The sugars that you eat can occur naturally or be added. Natural sugars are found naturally in the food — like fructose in fruit and lactose in milk. Added sugars are the many kinds of sugar and syrup – including sweeteners like honey, agave, and maple syrup, for example — that are added into food at the table or during the food’s preparation or processing.
Common Sources Of Added Sugars
Some sources are obvious – others require a bit of checking of the ingredients label. The same food item from different companies may have varying amounts of added sugar. Here are some examples of foods that usually have added sugar:
- Regular soft drinks
- Sugar; syrups (do you put maple syrup on your pancakes?); and candy
- Cakes; cookies; pies; donuts; pastries; breakfast and snack bars
- Fruit drinks like fruitades and fruit punch; sweetened teas, sports drinks, and flavored water
- Dairy desserts and milk products like ice cream; sweetened yogurt; pudding; and flavored milk
- Many cereals; toast with jelly/jam; and many breads — both home made “quick breads” and store-bought sliced breads
- Sweeteners added to coffee, tea, cereal; canned fruit