Hidden sugars are lurking everywhere. When you see ‘sugar’ on a food label, what comes to your mind? The sugar you use at home? Yes, that’s sugar. But that’s just one type of sugar.
Sugar is carbohydrate, but in simple form. Other types of sugar include:
- glucose
- fructose
- galactose
- maltose (two glucoses)
- sucrose (glucose + fructose) lactose (glucose and galactose)
The first three are simple sugars. It means they’re already in the tiniest form so. And your body can use them immediately without first breaking them down. The last three require just a little effort from your body to break them down.
Glucose-fructose 101
Glucose and fructose are very common. Your body prefers to get its energy from glucose. When you eat something containing glucose, your body uses it right away when it needs it. Or store it for later if not needed at that moment.
Fructose is the sugar found in fruits and honey. It’s sweeter than glucose and the body handles it differently, mainly in the liver.
What “added sugar” actually means
When you see “added sugar”, it means any sugar that’s added during the processing or preparation of the food. This is the hidden sugars lurk.
This includes everything from the sugar in your morning coffee to the sugar in soda, cookies, sauces, and many more.
Added sugars don’t naturally occur in the food but are put into the food for a specific purpose. Usually, it’s for sweetness, but there are other reasons which you’ll come across soon.
💡Quick tip
When you take in sugar directly from its source, it’s considered natural. But when you take it from processed food, or add it separately to the food, it becomes added sugar. Once it’s isolated from its source, it’s “added”
Why too much sugar is not good
You already know consuming too much sugar (sucrose for the purpose of this section) isn’t good. So this section is just a refresher.
When you take a lot of sugar, it goes straight into your blood (remember the body doesn’t need much work to break it down?) This will cause a rapid increase in your energy levels at first, followed by a sharp drop.
It’s like lifting a weight and then dropping it suddenly. This sharp drop stresses your body. Over time, it can strain insulin response, leading to insulin resistance and potentially type 2 diabetes, and a host of other issues.
Excessive sugar is also addictive. The more sugar you consume it, the more you crave it. There’s a dopamine system driving this. It forms a cycle that’s very hard to break (food companies know this very well).
Besides the sugars already mentioned, there are many other types of “sugars” you might find on a food label. If you know these sugars, you can make better choices about the products you consume.
How do you spot hidden sugars?
The only place is on the food label, specifically, the ingredient list. In highly processed foods, you may find more than one type of hidden sugar. So always read the food label.
12 hidden sugars: names you see on food label that are also sugars
1. High Fructose Corn Syrup
It’s one major liquid “sugar” used in many processed and ultra-processed foods. It contains glucose and fructose, but the fructose quantity is higher. This means it’s sweeter than normal sugar.
You’ll find it in an incredible number and sometimes unexpected food products – breakfast cereals, dairy products, salad dressings, bread (industrial). It’s an unending list.
Other names: HFCS, Glucose-Fructose
Why manufacturers use it
- It’s cheaper than normal sugar.
- It’s sweeter than normal sugar.
- It prevents the food from becoming too dry.
2. Maltodextrin
It’s gotten from cornstarch. It’s white, powdery, has no taste and can easily dissolve in water. It can also be made from other starches – wheat, rice, and tapioca.
Other names: corn syrup solids, modified corn starch
Why manufacturers use it
- It gives good texture to some baked foods.
- It improves the flavor of some liquid foods.
- It prevents some baked goods from becoming hard.
- It helps thicken ice cream, and prevent crystals from forming.
Maltodextrin has no nutritional value, but it has a high glycemic index. This means it can raise blood sugar levels quickly if taken too much.
One likely way to take too much is if you take too much of products containing it especially in short periods of time. And also continuously for a long time. Speak of getting stuck with a favorite bakery product you can’t have enough of for so long.
3. Invert sugar
Invert sugar is a glucose-fructose mixture in a liquid form.
Other names: simple syrup, sugar water, sucrose inversion bar syrup
Why manufacturers use it
- It prevents foods from becoming hard.
- It helps the food to stay long without spoiling.
- It dissolves very well, especially in soft and fizzy drinks.
- It helps with better consistency of some liquid foods like icecream.
🤔Question
Have you ever seen a food product where all three – HFCS, maltodextrin and invert sugar, are on the ingredient list?
4. Dextrose
It’s a simple sugar made from corn, rice or wheat. It’s chemically the same as glucose. It has a high glycemic index, so it can cause a quick rise in blood sugar.
Other names: Glucose, Corn Sugar
Why manufacturers use it
- Sports food products usually use it for the quick energy boost.
- It’s also for giving specific texture to the food product.
- It’s a sweetener in many products.
5. Lactose
Lactose is a natural sugar found in milk and dairy products. It’s not as sweet as the other types of sugars. And you need an enzyme called lactase to be properly digest it.
Do you remember lactose intolerance? If you’re lactose intolerant, it means your body produces little or no lactase enzyme. So you can’t really digest lactose. This can cause bloating and other discomfort.
Other names: milk sugar
Why manufacturers use it
- To add mild sweetness to dairy products.
- They use it as food to feed the bacteria that helps in fermentation of dairy products.
- They also use it for its nutritional value; it helps absorb calcium and other minerals in dairy products.
6. Fructose
This sugar is naturally found in fruits, honey, and some vegetables. It’s one of the sweetest naturally occurring sugars. That’s why a well-ripe banana or mango is so sweet.
