We all know that eating too much sugar isn’t good for our health. But what about sugar that is considered natural, such as the kind in fruit?
Whole fruits that haven’t been sweetened aren’t considered added sugar, which means they can be considered “no sugar added”. Fruits that have added sugar to them aren’t considered “no sugar added”, since the sugar added isn’t the kind that occurs naturally in fruit – such as the regular sugar added to some dried fruits.
If this seems a little confusing, don’t worry – it can be! We’ll explain everything about natural vs. added sugars in terms of fruit in this article!

What is added sugar?
Added sugars are any type of sugar that is added to foods during processing. Added sugar comes in many forms – some of the names you might not even recognize!
Let’s look at all the different names for added sugar that might appear on the ingredients list for your favorite foods and drinks (1-7 are the most basic single- and double-sugars that are found in the rest of the sweeteners.)
- Dextrose
- Fructose
- Galactose
- Glucose
- Lactose
- Maltose
- Sucrose
- Beet sugar
- Brown sugar
- Cane juice crystals
- Cane sugar
- Castor sugar
- Coconut sugar
- Confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar)
- Corn syrup solids
- Crystalline fructose
- Date sugar
- Demerara sugar
- Dextrin
- Diastatic malt
- Ethyl maltol
- Florida crystals
- Golden sugar
- Glucose syrup solids
- Grape sugar
- Icing sugar
- Maltodextrin
- Muscovado sugar
- Panela sugar
- Raw sugar
- Sugar (granulated or table)
- Sucanat
- Turbinado sugar
- Yellow sugar
- Agave Nectar/Syrup
- Barley malt
- Blackstrap molasses
- Brown rice syrup
- Buttered sugar/buttercream
- Caramel
- Carob syrup
- Corn syrup
- Evaporated cane juice
- Fruit juice
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Golden syrup
- High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
- Honey
- Invert sugar
- Malt syrup
- Maple syrup
- Molasses
- Rice syrup
- Refiner’s syrup
- Sorghum syrup
- Treacle
Added vs. natural sugars
The difference between added sugar and natural sugar is that added sugars don’t occur naturally in the food. Let’s look at unsweetened dried fruit and sweetened dried fruit as an example.
The sugar in the fruit itself isn’t considered added, because it occurs naturally in the fruit. The sugar added to the sweetened dried fruit is considered added sugar. See the difference?
Some examples of foods with added sugar include:
- Sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, sweetened teas and coffees, energy drinks, etc.
- Sugary cereals
- Desserts, candies, pastries, etc.
- Certain condiments (did you know that ketchup is high in added sugar?)
- Many other processed foods
What does the term “no sugar added” mean?
Foods that don’t contain any added sugars can have the “no sugar added” claim on them. This also applies to foods that use artificial sweeteners in place of regular sweeteners, such as sugar-free cake mixes.
Why should you limit added sugar?
Added sugar is proven to be detrimental to your health when regularly consumed in large amounts. Not only do added sugars contribute extra calories to your diet which can contribute to weight gain, but a diet high in added sugars might increase your risk of:
- Blood sugar problems like insulin resistance and diabetes
- Certain types of cancers
- Dental caries (cavities)
- Heart disease
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
According to the United States Dietary Guidelines, you should limit added sugars to fewer than 10% of your total calories, which would be 50 grams of added sugar or less for a 2,000-calorie diet.
The American Heart Association recommends an even lower amount – no more than 24-36 grams of added sugar per day for women and men per day, respectively.
Food label changes that took effect in 2020 require food manufacturers to have a line under “Total sugars” that specifies how much of those sugars come from added sugar. So, if a food has 20 grams of total sugar and 10 grams under “Includes x grams of added sugar”, then half of the total sugar in that food or drink is coming from added sugar.
Do fruits count as no sugar added?
If you eat fruit, it’s not considered added sugar. If fruit is an ingredient in a food, it still isn’t considered added sugar.
That doesn’t mean that foods that contain fruit don’t contain added sugar, though. Let’s look at apple pie as an example. It contains apples, but also large amounts of regular sugar, which is considered added. Therefore, regular apple pie can’t be considered “no sugar added”.
Another tricky area is the use of fruit nectars and concentrated fruit juice. Fruit nectars are thicker versions of fruit juices and often contain added sugar.
Fruit juice concentrate is considered an added sugar per the Food and Drug Administration. Why? Fruit juice concentrate is more concentrated in sugar compared to regular fruit juice, making fruit juice concentrate considered an added sugar (but not 100% fruit juice).
Isn’t fruit high in sugar, though?
Fruit is indeed a source of natural sugar. Too much of anything, even healthy food like fruit, can potentially become problematic.
For instance, if you eat a lot of fruit and have diabetes, your blood sugar levels might rise too high, even though fruit is healthy and doesn’t contain added sugar.
How much sugar does fruit contain? Let’s look at a few types of fruit products (including juice) compared to other foods to help give you a better perspective.
Total sugars | Added sugars | |
Medium apple | 19 g | 0 g |
8 oz. apple juice | 30 g | 0 g |
12 oz. can of soda | 33 g | 33 g |
Sweetened dried mangoes (1 oz.) | 15 g | 8 g |
Unsweetened dried mangoes | 16 g | 0 g |
1 cup broccoli | 1.5 g | 0 g |
FAQs:
Whole fruits will never contain added sugar. However, sweetened versions of fruit (dried fruit, sweetened fruit sauces, etc.) might contain added sugar, such as sweetened applesauce or sweetened dried mangoes.
Sugar from fruit that hasn’t been sweetened is not the same as added sugar. Added sugars are those that are added to foods, especially processed foods.
Bananas are among some of the higher-sugar fruits. Ripe bananas contain more sugar than green bananas, which are higher in starch than sugar!
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