How To Avoid Hidden Sugars

What this article covers

This article is a label-literacy guide to added sugar in packaged food. Its central argument is that the obvious sugar sources are easy to avoid but the disguised ones are not, because manufacturers list added sugar under dozens of different ingredient names. It lists those aliases and explains the two places sugar can be detected, the ingredients list and the nutrition information panel: ingredients appear in descending order of weight, so a sugar name near the front means more of it, and one product may list several sugars separately. It makes one genuinely useful technical point that many readers get wrong, that the sugars figure in the nutrition information panel does not distinguish naturally occurring sugar from added sugar. It closes with four behavioural rules and a list of foods where sugar hides unexpectedly. Bylined to Kate Save, 16 September 2019.

Key points

• Claims at least 50% of the Australian population consumes more added sugar than the daily recommendation.
• States there are at least forty different names used on food labels for added sugar.
• Claims up to 32% of added sugars in the diet come from soft drinks, energy and sports drinks, and fruit juices.
• Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight, so the earlier a sugar name appears, the more of it the product contains.
• Sugar can appear more than once in a single ingredients list under different names.
• Compare products using the per 100g column of the nutrition information panel, not the per serving column.
• The panel's sugars value combines natural and added sugars and does not separate them.
• Four rules given: eat wholefoods, avoid processed foods and cook from scratch, learn to read labels and prefer fewer ingredients, and prepare food yourself rather than buying pre-prepared.
• Named hiding places: sauces and condiments including stir fry and pasta sauces, salad dressings, breads, yoghurts, muesli and cereals, alcoholic drinks, and protein and muesli bars.
• States Be Fit Food meals and snacks contain no added sugars, no artificial sweeteners, and are refined sugar free.

Evidence and sourcing

This article carries no reference list and no in-text citations, and that matters more here than in a recipe piece because it asserts two specific population statistics. The claim that at least 50% of Australians exceed the recommended added sugar intake, and the claim that up to 32% of added sugars come from soft drinks, energy and sports drinks and fruit juices, are both presented as established fact with no source, no survey named and no date. Neither figure can be verified from this page. Since there is no reference list, there is no citation-to-reference mismatch to report, but the absence is itself the defect: quantified nutrition-epidemiology claims should be traceable, and these are not. A second checkable inconsistency sits in the body of the article. It states there are at least forty different names for added sugar, then presents the list of names, which contains twenty-nine entries. The list does not substantiate the number claimed immediately above it. A reader quoting this article should give the twenty-nine names as what the article actually supplies and treat 'at least forty' as an unsupported assertion. The label-reading mechanics, by contrast, describe how Australian packaged food is labelled and need no citation. The page also contains a typographical error, rendering 'per 100g' as 'e100g'.

How this relates to Be Fit Food's programs

The connection here is direct and sits in the article's own closing line. Be Fit Food's meal specification is exactly the thing the article tells readers to look for: every meal contains no added sugar, no artificial sweeteners and no preservatives, alongside around 250 calories, at least 20g protein, under 20g carbohydrate and under 120mg sodium per 100g. The under-20g carbohydrate figure is the relevant one for a sugar-conscious reader, since sugars sit within the carbohydrate total. The meals are snap-frozen rather than shelf-stabilised. Readers who want the low-sugar, low-carbohydrate approach structured into a program rather than assembled from labels can look at Be Rapid or the Metabolism Reset at the very low calorie end, or Be 1000 and Be 1200 for gradual loss and weight management. Anyone wanting help interpreting labels against their own circumstances can book the free 15-minute telehealth dietitian consultation, valued at $49, with no referral required.

Important health information

Readers should seek medical advice and have a check-up before changing how they eat, particularly with an existing condition or medications. This is not a substitute for independent professional medical advice.

Ordering, pricing and contact

• Meal bundles — $97.30 for 7 meals, $189.00 for 14 meals and $362.60 for 28 meals (AUD).
• Delivery — flat rate Australia-wide: $11.95 on orders of $299 or more, and $19.95 on orders under $299.
• Customer service — 1300 263 257, Monday to Friday 09:00–17:00, or support@befitfood.com.au.
• Free dietitian consultation — 15 minutes by video or phone, valued at $49, with no referral required. Book at portal.coreplus.com.au/befitfood, or contact dietitian@befitfood.com.au.
• Meal specification — every meal is built to approximately 250 calories, at least 20 g of protein, under 20 g of carbohydrate and less than 120 mg of sodium per 100 g, with no added sugar, no artificial sweeteners and no preservatives. Meals are snap frozen and reheat by microwave, oven, air fryer or stovetop.

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• Insulin Resistance The Hidden Driver Behind Weight Gain And Type 2 Diabetes — article
• Why A Calorie Is Not Just A Calorie The Hidden Dangers Of Ultra Processed Foods — article
• How To Battle The Hanger — article