While most people know added sugar is not ideal, navigating food labels can be confusing, particularly because there are so many “code” words for sugar. Here is a comprehensive list of words for sugar, so you can make informed food choices.
Table of contents
Understanding Names for Added Sugar
The term “sugar” refers to a sweet-tasting carbohydrate, which is the body’s main source of fuel. It is naturally occurring in many foods, known as natural sugar; however, it can also be found in refined and processed forms, known as added sugar.
While most people think of added sugar as table sugar (or white sugar), it comes in many forms, including solids, crystals, liquids, and syrups. These sources of sugar are often labelled under different names on processed foods, from ice cream to cereal bars and salad dressings.
Added sugars are added to food products for a variety of reasons, including to add sweetness, increase palatability, improve texture, extend shelf life, or enhance fermentation (1). Although some of these uses can improve nutritional value, others merely increase the total and added sugar content of a food, which provides little to no health benefits outside of being a source of energy.
Exactly how much sugar a person should consume per day depends on a number of health and lifestyle factors; however, limiting sugar intake is best for optimal health. Although there are many ways to reduce your sugar intake, learning to read food labels and identify sources of hidden sugars can help to support your healthy eating goals.
List of Other Words for Sugar
Here is a list of the different names for sugar and the code words you can look for in an ingredient list on a nutrition facts label, organized alphabetically by category.
Simple Sugars
Simple sugars are the most basic form of carbohydrates. Sugars are made up of monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, and galactose), which consist of one sugar unit, and disaccharides (sucrose, maltose, and lactose), which consist of two sugar units (2). These sugars occur naturally in whole foods, but can be isolated from their source, refined, and used as added sugar in food production. Words for simple sugars include:
- Dextrose
- Fructose
- Galactose
- Glucose
- Lactose
- Maltose
- Sucrose
Solid or Granulated Sugars
Solid and granulated sugars are crystalline forms of sugar. They are most commonly made from sugar cane and sugar beets; however, they can be made from alternative sources and are produced through a process of crushing, boiling, crystallizing, spinning, and drying (3, 4). Words for solid and granulated sugars include:
- Beet sugar
- Brown sugar
- Cane juice crystals
- Cane sugar
- Castor sugar
- Coconut sugar
- Confectioner’s sugar
- Corn syrup solids
- Date sugar
- Demerara sugar
- Dextrin
- Ethyl maltol
- Florida crystals
- Golden sugar
- Grape sugar
- Icing sugar
- Invert sugar
- Maltodextrin
- Maple sugar
- Muscovado sugar
- Palm sugar
- Panela sugar
- Powdered sugar
- Rapadura
- Raw sugar
- Refiner’s sugar
- Table sugar
- Turbinado sugar
- Yellow sugar
Liquid or Syrup Sugars
Liquid sugars and syrups are sweet, viscous solutions. They are made from the liquid of dissolved sugar, starches, fruits, or plants. These sugars also include natural sweeteners, such as agave, honey, and maple syrup, which offer some vitamins, minerals, and health benefits.
- Agave nectar
- Barley malt syrup
- Blackstrap molasses
- Brown rice syrup
- Buttered syrup
- Caramel
- Carob syrup
- Corn syrup
- Evaporated cane juice
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Golden syrup
- High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
- Honey
- Malt syrup
- Maple syrup
- Molasses
- Refiner’s syrup
- Rice syrup
- Sorghum syrup
- Treacle
The Bottom Line
Although added sugar don’t need to avoided completely, as there is a room for a moderate amount in a healthy and balanced diet, understaind how to identify code words for sugar can help to make more informed food choice. Words ending in “ose” or with the terms “sugar”, “syrup” or “concentrate” in the name can help to identify hidden sugars in processed foods.
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