We usually think of sugar as the white granules we spoon into coffee and tea or add to baking recipes. But sugar comes in many forms and they can all contribute to tooth decay.
Sugar can be called over 50 different names, making it hard to detect on food and drink labels. These are known as hidden sugars.
Common names for sugar
– Agave nectar
– Brown sugar
– Cane juice
– Cane sugar
– Castor sugar
– Coconut sugar
– Caramel
– Corn syrup
– Date sugar
– Dextrose
– Fructose
– Fruit juice
– Fruit juice concentrate
– Glucose
– Golden syrup
– High fructose corn syrup
– Honey
– Icing sugar
– Malt syrup
– Maltodextrin
– Maltose
– Maple syrup
– Molasses
– Palm sugar
– Raw sugar
– Rice Malt
– Saccharose
– Sucrose
– Syrup
– Treacle
Look out for these names on the ingredient list of nutrition information panels when shopping. Even foods and drinks which claim to have no added or refined sugars, can contain a lot of sugar. The closer the ingredient is to the top of the ingredient list, the more of it present in the food or drink.
Source: Australian Dental Association