Other names: fruit sugar, levulose
Why manufacturers use it
- It’s very sweet so a little bit of it gives desired sweetness. That’s lots of cost savings for the company.
- It used to improve the flavor in soft drinks, baked goods, desserts, due to its fruity taste.
- It also prevents drying of baked goods keeping them soft for a long time.
🔥Hot Tip
While fructose is naturally found in many healthy foods, excessive intake from processed foods can have those negative health effects.
7. Sucrose
This is the one you know and have used in your coffee or tea. It’s natural in many plants. But is usually extracted from sugarcane and sugar beets. It’s the standard for sweetness and used widely in both household and industry.
Sucrose = glucose + fructose bonded together.
These two are not necessarily bonded together in invert sugar, HFCS.
Other names: table sugar, cane sugar, beet sugar
Why manufacturers use it
- It’s universal, it’s the standard for sweetness.
- It’s very versatile so it can be used in many foods.
- It’s used as preservative for products like jams, jellies.
Sucrose is natural in fruits and veggies. But the main problem is using it as added sugar in processed foods, and even in households! High consumption can cause tooth decay, weight gain and other diseases.
8. Glucose syrup
It’s more like glucose but in the liquid form. And it’s made by breaking down starch (mostly from corn). Wheat, potato, or rice starches are also used.
Other names: corn syrup, glucose-fructose syrup (if fructose is added)
Why manufacturers use it
- It’s used for its sweetness.
- It’s also used to preserve the product.
- It’s used to stabilize texture of the products.
- It’s to give a smooth texture, particularly in candies and frostings
Glucose syrup has a high glycemic index and it’s particularly concerning for people managing diabetes or trying to maintain steady energy levels.
9. Maltose
It’s made up of two glucose bonded together. It’s found naturally in germinating grains. It’s mostly used in baked or brewed products.
Other names: malt sugar
Why manufacturers use it
- It gives mild sweetness and malty flavor to food products.
- It facilitates fermentation during brewing and baking.
10. Molasses
It’s a thick, dark syrup that’s a byproduct of sugar refining. They use it mostly in sauces, baked foods and some health foods. It’s rich in vitamins and minerals, mainly iron, calcium, and magnesium.
Other names: black treacle, blackstrap molasses
Why manufacturers use it
- Gives a dark or brown color to the food.
- It also reduces drying of the food product.
- It adds a deep sweetness with slightly bitter undertone.
- Has good nutritional value so could be found in health foods.
11. Treacle
It’s a thick sweet syrup from sugar refining. It’s similar to molasses. Treacle is sweeter, lighter in color and thinner in consistency than molasses.
Other names: golden syrup (light treacle), black treacle (dark treacle)
Why manufacturers use it
- Adds color to baked goods.
- It gives a peculiar sweetness to the food.
- Helps to maintain moisture in baked goods.
12. Turbinado sugar
It’s semi-refined sugar with a light brown large crystals. The brown color is from some of the molasses that remained during processing.
Other names: raw sugar, demerara sugar
Why manufacturers use it
- Used for its mild caramel flavor.
- It gives a crunchy texture to foods.
- It’s considered healthier and so could be found in health foods (mostly baked goods and beverages)
💡Quick Tip
Many of these sugars are naturally found in foods like fruits and grains. But they’re isolated through processing. Some could also made artificially.
Why manufacturers use a combo of these sugars in just one product.
You read an ingredient list and can see up to 4 or more of these hidden sugars in just one food product! Why is this so?
Different sugars have different characteristics. And manufacturers use each for the specific reason (some mentioned above).
For example, some sugars prevent the product from drying up, some make the product soft, others preserve the product, others too are cheaper, etc. So manufacturers try different types of sugars and combinations until they get a combo that’s ‘good’ for the product.
Actually, the purpose is to make the product appeal to you (while also managing cost in most cases). So that you can buy. There’s nothing wrong with this intention.
However, here’s the unintended consequence. When you taste the food, and get hooked, you tend to eat more. Sometimes, more than necessary. And this cascades into a series of health issues [what happens to the company?].
Imagine this same principle of getting you hooked is applied to healthy foods.
How do these sugars impact your daily nutrition?
Food manufacturers MIGHT use these sugars in small amounts. So one biscuit or fizzy drink once a while isn’t necessarily harmful.
But if you take two biscuits and a bottle of fizzy drink once or twice a day, almost daily. If you put one biscuit and “fruit juice” in your child’s lunch box regularly.
These daily intakes add up quickly in the mid to long term. Even in the short them, it can make you feel crappy and not-so-good. This causes high calorie intake, higher blood sugar levels, and weight gain and the rest.
Check this LinkedIn post on how these sugars can add up quickly
Here's what you can do
If any of these sugars is in the first 5 ingredients in a food product, then it’s high in the food. You could then decide how to consume it.
You could buy smaller portions, you don’t buy at all, you eat it once in a while, or something else that works for you and in favor of your health.
MODERATION IS THE KEY.
In fact, it’s the whole door and way to better health through food.
Stay informed
That’s it! The next time you see “sugar” on a food label, don’t just think of sucrose (table sugar). It can be any of these sugars or even a combination.
Some food manufacturers list a mix of sugars, like sucrose, invert sugar, and HFCS, simply as “sugar.” Others specify each sugar by name. So stay informed and make well-informed choices for a happier YOU!
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