SUGAR
Sugar is in the news these days. Sugar in food can be naturally occurring, like the sugar in fruits, dairy foods, vegetables and grains, or it can be added, like in sweetened beverages, candy, cookies, coffee, sugar sweetened cereals, fruit chews and energy drinks. Reading the ingredient list on the food package is the best way to determine if the food or drink you are choosing is high in added sugars. Look for these names for sugar:

Brown sugar     Corn sweetener                   Corn syrup
Dextrose          Fructose                             Fruit juice concentrates
Glucose           High-fructose corn syrup      Honey
Invert sugar       Lactose                             Maltose
Malt syrup        Molasses                           Raw sugar
Sucrose            Sugar                               Syrup

If one of these types of sugar is the first or second ingredient listed on the ingredient label, you know the food or drink has a lot of added sugar. The 'sugars' line on the Nutrition Facts Label, located below 'total carbohydrates' tells you the total of added and naturally occurring sugars in a food or drink. This is why you will need to read the ingredient list to figure out the amount of added sugar. Let's visualize the amount of sugar in some popular drinks. One gram of sugar (from the 'sugars' line on the Nutrition Facts Label) equals 4 teaspoons of white sugar. A 24 ounce bottle of Mountain Dew has 92 grams of sugars. When we do the math, you will find that 92 grams of sugars equals 23 teaspoons (92 grams divided by 4 teaspoons) of sugar! 23 teaspoons is 1 teaspoon short of ½ cup of sugar. The only nutrient sugar provides is calories and many of us do not need extra calories with no other nutritional benefits. If you find that a lot of the foods and drinks you and your family enjoy contain many of the variations of sugar listed above, it might be time to look for some lower added sugar options.

Jennifer Reardon, MS, RD, CDN