Avoid Sneaky Sugar Traps!

Reader s Digest Magazine

Even if an ingredient label doesn't list sugar, that doesn't mean there isn't any. It's worth familiarizing yourself with some of the kinds of sugar manufacturers use so you're not fooled into thinking an item is better for you than it is.

Here are words to watch out for on ingredient labels, which are just other ways of saying "sugar":

  • Amazake

  • Carob Powder

  • Corn Syrup

  • Dextrose

  • Evaporated Cane Juice

  • Fructose

  • Fruit Juice Concentrate

  • High-Fructose Corn Syrup

  • Honey

  • Maltose

How to avoid them? Try these tips.

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Buy tea bags or unsweetened tea instead of soda. It's rich in antioxidants that help protect your arteries and stave off complications of diabetes. For extra convenience, try cold-brew tea bags.

Load up on nonfat, unsweetened, plain yogurt and add your own mix-ins. You'll avoid both the saturated fat in whole-milk yogurt and the extra sugar in sweetened yogurt. Add berries for sweetness and fiber, low-fat granola, bran cereal, or ground flaxseeds for crunch.

Try reduced-fat evaporated milk to whip up a sweet topping. Whip it with Splenda or another sweetener to taste and use it in place of fattier, sweeter whipped cream.

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Purchase as many berries as you can eat in a week. The natural fructose in fruit is sweeter than the sucrose in table sugar. And it's friendlier to blood sugar, causing a much slower rise than sucrose. Plus, unlike candy, berries are full of fiber.

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Choose mustard over ketchup. Unlike ketchup, most mustards contain no added sugar, and they're much lower in sodium than ketchup.

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