Tracking Down Added Sugars on Nutrition Labels Infographic
Read the label! The Nutrition Facts information and ingredients list help you know how much added sugar is in foods and drinks.
- Total sugars include both added sugars and natural sugars such as fructose in fruit and lactose in milk. Added sugars are the ones you want to limit.
- Check the serving info at the top of the label. If you eat more than one serving, you’re getting more added sugars, calories and other nutrients.
- The label values are based on a diet of 2,000 calories a day. You may need less or more calories depending upon your age, activity level and other factors.
- Ingredients are listed in order of quantity in the product. In this example, sugar isn’t the first ingredient, which sounds good, right? But added sugars are four of the seven main ingredients, which is not so sweet for your health.
- Added sugars are sneaky! They go by many names (aliases), such as: agave, corn sweetener, dextrose, juice concentrate, glucose, honey, maltodextrin, maltose, molasses, sucrose and anything with the words sugar or syrup.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to 6 teaspoons (25 grams) for most women and children over 2 years and 9 teaspoons (36 grams) for most men.
Learn more at heart.org/healthyforgood
