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100 Names for Sugar
I took the list below from a few different websites. I’m not 100% certain that every one of the names is completely accurate (some, such as xylitol, I’m pretty sure are technically sugars, but different enough chemically that they aren’t really what we mean by “sugar”).
The main point is, processed foods contain a lot of sugar, and it’s often hard to spot in the list of ingredients.
The other point to make is that there aren’t really “good” sugars and “bad” sugars. All of them are probably fine, in small quantities; all of them are harmful if you eat a lot of them, all the time.
There’s been a lot of concern about “high-fructose corn syrup,” and that probably is worse for people than sucrose or glucose, but only a little worse. The problem is, it’s in lots of processed foods, in large quantities. Then again, since “high-fructose corn syrup” got a bad rap, food manufacturers have been hiding the sugar under other names (like “cane juice.”) Look for sugar, especially, in foods that are advertised as “low-fat.” Manufacturers often take out the fat, and load up on the sugar. It’s a bad trade-off.
Of course, there’s sugar in a lot of foods which are minimally processed, like apples and oranges (with the skins on), and even carrots and onions. Those foods also tend to contain a lot of fiber, which slows down the absorption of the sugars into the blood stream. The result is, less of a “sugar high,” less of an insulin peak, and less of a post-sugar plunge. Also, the fiber fills you up, so it’s hard to “OD” on the sugar.
Bottom line: read labels, and choose ones that are stuck on raw, unprocessed fruits and vegetables.
Some of the (more than) 100 names for sugar:
Agave nectar
Anhydrous dextrose
Barbados sugar
Barley malt
Barley malt syrup
Beet sugar
Blackstrap Molasses
brown sugar
Brown sugar
Buttered syrup
cane crystals
Cane juice
Cane juice crystals
cane sugar
Cane sugar
Caramel
Carbitol
Carob syrup
Castor sugar
Coconut palm sugar
Coconut sugar
Confectioner’s sugar
corn sweetener
Corn syrup
corn syrup solids
crystal dextrose
Crystalline Fructose
Date sugar
Dehydrated cane juice
Demerara sugar
Dextran
Dextrin
Dextrose
Diastatic Malt
Diatase
Diglycerides
Disaccharides
Erythritol
Ethyl Maltol
Evaporated cane juice
Florida Crystals
Free-flowing brown sugars
Fructooligosaccharides
Fructose
fructose sweetener
Fruit juice
Fruit juice concentrate
fruit juice concentrates
Galactose
Glucitol
glucoamine
Glucose
Glucose solids
Golden sugar
Golden syrup
Granulated Sugar
Grape Juice Concentrate
Grape sugar
Hexitol
HFCS
High-Fructose Corn Syrup
honey
Icing sugar
Inversol
Invert sugar
Isomalt
Lactose
liquid fructose
malt syrup
Malt syrup
Malted Barley
Maltitol
Maltodextrin
Maltol
Maltose
Malts
Mannitol
Mannose
maple syrup
Maple syrup
molasses
Molasses
Muscovado
Muscovado Syrup
Nectars
Palm sugar
pancake syrup
Panocha
Pentose
Powdered sugar
Raisin syrup
Raw sugar
Refiner’s syrup
Ribose Rice syrup
Rice malt
Rice syrup
Rice syrup solids
Saccharose
Secanet
Sorbitol
Sorghum Syrup
Sucanat
Sucrose
sugar
Sweet Sorghum
syrup
Table Sugar
Treacle
Turbinado sugar
white sugar
Xylitol
Yellow sugar
Zylose
[this page was last updated by Robert Needlman, on 11-25-2018]
