<\/p>\n
As ultra-processed foods come under increasing scrutiny, people are reading nutrition labels more carefully than ever. Brands are also responding, with many products being reformulated to meet growing consumer demand for better-for-you foods.<\/p>\n
Two phrases that always appear on new packaging are \u201cNo Sugar\u201d and \u201cNo Added Sugar.\u201d At face value, these sound almost interchangeable. No added sugar means the product has no sugar at all, right?<\/p>\n
Not exactly. These two claims turned out to have very different meanings in the eyes of the FDA. Also, if you are not familiar with this distinction, the labels on certain foods may be more misleading than helpful. To understand the difference between “no added sugar” and “no added sugar,” we spoke to Vandana Sheth, RDN, CDCES, FAND, to find out more.<\/p>\n
Unlike terms like natural, premium, and grass-fed, the FDA enforces a specific legal definition of the term “sugar-free.” According to Sheth, this “means the product has less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving.” Also, it cannot contain ingredients that are themselves a type of sugar.<\/p>\n
However, even foods that do not contain sugar can taste sweet. These products may contain sugar substitutes that are within FDA labeling guidelines. Ingredients such as aspartame, stevia, and xylitol can be artificial or naturally derived. But no matter where it comes from, it’s often highly processed, and consuming too much can cause unpleasant side effects, including digestive issues.<\/p>\n
So if your goal is to eat less processed foods, sugar-free products don’t necessarily fit that bill. Still, Sheth, who specializes in diabetes care, says, “For people with diabetes and managing blood sugar balance, sugar-free products may offer more flexibility and options without causing blood sugar spikes.”<\/p>\n
Depending on the product, this label may also read “no added sugar” or “no added sugar.” But all three companies make the same claims of FDA regulation. \u201cNo sugar is added during the processing or packaging of the product,\u201d explains Sheth.<\/p>\n
This also means that the product cannot contain other ingredients that are high in sugar, such as honey, jams, syrups, and fruit juice concentrates. However, products without added sugars may contain natural sugars found in fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, as well as sugar substitutes. Depending on what you buy, it can still be quite a bit of money. “When it comes to non-added sugar options, keep in mind that they may still be high in carbohydrates,” says Sheth.<\/p>\n
Also note that these labeling rules are not as simple as they seem. A good example is certain cranberry products. For example, a cranberry juice cocktail can contain multiple types of concentrated fruit juices, including apple, white grape, and pear, and still carry the “no added sugar” label.<\/p>\n
A 2019 FDA document explains that the agency relaxed some of its cranberry labeling requirements “to address concerns raised by stakeholders (presumably Big Cranberry).” Dried cranberry products and cranberry beverages can contain fruit juice concentrate as a sweetener and still maintain the sugar-free claim as long as the final sugar content does not exceed the sugar level of similar products made from other fruits.<\/p>\n
None of these terms automatically translate into nutritional scarlet letters. However, you should still be careful when purchasing or consuming “sugar-free” or “no added sugar” foods. “Don’t automatically assume a food is healthy based on these labels,” says Sheth. “For example, a sugar-free cookie is still a cookie.”<\/p>\n
The best thing a shopper can do is read the content carefully. Check the ingredient list and nutrition facts, especially total carbohydrates and added sugars. Sheth also recommends checking what ingredients are actually used to sweeten sugar-free products.<\/p>\n
And as always, moderation is the key. “Watch your serving size,” explains Sheth. \u201cEven if one serving of a product is sugar-free, if there are multiple servings, the calculation changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
you may also like<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n #added #sugar #added #sugar #Nutritionist #explains #difference #AOL<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As ultra-processed foods come under increasing scrutiny, people are reading nutrition labels more carefully than ever. Brands are also responding, with many products being reformulated to meet growing consumer demand for better-for-you foods. Two phrases that always appear on new packaging are \u201cNo Sugar\u201d and \u201cNo Added Sugar.\u201d At face value, these sound almost interchangeable. … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[1459,1457,691,1461,664,1456,1427,1460,1455,1458],"class_list":["post-668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-added","tag-added-sugar","tag-aol","tag-difference","tag-explains","tag-f-d-a","tag-nutritionist","tag-sugar","tag-sugar-free","tag-vandana-sheth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drouki.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}