Test Your Knowledge

Experts encourage people to get moderate levels of sugar as part of a well-balanced diet. Food labels offer the best information about a food’s sugar content. The nutrition facts label that is present on processed food packaging reveals information such as the amount of sugars, calories and carbohydrates per serving. It is important to remember that certain words are synonyms for “sugar.” These include “corn syrup,” “dextrin,” “molasses” and any word that ends in “ose” (e.g., maltose).

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), consumption of various sweeteners in the United States has increased from an estimated 113 pounds (51.2 kilograms) per person in 1966 to 147 pounds (66.7 kilograms) in 2001. Other sugars commonly appear on food labels as the following:

• High fructose corn syrup
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Malt syrup
• Crystalline fructose
• Maple syrup
• Brown sugar
• Corn sweetener
• Dextrose
• Fructose
• Glucose
• Honey
• Invert sugar
• Lactose
• Maltose
• Raw sugar or turbinado sugar
• Sucrose

The higher sugar appears on the ingredient list, the more likely it is that sugar is present in significant amounts. If a sugar occurs naturally in a product, it will not be listed with other ingredients. People who are trying to cut back on their sugar intake are encouraged to look for phrases such as “sugar-free” or “no sugar added.”

Terms that commonly appear on labels include:

• Calorie-free (less than 5 calories)
  
  
• Sugar-free (less than 0.5 calories per serving)
  
  
• Reduced sugar or less sugar (at least 25 percent less sugar per serving than standard food)
  
  
• No added sugars, without added sugar, no sugar (no sugars added during processing or packing)

Other tips for reducing sugar intake include:

• Do not overindulge in foods that are mostly sugars. Foods that contain a lot of sugar but few other nutrients include candy, cake, cookies, jam, jelly, soft drinks and syrup.
  
  
• Moderate the use of table sugar. Use minimal amounts of table sugar to sweeten coffee or tea, cereal or French toast. Cinnamon can serve as a good substitute for sugar when sweetening certain foods. 
  
  
• Use sugar substitutes. These products sweeten foods and drinks without adding excessive calories to a person’s diet. Sugar substitutes often are used by people concerned about weight gain, or who have medical conditions such as diabetes. However, sugar substitutes still should be consumed in moderation. Like sugar, they do not provide any nutrients.