The sugar-refining process removes trace minerals and fiber from plants such as sugar cane, corn and sugar beets. You may know the resulting product as sucrose, dextrose or fructose, more commonly referred to as refined sugar or table sugar. Light and dark brown sugars are refined with some molasses added.
Nearly every processed food contains some element of sugar - one reason why dietitians and nutritionists advise eliminating all processed food from your diet. According to FamilyEducation.com, these sometimes hidden refined sugars contribute to tooth decay, hypoglycemia, diabetes and hampered immune system function. According to research by Princeton professor Bart Hoebel and a team in the Princeton Department of Psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience institute, sugar is also an addictive substance, creating a self-reinforcing cycle that leads to further negative health effects as you continue to take it in.
Candy
Chocolate almost always has added sugar, but all candy is suspect. Look for some of refined sugar's many aliases, including confectioners sugar, invert sugar, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose and powdered sugar, on candy labels.
Drinks
Read labels on sodas and energy drinks carefully. Many contain quite a bit of added sugar; that's what helps gives you an extra, if brief, jolt of energy. You may see refined sugar listed on drink labels under the aliases cane sugar, corn syrup or raw sugar.
Real fruit juice has a high amount of naturally occurring sugar. But the majority of fruit juice mixes have added sugar, too. As before, read labels carefully; look for products that are labeled as 100 percent juice with no added sweeteners.
Processed Foods
According to FamilyEducation.com, more than two-thirds of the refined sugar used in the United States is added to processed or manufactured foods. Aside from baked goods and cereals, you'll also find refined sugars hidden in processed foods from peanut butter to pickles, frozen pizzas, canned fruits and vegetables, salad dressings, lunch meat, hot dogs and spaghetti sauce. The refined sugar may be hidden under not-so-obvious names like maltose and lactose.
Baked Goods
If you're trying to avoid refined sugar, you'll intuitively know to stay away from the pastry, donut and cake section of the supermarket. But sugar is a staple in almost all breads and even savory baked goods; read labels carefully and decide for yourself, or with your physician's or dietitian's help, how many grams of sugar per serving are acceptable.
Cereal
The cereal aisle remains a haven of sweetened breakfast foods. Children's cereals with marshmallows are obvious culprits, but once again you must read labels carefully. Even a cereal that's labeled as "lightly sweetened" may have significant amounts of added sugar.
Ice Cream
True ice cream doesn't have very many ingredients, but sugar is one of them. Look for it in all the sweet treats in the frozen food aisle, including ice cream pops and ice cream sandwiches. Most frozen yogurts and sherbets have refined sugar, too.
Jams and Jellies
Sugar is an important part of most jams and jellies. Apple butter and marmalade are low-sugar alternatives.
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