Many readers have asked about the different names for sugar sprinkled liberally throughout our food supply. So here they are. If you have trouble falling asleep, forget counting sheep. Counting sugar is a far more potent soporific. Learn them off by heart for your Christmas party trick!
I have divided them into two groups. Group 1 are synonyms for fructose. Group 2 are those that consist mostly or entirely of glucose. Both groups count towards your daily sugar allowance. The exceptions are lactose and galactose. Take this list with you next time you go shopping. You’ll notice that a single processed food often contains several different types of sugar. This is a deliberate ploy to disguise the fact that there is so much sugar in so many products. Now that you know sugar is a master of disguise, you’ll no longer be hoodwinked.
GROUP 1 – FRUCTOSE
I’ve subdivided these into sugars, syrups, juices, oses and other. The message is that they all count. Total of 40 names.
SUGARS
- agave nectar
- barbados sugar
- beet sugar
- brown sugar
- cane sugar
- caster sugar
- coconut sugar
- confectioner’s sugar
- date sugar
- demerera sugar
- golden sugar
- granulated sugar
- grape sugar
- icing sugar
- invert sugar
- muscovado sugar
- organic sugar
- palm sugar
- raw sugar
- raw organic sugar
- superfine sugar
- table sugar
- turbinado sugar
- yellow sugar
SYRUPS
- buttered syrup
- carob syrup
- high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
- golden syrup
- maple syrup
- refiner’s syrup
- sorghum syrup
JUICES
- cane juice crystals
- evaporated cane juice
- fruit juice
- fruit juice concentrate
- fruit juice extract
- OSES
- fructose
- crystalline fructose
- saccarose
- sucrose
OTHER WAYS THAT FRUCTOSE DISGUISES ITSELF
- blackstrap molasses
- molasses
- caramel
- honey
- treacle
- Florida crystals
- panocha
GROUP 2 – GLUCOSE
Total of 18 names, 16 of which count (ie lactose and galactose are not part of your quota but I include them for completeness).
SYRUPS
- corn syrup
- corn syrup solids
- malt syrup
- rice syrup
MALTS
- maltose
- maltobiose
- maltodextrin
- maltodextrose
- barley malt
- diastatic malt
- ethyl maltol
OSES
- glucose
- glucose solids
- dextrose
- dextran
- diatase
- lactose = milk sugar
- galactose = a component of milk sugar
This is probably not an exhaustive list but it will cover most of what you are likely to come across in a supermarket. How many do you recognise? Enjoy playing hide and seek. The food industry tries to hide the sugar and the game is for you to find it
To view our series on the real effects of sugar on the body click on the titles below:
- Part 1 – Sugar is the New Fat
- Part 2 – Fructose is the New Booze
- Part 3 – An Antidote to Fructose
[…] Part 4 – 50 Shades of Sugar […]