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Trying to follow a whole food plant-based lifestyle but sugar keeps sneaking its way in? You're not alone! It can certainly feel like refined sugar is everywhere...because it kind of is. Worst of all, it's not always easy to identify as you're reading nutrition labels because manufacturers often use sneaky names for refined sugar! But rest easy, here's how to spot refined sugar in packaged foods.
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On This Page
The Dangers of Refined Sugar Consumption
Refined vs. Natural Sugar
Other Names for Refined Sugar on Food Labels
5 Refined-Sugar Free WFPB Dessert Recipes
Key Takeaways
The Dangers of Sugar Consumption
According to the American Heart Association, the daily recommended maximum amount of added sugar a person should consume is 38 grams for men and 25 grams for women. That's nine and six teaspoons respectively. But in reality, the average person today consumes 42.5 teaspoons of sugar per day!
Why is this a problem? Well, excess sugar consumption has serious adverse effects on your health. It contributes to weight gain, increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. It impairs the immune system, leaving it more susceptible to infections and illnesses. It also speeds up the aging process on a cellular level, and may increase the risks for depression, and cancer.
But something to note: not all sugars are created equally. Natural sugar is found in fruit, vegetables, and grains, and it's inherently already in foods, while added sugars are created artificially and added to foods during the manufacturing process.
Here's why it matters what type of sugar you're ingesting.
Refined vs. Natural Sugar: What You Need to Know on a WFPB Diet
Have a friend who told you not to eat too many fruits since they're high in sugar? While it's true that fruit is often high in sugar, it's worth understanding that our bodies react different to naturally-occurring sugar in fruit, vegetables, and grains than they do to the refined sugars added artificially to packaged, processed foods.
Natural sugar in whole foods also comes with fiber, vitamins and minerals, and antioxidants that slow down its absorption in the blood and don't cause a spike in your blood glucose levels. Added sugars, like refined sugars in packaged foods or baked goods, don't have fiber or any of the nutrition the whole food contains. This causes the sugar to enter your blood stream quickly, which can lead to blood sugar spikes and dips.
Other Names for Refined Sugar on Food Labels
With that in mind, it can be hard to identify refined sugar in packaged foods because sugar has many different names, which makes it really easy for manufacturers to hide it in food labels — and very difficult for consumers who try to stay away from it. Good news though: below you can find other common names for refined sugar so that you can make informed choices when grocery shopping on a WFPB diet!
Cane juice
Cane sugar
Caramel
Corn syrup
Corn syrup solids
Barley malt
Barbados sugar
Beet sugar
Brown sugar
Buttered syrup
Confectioner’s sugar
Carob syrup
Dextrose
Diastatic malt
Ethyl maltol
Free flowing brown sugars
Fructose
Castor sugar
Date sugar
Dehydrated cane juice
Granulated sugar
Grape sugar
High fructose corn syrup
Honey
Icing sugar
Demerara sugar
Golden syrup
Invert sugar
Lactose
Malt
Maltodextrin
Dextran
Fruit juice
Fruit juice concentrate
Galactose
Glucose
Molasses
Muscovado
Panocha
Powdered sugar
Refiner’s syrup
Rice syrup
Sucrose
Treacle
Trehalose
Glucose solids
Golden sugar
Maltose
Malt syrup
Mannitol
Maple syrup
Raw sugar
Turbinado sugar
5 Refined-Sugar Free WFPB Dessert Recipes to Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth
No sugar, no problem! These five delicious refined-sugar free WFPB desserts will prove to you that you don't need refined sugar to experience the sweet life.
1. Beet Brownies
Image and Recipe from Nutriplanet
These WFPB brownies feature earthy heart-healthy beets, and are naturally sweetened with dates, so you can enjoy them without any blood sugar spikes.
Image and Recipe from Feasting On Fruit
2. Chocolate Cupcakes
Can you believe there isn't a gram of refined sugar in these mouth-watering chocolate cupcakes? It's true!
3. Raw Orange Chocolate Pudding
Image and Recipe from Dreena Burton
Chocolate and orange is a match made in dessert heaven, and thanks to this creamy pudding you don't need refined sugar to enjoy it!
4. Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream
Image and Recipe from Plant-Based Cooking
WFPB ice cream? Yep! You don't need dairy or refined sugar to enjoy your favorite sunny day treat. See for yourself with this genius recipe for strawberry "nice" cream.
5. Vegan Ferrero Rochers
Image and Recipe from One Green Planet
No more cravings for those heavenly hazelnut bites. You can now make them at home with this recipe; zero refined sugar, a 100% deliciousness.
Key Takeaways
- Sugar is often hiding in plain side! There are many names for refined sugar, making it easy for food manufacturers to fool consumers.
- By learning other names for refined sugar you can arm yourself with the knowledge you need to make informed purchases at the grocery store — and stick with your WFPB diet!
- Our bodies react very differently to refined sugar and whole foods with natural sugars!
- You can still satiate your sweet tooth on a WFPB diet by making delicious refined sugar-free desserts!
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Rafaela Michailidou is a Vegan Lifestyle Coach, and a freelance health and wellness content writer, with a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies.