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If checking the nutrition facts label is something you’ve been working on doing, you may be feeling overwhelmed by all of the information the label contains. Calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrate—the list goes on.
When you finally reach the carbohydrate section, you see the line “dietary fiber” and then 2 lines about sugar: total sugars and added sugars. It would follow that both types of sugar are important, or they probably wouldn’t be on the label.
But which one is more important to monitor for your health? What are the right numbers to aim for? And exactly what is the difference between total sugars and added sugars anyway?
Quick disclaimer—although I am a registered dietitian nutritionist, your reading of this or any articles on this website does not constitute medical nutrition therapy advice nor create a practitioner-client relationship. The information I provide here on this website is for educational and informational purposes only. Please see my full disclaimer for more information.
In this article, we’ll discuss what these terms mean and how you can use them as you shop and plan your meals and snacks.
Total Sugars
Total sugars is the line that tells you how much sugar (from all sources) is in a serving of the product. (Hint, always double check the serving size line to see how much of a food is considered a serving.)
Total sugars includes naturally occurring sugars (the sugars that are naturally present in the food) in addition to any sugar that was added during processing—in other words, added sugars,1 which we will discuss in a bit. You could consider total sugars to be more of a main category, since any kind of sugar that is in the food would be a part of the total sugars.
Interestingly, because the total sugars number includes both naturally occurring and added sugars, there isn’t really a right or wrong number to consume. As everyone’s nutritional needs and goals are different, the “right” number will be different for each person.
As a quick side note, I do want to give a few examples of foods with naturally occurring sugars before we move on to the topic of added sugars. Having examples of foods with naturally occurring sugars may make it a little easier to tell how they are different from foods with added sugars.
Foods where naturally occurring sugars are present include:
- Milk and yogurt
- Fruit and fruit juices (100% juice)
A question may then come up—what about honey, maple syrup, agave, and other more natural sounding sugars? Are they considered naturally occurring or added sugars?
The final verdict, although perhaps discouraging, is that these sweeteners are technically considered added sugars.2 One reason is that usually these sweeteners are added to another food or foods to increase the sweetness. For the most part, we generally don’t eat honey, maple syrup, or another natural sweetener by itself.
We’ll dig deeper into how these more natural sweeteners become added sugars in the next section. But to summarize this section, remember that total sugars equals naturally occurring sugars plus added sugars.
Added Sugars
Now let’s dive into the subcategory of added sugars. Added sugars are basically any kind of sugar that is added to a food or beverage when it is processed.1 Think of the process of making a cake or sweetening your coffee or tea—you’re adding in sugar to make the recipe complete.
This category of sugar may pose more of a concern to our health because it is often associated with foods that aren’t as nutritious. For example, drinking a regular soda/pop that consists basically of just sugar means that you are getting just that—sugar. The soda likely does not provide much nutritional benefit otherwise—no fiber, protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, etc.
When foods of lesser nutritional value play a large part in our daily food intake, we won’t be able to get all the nutrients we need. We may end up taking in more calories than we need while missing out on other valuable nutrients.
Over time, an increase of calories can often lead to weight gain, which isn’t usually helpful when it comes to reducing risk for chronic diseases, such as heart disease. And a constant lack of important nutrients can set people up for nutrient deficiencies and once again, the potential for chronic diseases.
This is why monitoring how much added sugar we consume is so important for our overall health and our hearts. While we don’t need to completely eliminate it from our eating patterns, we would be wise to cut back to help improve our quality of life and possibly reduce the risk of future chronic diseases and/or prevent further damage to our hearts.
So how can we do that? The first step is identifying sources of added sugars.
Sources of Added Sugars
When you hear the term “added sugars,” white table sugar may come to mind. And table sugar can certainly be considered an added sugar. But there are actually many other kinds of added sugars.
Some examples of added sugars are1:
- White table sugar
- Honey
- Agave
- Brown sugar
- High fructose corn syrup
- Molasses
- Fruit juice concentrate (this is a bit different than regular juice because most of the water in the juice is removed to make the concentrate, and other sugars may be added to the concentrate3)
- Sucrose
- Dextrose
You may see some of these terms on the ingredients list. When you do see them, keep in mind that the food or beverage may have some added sugars in it. And be sure to pay close attention to the amount of added sugars listed on the label.
