By Hannah Stafford – Gleaners Nutrition Education Team
Are some sugars good and some bad? There’s a big difference between naturally occurring sugar and added sugar.
Naturally occurring sugar is in foods such as fruit, vegetables, dairy and grains.
These foods have lots of benefits to our health in addition to the energy they provide. Naturally occurring sugars are contained within natural, whole foods. It takes time for your body to digest these foods, slowing the release of sugar into your body, along with providing other important nutrients such as fiber and vitamins.
Naturally occurring sugars have different names: Glucose, Fructose, Lactose, Sucrose, Maltose and Galactose. But they all have a similar effect on the body.
Added sugars are added to foods during processing, preparation or at the table.
They have little nutritional benefit beyond providing energy. Added sugars are not contained within whole foods and are sometimes called ‘free’ sugars, so they are released much more quickly into the body.
Added sugars can be made by refining naturally occurring sugars e.g. sucrose, our most common table sugar, is refined from sugar cane plants. Added sugars can also be chemically manufactured, like high fructose corn syrup. Added sugars have many names that can look natural including Molasses, Corn syrup, Maple Syrup, Malt, Dextrose, Beet Sugar, Raw Sugar, Evaporated Cane Juice etc.
Why does added sugar matter? Too much added sugar in your diet can displace foods with the nutrients you need to be healthy. Diets high in added sugar can lead to health problems.
When deciding what to eat or drink, choose options that are full of nutrients and low in added sugars. You might expect added sugar to be found in desserts and candy, but items like bread, crackers, sauces and yogurts often have sugar added to them by manufacturers.
To reduce how much added sugar you eat you can:
- Think about your drink: choose water and limit juices or sweetened beverages
- Satisfy your sweet tooth with fruit-based desserts and snacks
- Choose lower sugar options: check the amount of ‘Added Sugar’ on the nutrition facts label
- Check the ingredients: if you see any of the many forms of sugar listed in the ingredients, you know it contains added sugar
Glucose, Dextrose, Fructose, Lactose, Sucrose, Maltose and Galactose, Honey, Syrup, Invert Sugar, Molasses, Corn syrup, Trehalose, Corn Sweetener, Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar, Confectioners Sugar, Evaporated Cane Juice, Malt, Turbinado Sugar, Beet Sugar