11 Ways Companies Are Hiding Sugar In Your Food

Health | Did You Know

11 Ways Companies Are Hiding Sugar In Your Food

Harvard Health

Nowadays, the first thing we do when we buy food is look at the ingredients.

Health advocates urge people to consume less sugar to avoid obesity, diabetes, tooth decay and many other medical conditions.

By law, food manufacturers have to list every ingredient, which is a good thing. We know to avoid sugary foods like candy, chocolate, and sodas, but once we stay clear of those obvious ones there are many foods we are not sure of that contain a lot of sugar.

So your efforts to curb sugar may only be a reassuring thought in your head--but it's not your fault.

You may have heard of fructose, sucrose, and glucose, which are other names for simple sugars, but there's so many more we're unaware of.

It took a team of researchers to discover the mystery behind some of these strange, and also not so strange, sounding ingredients found on nutritional labels.

There's more than one, two, five, or even ten names for sugar!

Here's a list of common unrecognizable names that indicate your food has added sugar:

  • dextrose
  • dextran
  • flo-malt
  • clintose

Here's a list of common "naturally sounding" names:

  • cane juice
  • corn syrup
  • brown rice syrup
  • agave nectar
  • 'fruit' juice concentrate
  • dried raisin sweetener
  • sorghum syrup

To learn more names for sugar, visit Dr. Senani Wijesena's website, who lists 60 different names for sugar to keep an eye out for.

Make sure to check nutritional labels for these ingredients!

Moojan has been a writer at Shared for a year. When she's not on the lookout for viral content, she's looking at cute animal photos. Reach her at moojan@shared.com.