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Understanding Added Sugar In Your Diet

Are you looking to reduce your sugar intake? First, it is important to understand where you are getting sugar from in your diet. Sugar occurs naturally in whole foods like fruit, vegetables, grains, and dairy. Other sources of sugar in your diet include soft drinks, fruit juices, flavored yogurts, and most processed foods. Always check nutrition labels for hidden sugar in items like condiments, soups, breads, cured meats and protein bars.

Know the common names for sugar that appear on nutrition labels and ingredient lists: corn syrup, agave nectar, fruit juice concentrate, rice syrup, sucrose, fructose, honey and many more. In fact, there are at least 56 different names for sugar! Check out the list here.

Eating (and drinking) too much added sugars can contribute to health problems such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. So, know the sources of added sugar in your diet and learn how to identify hidden sugar on nutrition labels.

Sources: Harvard Health, WebMD, CDC

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