The average American consumes 17 grams of added sugar a day, which means we’re taking in far more sweetener than health experts recommend. Yet here’s the thing: most of us don’t even realize where that sugar is coming from. You glance at a granola bar package boasting “organic” and “high protein” credentials. Seems harmless, right? Maybe you pick up plant-based milk or low-fat Greek yogurt, thinking you’re making smart choices. Truth is, over 68% of barcoded food products sold in the U.S. contain added sweeteners – even if they are labeled as “natural” or “healthy.” So where’s all this hidden sugar lurking, and how can you catch it before it lands in your cart?
Look for Words Ending in “OSE”
One clue to finding sugars in an ingredient list is to look for words ending in “-ose,” such as dextrose or fructose – all of these are some type of sugar. This little suffix is your first red flag. Maltose, sucrose, glucose – they all belong to the sugar family, though manufacturers scatter them throughout ingredient lists hoping you won’t notice. Let’s be real, food companies aren’t trying to deceive you on purpose, necessarily. They’re simply using various sugar forms to achieve specific textures or shelf stability in their products.
The trick is realizing that most of them contain dext or ose in the name of their ingredients, such as maltodextrin, maltose, dextrose, and sucrose. Once you start spotting this pattern, it becomes second nature.
Check the “Added Sugars” Line on Nutrition Facts
Since 2021, food companies have been required to list the quantity of added sugars separately from total sugar content. This was supposed to be a game changer for consumers. Finally, we could tell the difference between the natural sugars in, say, a container of strawberries versus the sweeteners dumped into flavored yogurt. The Daily Value for added sugars is 50 grams per day based on a 2,000 calorie daily diet. That’s roughly about twelve teaspoons if you’re doing the math.
For most adults, that’s no more than 50 grams (12 teaspoons) per day on a 2,000-calorie diet. The American Heart Association recommends even stricter limits: Women: No more than 25 grams (6 teaspoons) of added sugar per day. Problem is, a single flavored yogurt might already pack nine grams of added sugar.
Beware of Multiple Sugar Types in One Product
To make their products appear healthier, some use smaller amounts of three or four types of sugar in a single product. These sugars then appear further down on the ingredients list, making a product look low in sugar – when sugar is one of its main ingredients. Honestly, it’s a clever tactic. Ingredients are listed by weight, with the heaviest components appearing first. If a manufacturer splits their sweeteners between cane sugar, corn syrup, and fruit juice concentrate, none of these ingredients might crack the top three on the label.
You think you’re safe because “sugar” isn’t listed second or third. There may be as much as 7.5 teaspoons (30 grams) of added sugar in a single bar. Yet when you add up all those sneaky sugar sources, you’re still consuming a shocking amount. Always scan the entire ingredient list.
Sugar Has More Than 56 Different Names
There are at least 56 common synonyms for sugar. That number sounds absurd until you start reading labels carefully. There are at least 61 different names for sugar listed on food labels. Some are obvious: brown sugar, cane sugar, honey. Others are trickier: barley malt, rice syrup, agave nectar, maltodextrin. Manufacturers aren’t necessarily being deceptive – they’re using what works best for their recipes. Still, this makes it incredibly difficult for average shoppers to spot added sweeteners.
While some of these names are more obvious, like brown and cane sugar, others are trickier to spot (e.g., maltodextrin and dextrose). Keep a mental list or snap a photo of common sugar aliases on your phone. When you’re standing in the cereal aisle comparing boxes, that reference becomes invaluable.
Scan for “Syrup” on the Ingredients List
Look for the words syrup and sugar. Any ingredient containing the word “syrup” – whether it’s high-fructose corn syrup, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or malt syrup – means sugar has been added. Syrups are concentrated sources of sweetness, and food manufacturers love them because they blend easily into products and extend shelf life. Syrups are usually thick liquids made from large quantities of sugar dissolved in water. They are found in a wide variety of foods but most often in cold drinks or other liquids.
Even products marketed as “no high-fructose corn syrup” might still contain other syrups that deliver the same sugar punch. Read carefully.