Recommended Daily Amounts for Added Sugars
That brings us to the second important point about added sugars—how much is too much? There are 2 main answers to this question from our national health authorities.
The less strict guidance comes from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.4 This recommendation is intended more for the general American population, but it likely suggests an amount less than what many Americans typically eat in a day.
So in a sense, reducing added sugar intake to the level recommended in the Dietary Guidelines could still be helpful to your health.
The suggestion is to aim to consume 10% of less of your daily calories from added sugars. On a 2000 calorie diet, this equals about 50 grams of added sugars per day.
How did they get that number? It takes a bit of math, but I’ll outline the steps for you.
- First, take the daily amount of calories you want to consume, and multiply that number by 10% (in other words, 0.1). This number will be the calories from added sugars to consume per day.
- Then take the number of calories from added sugars that you got after multiplying by 10%. Divide that number by 4, since there are 4 calories per 1 gram of sugar/carbohydrate. Diving by 4 will give you the grams of added sugars to consume per day.
Your needs may be higher or lower depending on multiple factors; but if you are aiming for a specific calorie target daily, you’ll know how to calculate your added sugar limits using this method.
The second answer of how much added sugar is appropriate comes from the American Heart Association. Their guidance is a bit more straightforward but stricter.5
- For men, the recommended limit is 36 grams per day.
- For women, the recommended limit is 25 grams per day.
As you can see, their recommendations may be more challenging to follow. But they are still good targets to aim for to help reduce your added sugar intake and benefit your heart.
Ultimately, it would be wise to speak with your doctor and/or dietitian about how much added sugar is right for you in relation to your medical history and current dietary habits.
The American Heart Association recommends no more than 36 grams of added sugar per day for men and no more than 25 grams of added sugar per day for women.
Considerations for Meal Planning
Now that you know the difference between total sugars and added sugars, let’s talk a bit about how you can use this information in your daily eating habits.
To begin, take a look at what you normally eat, and work to identify all the sources of added sugar you may be taking in on a daily basis. If you can, estimate about how much added sugar you’re taking in each day.
Once you have figured this out, think about which source(s) of added sugar are important to you—ones that you may really want to keep in your day. For the sources that aren’t that important to you, see if you can find some lower sugar alternatives or maybe even do without them.
Then, when you have identified your “non-negotiable” items, take a look at how much added sugar you’re getting from consuming these foods/beverages each day. See where your number falls in relation to the target recommendations from the American Heart Association and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
If you’re close to the recommendations, that’s wonderful! If not, you may want to consider re-evaluating your portions of these foods/beverages, or maybe how often you consume them.
And keep in mind, no matter where you’re at, every little change you make to help improve your health is providing benefit. So even if you feel you have a long way to go with reducing added sugar intake, just starting with one small step is still an accomplishment that you can continue to build on!
Conclusion
As we wrap up our discussion of total sugars versus added sugars, remember that reducing added sugars is only one part of an overall heart healthy eating pattern. Don’t forget to include a variety of foods each day and week, and focus on choosing healthier options more of the time.
If you need more guidance, I encourage you to find a registered dietitian nutritionist who can help you figure out an eating pattern that is right for you. The following link will take you to a page where you can search for a dietitian that will be a good fit for your goals: https://www.eatright.org/find-a-nutrition-expert
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Sources
- Added Sugars on the Nutrition Facts Label. FDA.gov. Updated September 27, 2023. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/added-sugars-nutrition-facts-label.
- Solid K. What Is Honey? Foodinsight.org. Published December 3, 2020. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://foodinsight.org/what-is-honey/#:~:text=Is+honey+a+natural+or,added+sugars+to+the+diet.
- Adnan A, Mushtaq M, Ul Islam T. Chapter 12—fruit juice concentrates. In: Rajauria G, Tiwari BK. Fruit Juices: Extraction, Composition, Quality and Analysis. Academic Press; 2018:217-40. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128022306000126.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. 9th Edition. 2020:1/41-43. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans-2020-2025.pdf.
- American Heart Association editorial staff. How Much Sugar Is Too Much? Heart.org. Accessed March 9, 2024. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/how-much-sugar-is-too-much.
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