What is the difference between "0 added sugar", "0 cane sugar", and "0 sugar" on food labels?

Although sugar additives are seasonings in daily life. But it will have adverse effects on our metabolism, weight, and overall health.

Sucrose:

Sucrose, also known as white sugar, is composed of glucose and fructose. Sucrose intake will rapidly increase the blood sugar level, and people with diabetes must avoid it. In addition, sucrose is prone to causing dental caries, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and other conditions. Suggest limiting intake and reducing added sugar.

fructose

Naturally present in fruits and honey, with a sweetness higher than sucrose. Fructose in fruits, along with fiber and various micronutrients, is beneficial to human health. It has a relatively small impact on blood sugar and is widely used in many sugar free products. For example, high fructose corn syrup is commonly used in processed foods and carbonated beverages. High fructose can lead to obesity, metabolic syndrome, and fatty liver. Natural fructose is beneficial to health, but the intake of industrialized fructose needs to be strictly controlled. Especially for children and people with liver problems.

aspartame

Artificially synthesized sweeteners have a sweetness about 200 times that of sucrose, but contain almost no calories. Aspartame has stable metabolism and will not be broken down in the human body. Therefore, it will not affect the blood sugar level, and is an ideal choice for patients with diabetes. But aspartame can have an impact on the gut microbiota, thereby affecting metabolism and immune function.

Sugar alcohols

There is also a type of sugar alcohol sweetener, such as maltitol, sorbitol, and xylitol. They are all sweet, low in calories, and have little impact on blood sugar, making them suitable for people who need to control their blood sugar. But at the same time, they can cause discomfort to the gastrointestinal tract.

Be careful of the concept of 'zero sugar' and being swapped

On many food labels, the concept of "0 sugar" has been replaced with "0 added sugar" or "0 sucrose". Everyone must keep their eyes open. 1 "0 added sugar", "0 sucrose" ≠ "0 sugar" Many people understand sugar as sucrose (i.e. white sugar), which is incorrect. In food nutrition, there are three types of sugars: monosaccharides: fructose, glucose, and galactose; disaccharides: sucrose, lactose, and maltose; polysaccharides: dietary fiber, starch, and pectin.

'0 Sucrose': It only indicates that sucrose is not added to the product, but it does not mean that glucose, maltose, or pectin is not added.

Zero added sugar ": Added sugar is the sugar artificially added to food.

The labeling of a certain product as "0 added sugar" only indicates that it did not have any additional sugar added during production, but does not mean that this product is sugar free. For example, dried fruits or jams with "zero added sugar" already contain fructose, sucrose, glucose, etc.

'Low sugar', 'sugar free' ≠ no sugar

Some people love to drink beverages but are afraid of gaining weight, so they choose "low sugar" or "sugar free" options. I thought this way I could drink with confidence, but in fact, it's not right. 'Low sugar' or 'sugar free' is relative to traditional beverages with excessively high sugar content.

Low sugar ": 100ml of beverage contains less than 5g of sugar. That is, the energy generated by sugar per 100ml of beverage is less than 75.6 kilojoules (18 kilocalories). Sugar free: The sugar content in every 100ml of beverage is less than 0.5g.

From this, it can be seen that "low sugar" or "sugar free" drinks are not really sugar free.

Moreover, some sugar free beverages are made from grains themselves. Grain is a polysaccharide food that can be broken down into sucrose and glucose in the body. If you drink a large amount of "low sugar" drinks, the energy intake is not low either. For example, a 500ml bottle of green tea beverage contains approximately 335 kilojoules (80 kilocalories) of energy. If you drink two bottles every day, it is equivalent to taking in an additional energy provided by about 100g Mantou. If people think that "low sugar" or "sugar free" drinks have low energy and drink them in large quantities, they may end up falling into an energy trap.

In addition, drinking too many "low sugar" or "sugar free" beverages can also lead to various health problems. Because these "low sugar" or "sugar free" drinks also contain artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame), food coloring, preservatives, etc. Long term consumption may increase the burden on organs such as the liver and kidneys in the human body. Excessive consumption of beverages may also lead to health hazards such as malnutrition, osteoporosis, and dental caries. How many illnesses can be caused by drinking a bottle of beverage?

There are so many pitfalls on food labels. To summarize today's main content:

'0 added sugar' simply means that there is no additional sugar added, but it does not mean that the product itself does not contain sugar; 'Zero sucrose' simply means it does not contain sucrose, not sugar;

Sugar free means less than 0.5g of sugar; low sugar means less than 5g of sugar. Natural fructose is beneficial to health, but artificial fructose should be avoided;

Sugar alcohol substitutes and aspartame have no calories and have little impact on blood sugar, but can cause damage to the gastrointestinal tract and be detrimental to health.