Other names for added sugars

Added sugars are any sugars or sweeteners added to foods during processing or cooking — not the sugars that naturally exist in fruit, milk, or vegetables.

Food companies use many names to hide or label added sugars, so it’s helpful to know what to look for.

Six bottles and cans of sugar substitute products, including sucrose, aspartame, xylitol, sorbitol, and sacralose, placed on a pink background.

  • (These are sugar molecules)

    • Sucrose (table sugar)

    • Glucose

    • Fructose

    • Maltose

    • Dextrose

    • Lactose (natural in milk, but sometimes added too)

    • High fructose corn syrup

    • Corn syrup

    • Brown rice syrup

    • Maple syrup

    • Agave nectar

    • Cane syrup

    • Fruit juice concentrate

    • Molasses

    • Honey

    • Evaporated cane juice

    • Coconut sugar

    • Barley malt

    • Caramel

    • Turbinado sugar

    • Raw sugar

    • Invert sugar

    • Glucose solids

Remember

Just because it sounds "natural" (like honey or agave) doesn’t mean it’s not an added sugar.

Even natural sweeteners still count as added sugar if they’re added during cooking or processing.

Tips to Spot Them on Labels

Check the Ingredients list — ingredients are listed in order of how much is in the food. If one of the names above is in the top 3–5, the food is probably high in added sugar.

The “Added Sugars” line under Total Sugars on the nutrition label tells you how much of the sugar was added (vs. natural).

Summary Table

  • Glucose, fructose, dextrose, sucrose

  • Corn syrup, rice syrup, maple syrup

  • Honey, agave nectar, molasses

  • Cane juice, barley malt, invert sugar