Are You Eating Sugar And Not Aware of It

Are you eating more sugar than you think you are? If you’re trying to cut down on (or eliminate) sugar, it may not be as simple as it sounds. Sugar seems to sneak into virtually every processed food, and often under code names that don’t explicitly say “sugar.”

If you’re using sweeteners, we always recommend the least processed sweeteners possible – raw honey, pure maple syrup and stevia are among our favorites. And above all, a fresh piece of fruit is truly the best way to indulge in a little sweetness. If you free yourself from added sugars, you’ll find that fruit tastes incredibly sweet on its own.

In the meantime, here are a few names sugar hides behind. Get familiar, and don’t be fooled by these sweet-sounding disguises! While some are better for you than others (some of them are way more processed than others), they still act like sugar in your body.

Just a Few of the Many Names for Sugar

Evaporated Cane Juice
Brown Rice Syrup
Agave
Barley Malt
Beet Sugar
Blackstrap Molasses
Brown Sugar
Cane Juice
Coconut Sugar
Turbinado Sugar
Honey
Maple Syrup
Malodextrin
Lactose
Maltose
Corn Syrup
Corn Syrup Solids
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Invert sugar
Crystalline Fructose
Date Sugar
Demara Sugar
Muscavado Sugar
Raw Sugar
Glucose
Fructose

The good news is this: if you’re focusing on eating whole foods as they’re found in nature, and you aren’t eating processed foods from a package, your risk of eating these pesky hidden sugars is way less. Make it easier on yourself – go for the real foods, and you won’t have to do any of this sugar-finding detective work!