Added sugar can be found in a variety of different names and forms in your food and drink. Here's what to avoid if you want to be sugar free and what's okay (in moderation) if you want to cut down...
If you're trying to be sugar free - here are the names of the top fifteen offending sweeteners to avoid on a list of added ingredients:
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Maltose
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Glucose
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Sucrose
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Dextrose
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Dextrin
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Maltodextrin
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Lactose
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Fructose
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Fruit juice concentrate
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Corn syrup
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High-fructose corn syrup
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Malt syrup
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Barley malt syrup
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Rice syrup
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Invert sugar
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What about honey and maple syrup?
Yup - they're sugary too, but at least they're 100% natural and have lots of nutrients in them.
Maple syrup is sap from the maple tree and honey is made from flower nectar gathered by the beloved bee and has been used as a natural sweetener far longer than sugar.
You still shouldn't have too much, but if you are in need of a little something sweet in your food or drink, then a sneaky dollop of honey or maple syrup is your best bet.
Just be sure to avoid 'maple-flavoured' syrup - that is far from being the real thing.
What about fructose?
Any product that contains milk or fruit will contain some natural sugars. While milk contains lactose, fruit contains fructose.
Fructose is okay to have in whole fruit because it's naturally packaged up with fibre - exactly how nature intends you to consume sugar.
However, when you take the fibre away from fruit (like in fruit juices) and you're left with all that fructose - then it's not so good to have too much.
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a top offending baddy to avoid. Just because it says 'fructose' it doesn't mean that it's all natural and good - it's a processed sweetener.
How to avoid sugar
Avoiding sugar in drinks is pretty easy, just stick with crisp and pure water and you can't go wrong.
