In Part One of our series on sugar, we discussed the most common sugars you might have at home and typically use in your own drinks and baked goods. Food processing companies, however, have access to dozens more ingredients that they can use in their products, all of which are sugar – but under different names.

Here’s a fun game: how many different names for sugar can you find on this ingredient label?

Keep in mind that labeling laws in the U.S. require a product’s ingredients to be listed in descending weight order, with the most prevalent ingredient first and so on. Because added sugars are in at least 75% of all processed foods (a conservative estimate), manufacturers are understandably wary of listing sugar as one of the first three ingredients, even if that’s technically true. So the loophole here is to obviously identify sugars individually – that is, maltodextrin separate from high fructose corn syrup which is separate from invert sugar and so on. Did you know that sugar goes by over 60 different names on American food labels, and anything ending in “-ose” is sugar? If you see more than three of these on a product label – especially if they occur within the top three ingredients – put it back on the shelf.

1. Agave nectar
2. Barbados sugar
3. Barley malt
4. Barley malt syrup
5. Beet sugar
6. Brown sugar
7. Buttered syrup
8. Cane juice
9. Cane juice crystals
10. Cane sugar
11. Caramel
12. Carob syrup
13. Castor sugar
14. Coconut palm sugar
15. Coconut sugar
16. Confectioner’s sugar
17. Corn sweetener
18. Corn syrup
19. Corn syrup solids
20. Date sugar
21. Dehydrated cane juice
22. Demerara sugar
23. Dextrin
24. Dextrose
25. Evaporated cane juice
26. Free-flowing brown sugars
27. Fructose
28. Fruit juice
29. Fruit juice concentrate
30. Glucose
31. Glucose solids
32. Golden sugar
33. Golden syrup
34. Grape sugar
35. HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup)
36. Honey
37. Icing sugar
38. Invert sugar
39. Malt syrup
40. Maltodextrin
41. Maltol
42. Maltose
43. Mannose
44. Maple syrup
45. Molasses
46. Muscovado
47. Palm sugar
48. Panocha
49. Powdered sugar
50. Raw sugar
51. Refiner’s syrup
52. Rice syrup
53. Saccharose
54. Sorghum syrup
55. Sucrose
56. Sugar (granulated)
57. Sweet sorghum
58. Syrup
59. Treacle
60. Turbinado sugar
61. Yellow sugar

But salad is so healthy! You’ve got to add some sugar to it to make it taste good.

One of the most significant and positive changes to occur in American food labeling was scheduled to go into effect in 2018, and that was the mandatory addition of “added sugars” in the standard nutrition facts box. Unfortunately, the FDA caved to massive pressure from major food companies and rolled back the deadline indefinitely. Given the current administration’s daily commitment to undermining both the public’s (and the environment’s) health, it will come as no surprise when this new deadline is again pushed back, or perhaps eliminated entirely.

Some companies opted to go forward with the revised labeling, as seen here. Notice the large calories per serving number, and the added sugars.

The revised labeling was important because it would have helped Americans understand just how much sugar is added to processed foods, even ones you might not suspect. Yogurt, bread, granola bars, spaghetti sauce, condiments and hundreds of other products contain added sugars – so much that we’re now consuming upwards of seventy pounds of added sugars each year. And while soda and other sweetened drinks (looking at you, Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino!) can rightfully take a lot of blame for this, sugar and all its cousins help food manufacturers immensely. Sugar obviously gives foods a sweeter taste, but it also aids in preservation, browning and in masking the taste of other unpleasant chemicals used to process food. Plus, at an industrial level, it’s really cheap.

Because the FDA clearly doesn’t want to help you eat better, you’ve got to take responsibility for yourself. Read every single ingredient label. Sugar is typically listed in grams, and about 4 grams equals one teaspoon of sugar. Current recommendations are for women to eat no more than six teaspoons of added sugar (about 100 calories) per day, and for men to eat no more than nine teaspoons (about 150 calories). Caloric requirements vary widely based on body type, activity level and a host of other factors, but just know that your body will never, ever suffer if you give it less sugar. You’ll still get all the sugar you need from a whole-food diet centered on fruit, quality dairy, vegetables and whole grains.

This yogurt contains the same amount of sugar per ounce as soda.

Also, be wary of the numerous products with “health halos,” meaning that they’re perceived as healthy even though they’re often loaded with sugar. Yogurt is one of the biggest villains; it’s been sold as a magical cure-all but in truth it’s more like dessert. The six-ounce cups above contain 19 grams of sugar; that’s close to your entire daily allowance of added sugar, and it’s just in one little yogurt. Add in a granola bar and a sweetened coffee drink and you’re done for the week. Instead, make your own yogurt and sweeten it with fresh fruit.

Spreads, like peanut butter and Nutella, are a major source of hidden added sugar. 

Nut butters have health halos too, but most contain lots of added sugars. Notice the peanut butter packet in front; it contains 8 grams of sugar per 32 gram serving. The peanut butter in the upper right, however, is just peanuts and salt, so you’re only consuming 1 gram of sugar in that same 32 gram serving. Plus, the front of the peanut butter packet proudly shouts “Natural peanut butter made with honey!” While that may be true, it contains more dried cane syrup than honey, demonstrating that honey is perceived as a “good-for-you sugar.” Watch out for this sort of confusing and manipulative advertising. (We won’t even discuss the fake Nutella in the upper left. It’s all sugar and palm oil.)

Remember, if you don’t know what it is you probably shouldn’t eat it.

Next up: we talk about how the sugar industry, like Big Tobacco, has known for decades that sugar is hugely detrimental to our health, and how they’ve managed to conceal that – while placing blame squarely on saturated fat. Plus, you’ll learn what sugar actually does to your body, and we’ll provide some helpful tips on how to reduce sugar in your diet!