Although it’s not purposely, claims of food labels such as “no sugar”, “no added sugar” or “unsweetened” would be confusing for consumers and distinguishing this claim from another is quite stressful. The FDA closely regulates the use of sugar statements in food labels, but many of us are still wondering which one is better. Does “sugar-free” mean zero sugar?
First, sugar is not necessarily harmful to you. This is our way of consuming which would be harmful to our health. While the presence of sugar in fruits and vegetables is naturally part of a healthy diet but the sugar added to beverages and processed foods should be kept to a minimum. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that no more than 10 percent of your daily caloric intake should come from added sugars. While a diet too high in sugar of any kind can increase your risk for cavities, eating too many added sugars can raise your risk for chronic disease such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Lastly, while the FDA approves the use of artificial sweeteners in food, controversy exists over their perceived health risks.
Different Types of Sugars
Naturally Occurring Sugar:
These sugars are found naturally in fruit (fructose) and dairy (lactose). These sugars are hard to overdo because they typically come in combination with fiber, protein, and good-for-you vitamins and minerals. Foods that pack a naturally sweet flavor such as pineapples, bananas, and sweet potatoes are nutrient-rich and part of a healthy diet.
Added Sugar:
Processed foods, baked goods, and soft drinks may contain added sugar to enhance their flavor or achieve proper texture. Added sugar includes baking staples such as brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup, granulated sugar, and more.
Artificial sweeteners:
Common sources of artificial sweeteners include foods are often marketed as sugar-free, such as diet drinks. Common artificial sweeteners are labeled as aspartame, saccharin and sucralose in the list of ingredients.
Sugar Alcohols:
Also called polyols, sugar alcohols are commonly used to sweeten sugar-free foods because they are not associated with tooth decay. Common sources of sugar alcohols include chewing gum and hard candy and appear on ingredient lists as sorbitol or mannitol. Keep in mind that they may have a laxative effect on some people.
No sugar
According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a food is considered “sugar-free” if it contains less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving. It is important to note the actual number of meals as there may be a small amount of sugar, even with a sugar-free claim. In addition, sugar-free contains natural and added sugars, but does not contain artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols. Check out the list of ingredients for artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols, both are used to enhance flavor in the absence of sugar. Common “sugar free” sources on food labels include chewing gum, pancake syrup, canned fruit, candy, and more.
No added sugar
The FDA allows a food label to claim “no added sugar” if it “does not contain any sugar during processing or packaging, including sugar-containing ingredients such as fruit juice or dried fruit”, in other words, it can make this claim until do not add sugar to food manually. This term is not the same as sugar-free, because natural sugars, artificial sugars and sugar alcohols may still exist. Search this claim for foods such as granola, peanut butter, fruit juices, fruit preservatives, and more.
Unsweetened
If you see this term on food labels, it means that this product does not contain any added sugar, artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols. Again, it does not mean that the food is sugar-free, as it may contain natural sugars. Examples of unsweetened food products include almond milk, coconut milk, apple sauce, iced tea and more. If you are looking to avoid artificial sugars or reduce the amount of sugar added to your diet, unsweetened foods are a great choice.
At Food Lord, we will try to use raw materials (different types of fruits and vegetables) native of Iran to produce dried fruits and dried herbs. The production of dried fruits and dried herbs in our company is by using dehydrated machines and we will not use unauthorized foreign additives. Our goal is to produce good quality product and satisfy the consumer. Dried fruits of Food Lord have natural fruit sugar and the final product is without additives materials and sugar.
Ref: Which one is better? No sugar, No added sugar or Unsweetened