Don’t Trust “Natural” or “Healthy” Claims
Healthy grocery buzzwords like those often cover up an unhealthy amount of sugar. Added sugars are difficult to quickly spot because many companies use clever marketing to distract consumers. The front of a package might scream “organic,” “all natural,” or “made with real fruit,” but flip it over and you might find the sugar content rivals that of candy. Roasted nuts, plant-based milks and wasabi peas, for example, can include a surprising amount of added sugars. So can English muffins and Greek yogurt.
One Chobani black cherry yogurt, for example, has zero grams of fat but 9 grams of added sugar, or more than 2 teaspoons. That’s nearly half a woman’s recommended daily limit in one tiny container. The lesson? Never judge a product by its front-of-package marketing alone.
Watch Out for Sugar Alternatives That Don’t Count as “Added Sugars”
Companies reduced common sweeteners like refined beet sugar and high-fructose corn syrup but added alternatives, such as monk fruit and the sugar alcohol erythritol, which aren’t considered “added sugars” under FDA regulations. This regulatory loophole allows manufacturers to claim lower added sugar numbers while still delivering sweetness. Monk fruit and erythritol might not spike your blood sugar like table sugar does, but they can still train your palate to crave sweeter foods.
Some research even suggests artificial sweeteners might trigger insulin responses that lead to increased hunger and fat storage. The takeaway isn’t that all sugar substitutes are bad, but that a zero-added-sugar label doesn’t automatically mean a product is unsweetened or healthy.
Ultra-Processed Foods Deliver Nearly All Our Added Sugar
Ultra-processed foods comprised 57.9% of energy intake, and contributed 89.7% of the energy intake from added sugars. Let that sink in. Nearly ninety percent of the added sugar Americans consume comes from ultra-processed products – think packaged snacks, sugary drinks, frozen meals, and sweetened cereals. The content of added sugars in ultra-processed foods (21.1% of calories) was eightfold higher than in processed foods (2.4%) and fivefold higher than in unprocessed or minimally processed foods.
Consumption of added sugars increased linearly across quintiles of ultra-processed food consumption: from 7.5% of total energy in the lowest quintile to 19.5% in the highest. A total of 82.1% of Americans in the highest quintile exceeded the recommended limit of 10% energy from added sugars, compared with 26.4% in the lowest. The more ultra-processed foods you eat, the more sugar you’re consuming – it’s that simple.
Compare Products Side by Side
Compare nutrition labels, and get to know brands low in added sugar that you know to be available in stores where you normally shop and can buy regularly. This takes a bit of extra time in the grocery aisle, but it pays off. You might discover that one brand of marinara sauce contains three grams of added sugar per serving while another has eleven grams. Same goes for bread, yogurt, granola, and nut butters.
Once you identify your go-to low-sugar brands, shopping becomes faster. You won’t need to scrutinize every label each time. I know it sounds crazy, but honestly, becoming a label detective transforms how you eat. You start realizing how much unnecessary sugar gets stuffed into everyday foods.
Remember That Ingredient Order Matters
Keep in mind that ingredients are listed by quantity from high to low: the closer to the front of the list a form of sugar is, the more the product contains. If any sugar synonym appears within the first three ingredients, that’s a red flag. It means sugar is a primary component of that food. Ingredients are listed by weight on packaged foods, with the main ingredients listed first. The more of one item, the higher up on the list it appears.
This rule applies whether you’re evaluating breakfast cereal, salad dressing, or protein bars. A product might boast health benefits on the front, but if sugar (in any form) dominates the ingredient list, you’re essentially eating candy dressed up as health food.
Catching hidden sugar before you buy isn’t about perfection. It’s about awareness. Once you know the clues – those tricky sugar aliases, the multiple sweetener trick, the “added sugars” line on nutrition labels – you can make choices that actually align with your health goals. The food industry isn’t going to simplify labels for us anytime soon, so the power sits with you at the grocery store. Are you ready to become a sugar sleuth and take control of what’s really going into your body?
