Secret Sugars - How to avoid a sweet overload

It is everywhere, there is no hiding from sugar. Sometimes you might not want to, and that is fine, but when you are trying to cut down on the sweet stuff it might be harder than you think.

I can tell you 41 different terms for sugar right now, and in fact, I will list them for you at the end of this blog.

When it comes to eating better we can all be sucked in by labeling. Low fat - often means loaded with sugar to replace the flavour lost, healthy - sometimes means it has a few healthy ingredients like oats/nuts/seeds, no added sugar - can mean that a sweetener is used instead.

My advice would always be to go for the foods which have natural alternatives such as honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar. While the chemically modified versions may be lower calorie, they are foreign to your body so it is less likely react to or process them normally. Also, as your brain doesn't recognise these new ingredients it is rare that they actually satisfy your sweet craving leaving you still wanting more.

Some names are more obvious that others, some sound healthy because they have other known foods in their name, for example, Fruit Juice Concentrate. Others you might not recognise as a sugar because they sound so strange eg, Maltodextrin or Turbinado.

While it is true, that some sugars aren't so bad, (I am an advocate of honey) if you are trying to cut down your sugar intake, finding ingredients such as this in certain foods won't help you if you are trying to manage the amount you consume. Because as always, it is about moderation.

The best advice I can give you is to always choose natural, unflavoured products eg, yoghurt or oats and add the honey or sweet option of choice yourself. That way you know how much you're consuming and you can manage it.

Another tip which is something I try to live by, check the ingredients list. If it has more than one line of ingredients it is probably not good for you. Use your common sense though here as this in rare occasions doesn't apply. For example in Nakd bars, they are made using natural goodness but have a few different ingredients.

Generally, if you don't recognise or can't even pronounce the ingredients, back away. There will be lots of secret sugars, preservatives and chemicals which your body does not want or need.

As promised here is my list of 41 sneaky sugars:
Agave Nectar, Barley Malt, Beet Sugar, Black Strap Molasses, Brown Rice Syrup, Brown Sugar, Cane Sugar, Caramel, Carob Syrup, Coconut Palm Sugar, Corn Sweetener, Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup Solids, Crystalline Fructose, Date Sugar, Dehydrated Cane Juice, Dextrin, Dextrose, Dried Oat Syrup, Evaporated Cane Juice Crystals, Evaporated Cane Juice, Fruit Juice Concentrate, Glucose, Golden Syrup, Gum Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Honey, Inverted Sugar, Malt Syrup, Maltodextrin, Maltose, Maple Syrup, Muscavado, Palm Sugar, Refiners Syrup, Simple Syrup, Sorghum Syrup, Sucanat, Sucrose, Treacle, Turbinado.