Note: This post was written by Dr. Scott Olson, a naturopath extraordinaire, whose book, Sugarettes, is packed with eye-opening information about the dangers of sugar. I’m hoping to be able to give you more guests post form Dr. Olson and other experts. ~Kathleen
Sugar can be sneaky. You might think that you know when you are eating sugar; after all, sugar tastes sweet. But the moment you start reading labels, you begin to realize how many foods you eat have sugar in them. Food manufactures also have a bad habit of changing the name of sugar in order to confuse you into not knowing that you are eating sugar.
Sugar has well-known addictive qualities; this is the reason why it is added to crackers, coffee, peanut butter, salad dressing, sauces, salsa and just about every other food you eat.
Labels Can Be Confusing
If you take a peek at a label, it may not be that clear to you that the food you are buying contains sugar. One of the best ways figure out if there is a sugar in the food is to look out for the “ose” ending. Many sugars have an “ose” ending, such as: glucose, fructose, maltose and others. It is not a guarantee that you are looking at a sugar when you see the “ose” ending, but most likely so.
The Many Names of Sugar
Sugar is sugar no matter what the name and here are some of the other names for common sugar additives:
• Beet sugar
• Brown sugar
• Cane sugar
• Concentrated grape juice
• Confectioner’s sugar
• Corn sweeteners
• Corn syrup
• Crystallized cane juice
• Dextrin
• Dextrose
• Evaporated cane juice
• Fructose
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Galactose
• Glucose
• High-fructose corn syrup
• HFCS
• Honey
• Invert sugar
• Lactose
• Malt
• Maltodextrin
• Maltose
• Mannitol
• Maple syrup
• Molasses
• Powdered sugar
• Raw sugar
• Sorbitol
• Sorghum
• Sucrose
• Table sugar
• Turbinado sugar
• White sugar
• Xylitol
Other Hidden Sugars
If you are trying to find the sneakiest sugars of them all, you have to look beyond the list above. The sneakiest sugars are the foods that act like sugar. These foods, such as breads, cracker, chips, bagels and even potatoes, act just like sugar in your body. If you are looking to make the plunge into a sugar-free diet because you understand how bad sugars are for your health, then you should also remember to include the foods that act like sugar.
Any step that you might take to remove sugars from your diet is a step towards better health. This guide to the sneaky sugars should help you along your way.
From Kathleen: I think Dr. Olson would recommend avoiding baked goods because they typically are high in simple carbs– white flours, etc. as well as sugar. You can get wonderful natural sugars in fruits.
If you just I suggest trying stevia, although I don’t have any experience trying to bake with it and I know it is tricky to handle because a tiny amount goes a very long way and too much leaves a butter aftertaste.