How to spot hidden sugars in food?

Convenience foods, cold cuts, gherkins, salad dressings, canned vegetables, sandwich bread, biscuits, etc. are products that are not found in the confectionery section of supermarkets but which nevertheless contain large quantities of sugar, which is called "hidden sugar".

Without even realising it, we consume large quantities of sugar because it is added to most of our everyday meals.

The only way to unmask it is to read and understand food labels. However, this is not an easy task as there are many different names for sugar.

Here is some advice on how to read and understand food labels, and to avoid consuming too much sugar!

How to spot hidden sugars in our food?

Sugar is naturally present in vegetables and fruit, but also in other carbohydrate-containing foods such as dairy products, pulses and cereals.

Found on food labels, the word "carbohydrate" refers to the total of simple and complex sugars naturally present in the product, or added to it. The term "carbohydrate" includes sugar, starch and fibre. If it appears alone, it means that there are no added sugars.

The term "including sugars" found on food labels means that simple sugars (sucrose, glucose and fructose) are present and may be natural or added.

It is therefore complicated to know how much sugar is naturally part of a product and how much has been added to it.

However, the list of ingredients can give us a clue: if you don't see any ingredients such as starch, malt or syrup, this means that these sugars are naturally present in the product.

But there are other subtleties that are important to mention:

• The term "sugar-free" means that the product does not contain sucrose but may contain other simple sugars such as fructose,
  
• "No sugars" (plural) means that the product does not contain any simple sugars (glucose, lactose, sucrose, fructose),
  
• "No added sugar" means that the product contains only naturally occurring sugars,
  
• And finally, the term "low-sugar" means that it contains 30% less sugar than a similar product.
  

If we take the example of a plain yoghurt, its carbohydrate content will be 5 grams and this corresponds to the sugar naturally present in milk: lactose. If we look at the label of a flavoured yoghurt, it says 15 grams of carbohydrates of which 10 grams are sugars. In addition to the 5 grams of carbohydrates which come from lactose, 10 grams of sugar have been added to the yoghurt.

It is also important to note that the sugars used by manufacturers are not limited to table sugar (sucrose which is extracted from sugar cane or beet) but can also be glucose syrups (obtained by a chemical process from corn or wheat starch) and glucose-fructose syrups (prepared from glucose syrups in which part of the glucose has been converted into fructose).

Overall, anything containing the words 'syrup', 'malt' or 'starch' and anything ending in 'ose', 'ol' or 'ide' should alert you about the presence of sugar.

Here are the terms often used on labels - however, this is not a complete list:

• Sucrose,
  
• Dextrose,
  
• Glucose,
  
• Lactose,
  
• Raffinose,
  
• Maltose,
  
• Maltodextrin,
  
• Glucose syrup,
  
• High fructose corn syrup,
  
• Caramel syrup,
  
• Corn syrup.
  

So, if you are planning to reduce your sugar intake, it is important to be vigilant and ensure that your efforts are not undone by unknowingly consuming products high in hidden sugars.

What foods should be avoided? 

Ready-made salad dressings, seasonings and sauces 

Ready-made sauces such as ketchup, barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, salad dressings, etc. contain large amounts of hidden sugars. A single dose of sauce can contain almost 10 grams of sugar!

Convenience foods 

Ready meals are high in fat, food colourings, flavourings, salt and sugar! A slice of lasagna contains about 10 grams of sugar, like many other ready meals.

Canned vegetables 

If you look closely at the list of ingredients in canned vegetables such as beans, peas, tomatoes, etc., you will see that they contain added sugar. They are present to improve the flavour and texture or to extend the shelf life of the product. The same applies to organic canned vegetables.

Weight loss-friendly foods 

Low-fat products, which at first glance may appear to be good for our weight and our health, are often packed with sugar. In fact, when something, such as fat, is removed from a product, it is always replaced by something else, usually sugar.

Cold cuts 

In order to facilitate the preservation of cold meats, manufacturers do not hesitate to add sugars such as dextrose, sucrose or glucose syrup to ham, sausages and other cooked meats.

Fruit juices and smoothies 

Fruit juices have a reputation for being healthy and full of vitamins. But they are actually a source of sugar (fructose), without the beneficial fibre found in fruit. The same applies to smoothies, which can contain as much as 40-60 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres.

Life is all about balance! It is not necessary to completely eliminate certain foods from your diet, but it is important to be aware of the presence of hidden sugars and to consume them in moderation.