Here is the list:
Agave, Barley Malt Syrup, Beet Sugar, Brown Sugar, Cane Juice and Cane Syrup, Coconut Palm, Confectioners’ Sugar, Corn Sweeteners and Corn Syrup, Date Sugar, Dextrose, Fructose, Fruit Juice Concentrate, Glucose, Glucose Syrup, Granulated White Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, High Maltose Corn Syrup, Honey, Invert Sugar, Lactose, Maltodextrin, Maltose, Maple Syrup, Molasses, Rice Syrup, Sucrose, Turbinado Sugar
All 27 ingredients could be reduced to one two syllable word:
SUGAR
Sugar (in these forms) in the quantities we consume them is the enemy! This one ingredient has been linked to cardiac disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity. The daily recommended limits for added sugar in one’s diet should not exceed 9 tsp. for men and 6 tsp. for women. On an annual basis this would equal approximately 34 pounds of sugar for men and 23 pounds for women. The average person consumes
156 lbs. of added sugar annually
according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA.)
Reducing this one ingredient in your diet could make a substantial impact on weight control, blood sugar levels, cardiac risk profiles and cancer risk profiles. So the next time you make a food choice, make certain that sugar (and its 26 other names) are not listed within the top five ingredients.
All About Healthy Choices 
At first, companies fought the idea of putting the ingredients, calories, etc on labels – now they just find different words to confuse us.
[off topic – is Himalayan salt as good for you as it claims?]
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Absolutely. There are still many ingredients in products that are not listed on labels because they fall under the category of GRAS (generally recognized as safe.)
The better (questionable health benefits) of Himalayan salt are derived through halotherapy (inhaling Himalayan salt-infused air) which has reportedly helped to clears mucus, reduce sinus inflammation, and kills germs, as a result of the anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties of the pink granules.
As far as an unprocessed salt containing many more minerals, it is my opinion it is better than our processed table salts, but over praised and should be used in reduced moderation. It will cause the body to retain fluids that places additional stress on the heart often resulting in elevated blood pressure. The key (like most things in life) is moderate consumption.
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Thank you very much for the information, Doc.
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The guys who make this stuff are sneaky!
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Intentionally. There are two ways to make money in this world; (1) look for “loop holes” and take advantage or (2) show people the value in your service and/or product and let them pay for it. Honest communication can create great wealth without compromising one’s ethics and morals. If people had better self value they wouldn’t look to profit at other people’s expense.
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When I studied abroad in China (many years ago, when things were just starting to modernize), I immediately started losing weight – I think a huge part of it was a lack of sugar.
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I’ll bet you’re right. Sugar (and many sugar substitutes) are causing serious damage to neuro transmitters (substances allowing for nerves to communicate with each other) and causing imbalances in hormonal function that control appetite. The average person doesn’t realize the real dangers of these substances. When they think of disease, they think of bacteria and viruses; they do not think SUGAR!
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sugar, that which bacteria loves prolly even moar than we do. 🙂
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Cancer cells love sugar even more than bacteria. It will take many lives and many health complications before people are willing to alter their addictive behavior to sugar, unfortunately!
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Yes, they hide it well, don’t they? Use all sorts of different names for what’s essentially sugar. What I find worrisome is when traditionally healthy foods (like yogurt) have so much sugar added to them, they’re more like a dessert than a dairy product. But many people, understandably so, equate yogurt with healthy and in their cart it goes. Yes, yogurt is healthy, but only if we find the ones with less sugar. Of course, our taste buds have been trained to find those yogurts bland and ‘icky,’ which makes it difficult to pass on the sweeter stuff.
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The food industry recognizes the need to adapt to changes by using healthy buzz words like “yogurt” (to satisfy the health professionals) and adding the essential chemicals (to satisfy the consumer’s palate.) I believe the consumer will accept healthier versions (Plain organic greek yogurt with REAL fresh fruit) without much complaining. This can also be justified by giving the consumer the spontaneous ability to choose the “fruit of choice” rather than be confined to a pre-mixed flavoring within a yogurt. Stimulating creativity and participation (especially among children) is an important tool to changing behavior. Community gardens along with chefs that help children prepare foods they just picked from these gardens is a good example of activity that will gain popularity given a chance.
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Luckily, community gardens are sprouting up more and more.
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The media could help this by providing better news coverage. This could also play a role addressing obesity.
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Wow, straight to the facts, something to think about and to act on! Thanks for putting it in these easy to understand terms!
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Thank you so much. I am trying to respect readers with shorter posts to provide info. without consuming all their reading time.
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The last Meme really sums it up well. WE HAVE CONTROL over what we put in our bodies. Good post. Americans need to overcome this obsession with sugar (in all its forms).
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I agree with you. We do have control, but we don’t necessarily realize all the different forms of sugar and the strategies some companies use by using multiple forms which places the ingredient further down on the ingredient list. The best way to reduce added sugar is to eat REAL FOOD.
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Great post, Doctor Jonathan! Sugar is so detrimental and the cause of so much inflammation. And you know another tricky ingredient on labels that is so deceiving is trans fat… body has no idea what to do with that stuff!
Keep getting the word out – you are posting such valuable information. 🙂
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Thank you so much. Everyone agrees about the dangers of trans fats, so how do our regulatory agencies protect the public? They mandate the removal, but provide the manufacturers up to 3 years before the regulations impact distribution of these products. Watch these products re-appear in third world countries along with the expansion of processed foods and soft drinks. How do these people sleep at night?
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I know the FDA allows a small amount that is considered negligible, and the food manufacturers aren’t required to include that along with their “contains zero trans fat” stickers… As you well know, there are always politics behind everything and money and powerful lobbyists!
