Too much added sugar can affect your emotional well-being in a nasty way. 3 cups a day of sweetened beverages increases your risk of depression by 25% (compared to non-consumers). The greater the amount of added sugar in your diet, the more likely depression is to return too.
Table of content
What is added sugar?
Sugar added to food during food processing is called added sugar. Chocolate, table sugar, jams, and sweets are among the top offenders in our diet. Although added sugar may come in many different names they are never healthy.
If you are skipping cakes, ice cream and brownies to control your sugar intake, give yourself an A for effort! But can you identify the other names of added sugar?
The different names for added sugar:
“Sugar” is in the name
It has syrup
The word ends in “ose”
Unfortunately, food manufacturers often decorate their food packaging with health claims. Some common labels include “low-fat,” “diet,” and “light,” “natural,” and “healthy.” To add, foods labelled low in fat can actually be loaded with added sugar. Take these claims with a grain of salt and carefully read the list of ingredients instead.
Hw do I know if something is high in sugar?
Added sugar can be sneaky and be present in unsuspecting foods. If it is necessary for you to buy a packaged food, you can always substitute for a healthier option. Some food may come with colour codings on its nutrition labels to tell you at a glance if the food has low, medium or high amount of sugar.
Red, amber and green colour coding
Example of a food label:
Spotting added sugar in your packaged food can be daunting. It will take a bit of practice, but I can assure you that your effort will be worthwhile! Here are foods that are high in hidden sugar that you may not be aware of. Fortunately, you can easily substitute with other healthier options.
Food with high amount of hidden sugar
Condiments
Ketchups, BBQ sauce and teriyaki sauce may not taste sweet, but they often have high added sugar per portion, just as much as cookies and cakes!
Health tip: Stick to the portion size if you are consuming ketchups, mayonaise or sweet sauce. Try more nutritious dips such as kimchi, tahini, and sauerkraut. They are packed with nutrients and soluble fibre. Greek yogurt is rich in protein, calciumm and probiotics. Swap to these ones to stay in the green zone.
*Total sugar content in bracket is per 100 g
Heinz Tomato Ketchup No Added Sugar & Salt (4.4 g) 
Hellmann’s Real Squeezy Mayonnaise (1.3g) 
Doritos Hot Salsa Dip (4g) 
Old El Paso Mexican Thick ‘N’ Chunky Mild Salsa (5.2g) 
Morrisons Dijon Mustard (2.1g) 
Vadasz Raw Kimchi (<0.5g) 
Polish Speciality Sauerkraut With Carrot (1.1g) 
Fage Total Greek Natural Yogurt (3g) 
Cypressa Brown Tahini (0g)
Granola
Granola can be rich in nutrients, micronutrients and fibre. However, they can be calorie-dense. Depending on the ingredients used – chocolate, syrup, dried fruits, nut butter – it can have high amount of added sugar. Remember – added sugar can disguise under other names such as malt syrup, anhydrous dextrose, maple syrup, molasses, nectars, corn syrup solids, dextrose, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, lactose, maltose, sucrose and more.
Health tip: Avoid aritifical ingredients that you don’t recognize. The ingredients on the back of a granola pack should read like a recipe that you can make in your kitchen!
Super health tip: Make your own granola using this delicious recipe and add your favourite nuts and fruits.
Breakfast cereals
Breakfast cereals are often in the red zone. Moreover, they are often just as sweet as cakes and desserts. For this reason, adding whole grains does not make them a healthier choice. Breakfast cereals are often marketed as healthy. Although cereal boxes are often plastered with health claims such as “low fat” or “whole-grain”, yet their first ingredients are usually refined grains and sugar.
Health tip: Read the nutritional labels. If it is necessary to have breakfast cereals, choose any of these options that are well in the green zone. Add flavour by adding fresh fruits.
*Total sugar content in bracket is per 100 g
Instant oatmeal
Oatmeal has a good reputation for being loaded with wholesome fiber. However, many instant ones that are flavoured with syrup, caramel, or fruits are way in the red zone!
Health tip: Always pick plain oatmeal and flavour with fresh/frozen fruits, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg or vanilla. Go wild!
Flavoured yoghurts
Yoghurts are rich in calcium and protein. Furthermore, they contain live cultures that benefit both your gut and your mood. Surprisingly, some low fat yoghurts can contain as much sugar as a cup of ice-cream!
Health tip: Buy it plain and toss in some fresh fruits. If you insist on getting packed fruit yoghurts, read the food labels and choose ones that are well in the green or yellow zone like these ones!
Canned fruits
Fruits in syrup can contain as much as 10 to 20 g of added sugar per serving. However, draining the syrup or even rinsing the fruits can reduce a lot of the sugar.
The bottom line
Added sugar can be tricky to spot. Readily made food often have long list of ingredients while added sugar have more than 10 different names. The easiest way to avoid these sweet offenders is to choose unprocessed and wholefoods instead.
Vegetables, fruits, grains, and dairy contain naturally occurring sugar are nutritious. Plants and fruits are rich in fibre while grains are rich in vitamins and minerals. Food processing often strips these nutrients and add unnecessary amount of sugar. I hope the list above will help you to spot the added sugar in the food labels and help you make healthier choices.