After I finished my 20 days without sugar I had some chocolate and you know what? I enjoyed a lot but I couldn’t eat more than just a little piece because was so sweet. My body natural said “it’s good but is enough”. Instead of training my mind I’ve learned to listen to my body. But to listen to your body, first, you need some healing. In case of the sugar, the 20 no-sugar days was the time I needed to get rid of my sugar addiction. Once your addiction is gone, you’ll be able to listen to your body and you will know how much is enough for you. Honestly, this is the most important lesson I’ve learned this year and is the best tip I can give you.
More info about 20 No-Sugar Days Challenge can be found here.
Hope I’ve helped. All the luck to your journey. Have a great day.
Thanks Sarah for detailed response. I appreciate it. I will try doing that. I totally understand your approach since I have used it for some other purpose – munching items. I wanted to get rid of processed munching items that one snacks on – heavy in sugar, sodium and saturated fat. Now I do not have any urge to eat.
I want your input on milk consumption too. A lot of people ask to refrain from it but I think it should be part of the diet.
Hi Mark,
My pleasure to help. I’ve found lately that having diversified fruit at home, helps to have a healthy snack. When I go in automatic mode to the kitchen looking for something to bite, I end up having some grapes and that’s it, I leave the kitchen. Because I’m not really hungry is just I am probably anxious or impatient and I try to “cover” these emotions with food. It took me some time to understand how much we use food to “not deal” with our emotions. Being aware of that helped me realize that all the times I used food for that purpose (covering emotions) never really worked, it only made it worst. Eating is not the solution to deal with our emotions. Food should only be a way to get energy to fuel our body. I’m still in that process.
I’ve quit drinking cow milk around 7 years ago, in fact, I was just planning on writing an article about it. I quit, because I felt very bloated after drinking milk. I realized that milk was upsetting my stomach and giving me bloated sensation 15 minutes after. There’s also one thing that, at least for me, doesn’t make much sense. That milk was produced by a cow with nutrients and hormones specifically to feed baby cows and not humans.
There are plant-based natural sources of calcium like: kale, broccoli, Almonds, Orange, Seaweed, Sesame Seeds, Dried Figs.
Hope I’ve answered your question. Have a great day.
Fairlife Ultra Filtered Milk has half the sugar and twice the protein of regular milk. My hubby likes it better than regular, skim, 1% or fat free milk. He says it’s not as watery tasting and I just bought a half gallon of the fat free last week and it’s expiration date is Oct 24th.
Thanks Sarah. One comment of yours is weird “That milk was produced by a cow with nutrients and hormones specifically to feed baby cows and not humans”. In that sense, one can practically argue about everything that you eat.
Anyways, thanks for your time.
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your comment. Yes if we open your mind and allow other questions to be asked, maybe there are a lot of things we are eating today that doesn’t make sense. And, there are others like fruit and vegetables that make total sense for us humans to eat. Is just a thought. More importantly, and answering your question, we have to find which foods make us feel better in the long term. That’s what I’ve been focusing on the last months. Have a great day.
I’ve been told “cows milk is for baby cows” by several people – Drs and nutritionists. Every plant food was created by God for human consumption per Genesis 1:11
Question, are breads or carbs of any kind alright on this challenge?
Hi ! It depends how much “no-sugar” you want to go. Bread contains sugar, and some carbs are very high in sugar. I would recommend a 100% “no-sugar” challenge to really feel the benefits of a life without added sugar. All the luck