Code Word: Sugar

A considerable difference between today’s standard grocery foods and the foods our parents and grandparents grew up eating is sugar.  We can thank the introduction of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) into our diets in 1980 for a significant portion of the change as it has since become the leading sweetener in our food.  Initially this might not seem so appalling except that we didn’t stop using, or cut back on, our intake of refined sugar; we now consume both and in large quantities (all the more sugary sweetness). 

Since 1985 the standard annual consumption of HFCS has gone from 45 pounds per year to 66 pounds per year, per person.  If you combine this with the refined sugars we were already eating our annual sugar intake has gone from 128 pounds to 158 pounds per year, averaging 2-3 pounds of sugar eaten per week, per person! (page 128, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan)  When you consider that in 1890 the annual average sugar intake was 5 pounds per year aren’t you astounded?  Guess what also went up with our sugar intake?  Cancer, cardiovascular disease, Type II diabetes, obesity, and so forth. 

Thanks to Laura Dolson and her article titled “Sugar’s Many Disguises” you can easily decode the names of sugar hidden on the ingredient labels of your food.

Here is a list of some of the possible code words for “sugar” which may appear on a food label. Hint: the words “syrup”, “sweetener”, and anything ending in “ose” can usually be assumed to be “sugar”. If the label says “no added sugars”, it should not contain any of the following, although the food could contain naturally-occurring sugars (such as lactose in milk).

• Agave Nectar
• Corn sweetener
• Corn syrup, or corn syrup solids
• Cane Juice
• Dehydrated Cane Juice
• Dextrin
• Dextrose
• Fructose
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Glucose
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Honey
• Invert sugar
• Lactose
• Maltodextrin
• Malt syrup
• Maltose
• Mannitol
• Maple syrup
• Molasses
• Raw sugar
• Rice Syrup
• Saccharose
• Sorbitol
• Sorghum or sorghum syrup
• Sucrose
• Syrup
• Treacle
• Turbinado Sugar
• Xylose

In addition to its various names sugar can be found in just as wide of a variety of products.  Specifically HFCS can be found in many cereals, candy bars, Power Bar, breads, sodas, stuffing, ketchups, miracle whip, cough syrups, Cool Whip, Yoplait Yogurts, Claussen pickles, Mott’s applesauce, ice creams, syrups, salad dressings, marinades, Oscar Meyer Lunchables, and so much more.  (Click here to see a list – a little outdated but worth a look)

A bit overwhelming isn’t it?  To balance it out HERE is a list of foods that do not contain HFCS.

HFCS can also be found in organic foods (so long as it is grown organically) so it is important to read labels no matter where you shop and use your decoder to see what is hidden in your food.