Sugar: The Sweet Assassin

Did you know you might be hosting a sugar party in your pantry without even realising it? Sugar is a master of disguise, sneaking into our favourite foods and fooling even the most health-conscious among us. But don’t worry, you’re about to become a sugar ninja, armed with the skills to uncover its hiding places and kick it to the curb.

Why Should You Care About Sugar?

Sure, it’s sweet, comforting, and oh-so-tempting, but sugar isn’t as innocent as it seems. Think of it as a charming villain:

• It gives you a quick boost (yay!) but leaves you crashing hard later (boo!).

• It packs on the pounds in sneaky ways, especially around your belly.

• It tricks your liver into working overtime when you consume high-fructose sweeteners.

• It stirs up trouble by causing inflammation, which can lead to chronic conditions.

Basically, sugar loves the drama, and your body pays the price.

Where Is Sugar Hiding?

Here’s the fun part (or frustrating, depending on your mood): sugar is everywhere, often camouflaged under names that sound harmless, healthy, or even fancy.

Take a peek at some of its aliases:

• Fancy disguises: Agave nectar, coconut sugar, honey (yes, these are sugar too!).

• Science class throwbacks: Glucose, fructose, maltose, sucrose.

• Industrial intruders: High-fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, brown rice syrup.

And it doesn’t stop there! Sugar loves to crash the party in foods you wouldn’t suspect, like:

• Your “healthy” salad dressing or granola bar.

• That innocent loaf of bread or jar of pasta sauce.

• Even your savoury favourites, like gravy or mayonnaise.

It’s like sugar has a VIP pass to your pantry—and it’s overstaying its welcome.

How to Outsmart the Sweet Assassin

Time to don your ninja gear and take back control! Here’s how you can spot sugar before it sneaks into your meals:

1. Be a Label Detective: Flip those packets over and read the ingredient list. If you see sugar (or one of its 50+ nicknames) high up on the list, you’ve found the culprit.

2. Think Whole Foods: Fresh fruit, veggies, nuts, and seeds are sugar-free zones you can trust.

3. Beware of Low-Fat Traps: Low-fat products often pack in extra sugar to make up for the missing flavour. Sneaky, right?

Tech to Help You Out: Sugar-Tracking Apps

Sometimes, scanning labels feels like a full-time job. That’s where apps like Yuka come to the rescue!

Here’s how they work:

• Scan Products Instantly: With just a barcode scan, apps like Yuka reveal a product's nutritional quality, including sugar content.

• Spot Hidden Sugars: Apps flag added sugars, artificial sweeteners, and those tricky aliases sugar uses to hide.

• Healthier Swaps: They often recommend alternatives, making it easy to switch out sugary products.

Other helpful apps include:

• Fooducate: Grades products and flags sugar-laden options.

• MyFitnessPal: Tracks your sugar intake alongside other macros.

Challenge yourself to try one of these apps for a week and see how many sugar traps you can uncover!

What’s in It for You?

Cutting back on sugar might feel like a challenge, but the rewards are oh-so-sweet (pun intended):

• More energy to power through your day.

• Fewer mood swings (hello, stable blood sugar!).

• A reduced risk of chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart disease.

Plus, you’ll feel like an absolute legend every time you spot sugar trying to pull a fast one on you.

Your Mission Today

Ready to ninja-up? Here’s your task:

1. Raid your cupboards and fridge. Check those labels and see how many sugar aliases you can uncover.

2. Download an app like Yuka to make sugar-spotting a breeze.

3. Share your findings! Did you spot sugar lurking in your “healthy” snacks or savoury favourites? Tell me about your discoveries and how you’re tackling them.

Sugar is a sneaky little trickster, but with the right tools, knowledge, and determination, you can reclaim control over your diet. Imagine a pantry free from hidden sugars, a shopping trolley filled with wholesome choices, and the energy to live your best life.

Good luck!

A little added bonus: For those that want to know sugar names, here’s a list of over 50 aliases for sugar that you might find on food labels. Knowing these names will help you spot hidden sugars and make informed choices:

Natural Sugars and Syrups

1. Agave nectar

2. Barley malt

3. Beet sugar

4. Blackstrap molasses

5. Brown rice syrup

6. Brown sugar

7. Cane juice

8. Cane sugar

9. Coconut sugar

10. Corn syrup

11. Corn syrup solids

12. Date sugar

13. Demerara sugar

14. Evaporated cane juice

15. Golden syrup

16. Honey

17. Invert sugar

18. Malt syrup

19. Maple syrup

20. Molasses

21. Muscovado sugar

22. Palm sugar

23. Panela

24. Rapadura sugar

25. Sorghum syrup

26. Treacle

27. Turbinado sugar

28. Raw sugar

Scientific/Technical Names for Sugars

29. Dextrose

30. Fructose

31. Galactose

32. Glucose

33. Lactose

34. Maltose

35. Sucrose

Processed Sugars and Sweeteners

36. Caramel

37. Confectioner’s sugar

38. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)

39. Maltodextrin

40. Powdered sugar

Fruit-Based Sugars

41. Apple sugar

42. Fruit juice

43. Fruit juice concentrate

44. Grape sugar

Other Sweeteners

45. Rice syrup

46. Sorbitol (a sugar alcohol)

47. Xylitol (a sugar alcohol)

48. Glucose-fructose syrup

49. Isoglucose

Uncommon or Fancy Names for Sugar

50. Evaporated fruit juice

51. Florida crystals

52. Golden sugar

53. Organic raw sugar

54. Yellow sugar

This comprehensive list will help you identify sugars in all their forms, whether they’re hidden under a healthy-sounding name or labelled outright. Remember, if an ingredient ends in “-ose” or includes words like “syrup,” there’s a good chance it’s a sugar!