You’ve started a ketogenic diet and you’re feeling fabulous. You’ve worked to turn your body into a finely tunes fat burning machine. Counting carbs has become a part of you everyday life, you check the carb content of everything that goes in your mouth, food, medicines, even gum and mints. Your macros are spot on. You’ve got this..right??
There’s more to the big picture than that nutritional label. You need to be careful what ingredients you’re eating. Its downright disturbing how many names are currently being used for sugar. Its not just the white stuff in the bowl!
Think of that parent, trying to do right by their child and scanning the ingredients for extra sugars. There are no sugars listed, but is it sugar free? Probably not!
That health-conscious parent in mind, instead of adding 100 grams of sugar to the ingredient list, they might add 10 grams of 10 different hidden sugars. Keeping the weights down keeps the ingredients lower on the label. Creating many different names for sugar confuses consumers and lowers the odds of recognition.
Here is a list of over 60 different names that companies use to hide sugars from consumers. Get ready to have your mind blown!!
Agave nectar
Barbados sugar
Barley malt
Barley malt syrup
Beet sugar
Brown sugar
Buttered syrup
Cane juice
Cane juice crystals
Cane sugar
Caramel
Carob syrup
Castor sugar
Coconut palm sugar
Coconut sugar
Confectioner’s sugar
Corn sweetener
Corn syrup
Corn syrup solids
Date sugar
Dehydrated cane juice
Demerara sugar
Dextrin
Dextrose
Evaporated cane juice
Free-flowing brown sugars
Fructose
Fruit juice
Fruit juice concentrate
Glucose
Glucose solids
Golden sugar
Golden syrup
Grape sugar
HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup)
Honey
Icing sugar
Invert sugar
Malt syrup
Maltodextrin
Maltol
Maltose
Mannose
Maple syrup
Molasses
Muscovado
Palm sugar
Panocha
Powdered sugar
Raw sugar
Refiner’s syrup
Rice syrup
Saccharose
Sorghum syrup
Sucrolose
Sucrose
Sugar (granulated)
Sweet sorghum
Syrup
Treacle
Turbinado sugar
Yellow sugar
Long story, short version. Make sure you read the entire label, not just the nutritional facts. Be informed and know what you’re putting in your body. It really will make a difference at the end of the day.
