Sneaky, Sneaky Sugar
Sigh. Why do "health and fitness food corporations" produce such misleading products for consumers?
As a huge peanut butter and jelly addict, I fell in love with Questbar after the first bite. A friend introduced it to me a while ago, and I decided to buy a box of a dozen while shopping for other health supplements on iHerb.com. I was impressed when I read the label - 'No Sugar or Sugar Alcohols Used'.
Lets not kid ourselves. Sugar-free peanut butter and jelly protein bar? That's about as far fetched as a healthy cheese dog. I read the ingredients on the back of the label (should've done that before...) and noticed that there was indeed SUGAR in the protein bar, except it's named Sucralose. it’s really just another word for sugar. In other words, despite the deceptive labeling, the primary ingredient for my snack bar was none other than sugar.
Surely, I wasn’t the only one fooled by the packaging. And so I thought it would be helpful to put together a list of other food ingredients that are really just sugar in disguise.
- Barley malt.
- Beet sugar.
- Brown sugar.
- High fructose corn syrup.
- Corn sugar.
- Cane sugar.
- Corn syrup.
- Brown rice syrup.
- Cane-juice crystals.
- Carob syrup.
- Yellow sugar.
- Date sugar.
- Dextran.
- Dextrose.
- Diatase.
- Diastatic malt.
- Levulose.
- Ethyl maltol.
- Fructose.
- Glucose.
- Grape sugar.
- Fruit juice.
- Maltose.
- Maltodextrin.
- Honey.
- Fruit juice concentrate.
- Raw sugar.
- Sucrose.
- Sorbitol.
- Molasses.
- Mannitol.
- Demerara sugar.
- Galactose.
- Maple syrup.
- Panocha.
- Powdered sugar.
- Confectioner’s sugar.
- Treacle.
- Turbinado sugar.
- Caramel.
- Ethyl maltol.
- Treacle.
- Sorghum syrup.
- Muscovado sugar.
- Agave.
Consumers beware! Labels tend to be very tricky and manufactures go to great lengths to make their products seem healthier. If you see any of the above ingredients, know that that it’s just another name for sugar.
The search for the best healthiest protein bar continues. Do you have a favourite protein bar? Please share!
