All packaged (processed) foods are required to have an ingredient list. That list is always in order of ingredient quantity. A label whose ingredient list reads, "salt, sugar, garlic, onions, maltodextrin, spice, red bell peppers..." has mostly salt, then some percent less sugar than salt, then some percent less garlic than sugar, etc.. And sometimes, as in our example here, you get more sugar than you might know.
While processed food manufacturers must list their ingredients, they have been able to skirt listing sugar by using any one of sugar's many names. In the list above, you'll find "maltodextrin". Yep it's a sugar, made from corn syrup, and actually carries a higher glycemic index than table sugar. So to help you out, in your quest to eliminate as much sugar from your diet as possible, here is a list of the less well know names for sugar.
One simple rule - If any ingredient contains the word "sugar" or "syrup", it's just sugar. Raw, brown, golden, yellow, it is just sugar. Here's the less easily identified "sugars".
Agave nectar
Barley malt
Cane juice
Cane juice crystals
Caramel
Corn sweetener
Dehydrated cane juice
Dextrin
Dextrose
Evaporated cane juice
Fructose
Fruit juice
Fruit juice concentrate
Glucose