That’s such an important point you make about distribution in third world countries. Of course all in the name of profit and greed.
Thanks again for your work! 🙂
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Then we have the GRAS (generally recognized as safe) ingredients. These don’t require listing as well. How are people ever going to understand what they are consuming if our gov’t. tells manufacturers it’s ok not to list ALL the ingredients. I’m sure the argument is the list would be too long. My retort is, “not if the food is REAL!”
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Exactly! Amen, doc!
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I have always known sugar to be a killer. I remember reading once that if one wanted to lose weight, the first thing to do was to cut out sugar…
Great post and really informative 🙂
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You are right on both accounts. Sugar causes many self induced diseases including obesity. So why do people continue to consume so much? It’s addictive and manufacturers know this. It is one of the few LEGAL addictive substances that generate enormous profits (unfortunately) at the general public’s expense.
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The multitude of varieties of sugar lets makers of junk food obey the letter of the requirement that ingredients be listed in descending order of weight while violating its spirit. Junk that is mostly sugar can be described with each of the contributing sugars well away from the start of the list.
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You’re absolutely correct. The rule of top 5 ingredients applies to REAL FOOD and those minimally processed. Junk food is junk food. Using multiple forms of sugar to reduce it “ranking” doesn’t change the fact it is still junk food. Reducing consumption of these foods to 10-20% of one’s diet would dramatically improve our nations health.
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Great info Jonathan. I have been so healthy since I cut out most sugars from my diet. So many of my friends have lost many kilos just from eliminating it from their diet.
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Reducing added sugar in our diets is the number 1 change we need to make in our diets. You are a beautiful example demonstrating the benefits of reduced sugar consumption. Thank you for sharing how reducing sugar has impacted the quality of your life.
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Great post – like Michael Mosley’s term that “Sugar is TOXIC”!
Apparently the tobacco companies bought the food companies out to add their particular addictive nasty ingredients and we the people, and our taxes, pay the cost …
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Only if we let these companies dictate the foods we choose.
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I would love to see a blog contrasting natural sugar(from whole foods,fruit etc.)with refined sugar and which one feeds cancer and why?
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Great point. There are benefits in many foods containing sugar vs added processed sugar, but controversy exists even about these products. Will see if I can tackle this in the future.
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Agave?? I thought that was one of the better sugars to eat….?? and I use stevia in my coffee, that didn’t make the list is that because its a good one…?? LOL kat
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Not a fan of agave. Big fan of stevia. Just make sure it is REAL stevia and not just a component in the product.
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Hey Doc. This is so right.
I went to the supermarket and as I didn’t have my glasses on, I took two different kinds of frozen yogurt to the counter and asked the person working there to tell me the ingredients (a friend so I got the unbiased opinion)
The first was an 83gm tub and that had 21 gms of sugar in it. The second was a lolly and the had 73 calories but 10 gms of sugar in it. She said she didn’t want to sell me the first one and as for the second one she said did I seriously want to eat something that looked like this (as she showed me the picture on the other side)
All I can say is I was amazed at the incredible amounts of sugar in the two sweet treats.
No wonder we are now saying to people to eat full fat everything as there is less sugar in them and we are satisfied quicker and with less compared to reduced….
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Reblogged this on Simple Living Over 50 and commented:
Sugar, Sugar and more Sugar. Ahhhhh
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I always find myself saying, “Amen!” after I read your posts lol Seriously, people need to know that sugar is sugar and should be consumed in moderation. I have seen many people put down raw cane sugar, but then praise honey, agave, & maple syrup as a “healthier” alternative. The reality is that they are different forms of sugar and should simply use it lightly.
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It is difficult to get people to act on knowledge and wisdom when it comes to calorie consumption. People feel ripped off if they purchase foods that doesn’t satisfy their “addictive needs” to taste rather than nutrient dense choices..
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Thank you for spreading awareness! I can’t stand when I see a “sugar free” recipe with honey or maple sugar added in. Sugar is sugar. Period!
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I am a realist. Sugar is going to be part of our diets. Controlling the amount is my greater concern. Awareness is a good starting point. Most people are amazed at all the different ingredients that are recognized by the body as SUGAR. Hopefully, articles like this will awaken sleeping minds. Thanks for adding your comment to this article.
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I get to realize that knowledge is health. Dr. Johnathan thank you for sharing your health promises with us. May God bless you.
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It is my pleasure. The message is spreading (slowly,) but none the less, spreading. I am patient AND persistent and hope the world benefits from this information. I appreciate your kind words and look forward to any questions or comments you have.
Stay healthy and happy!
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oh sugar
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Absolutely. How good are you at avoiding it?
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Very informative post, thanks for writing this!
That being said… you are not saying that sugar consumption actually causes diabetes, are you now? I have cut down on all of the above ever since diagnosed with diabetes, however haven’t noticed much of the weight loss. Not gaining it either, but it could be just me.
However am still eating sweets in moderate amounts. Ice cream, anyone?
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Sugar is NOT a direct causal effect for Diabetes. It is a factor that can influence the metabolic process that eventually may result in Diabetes. There are many factors that effect insulin sensitivity to receptor sites on cells. The best approach to avoid or contain any disease process incorporates all the components of healthy living. I know you have done quite a bit of research on this topic. I applaud your commitment to understanding the factors influencing the expression of type 2 diabetes.
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I am in the midst of doing my own research on sugar and what I thought was going to be one simple article has grown to 7! I can’t believe the far-reaching scope of this health hazard!
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So sorry for the delay in response. I was out of town. People grossly underestimate just how dangerous sugar is. I’m certain your research had opened your eyes to this reality. If I can help with any additional questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
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