Added sugars or free sugars are

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

carbohydrates (caloric sweeteners) added to

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for Nutrient, nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or Fungus, fungal origin and contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, protein (nutrient), proteins, vitamins, ...

and

beverage A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...

s at some point before their consumption. These include added carbohydrates ( monosaccharides and disaccharides), and more broadly, sugars naturally present in

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

syrup In cooking, syrup (less commonly sirup; from ; , beverage, wine and ) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a Solution (chemistry), solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but ...

, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. They can take multiple chemical forms, including sucrose (table sugar),

glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecular formula , which is often abbreviated as Glc. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae d ...

(dextrose), and fructose. Medical consensus holds that added sugars contribute little nutritional value to food, leading to a colloquial description as " empty calories". Overconsumption of sugar is correlated with excessive calorie intake and increased risk of weight gain and various diseases. Individuals who consume 17–21% of their daily calories from added sugar are reported to have a 38% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who consume 8% of their daily calories from added sugar.

Uses

United States

In the United States, added sugars may include sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup, both primarily composed of about half

and half fructose. Other types of added sugar ingredients include

beet The beetroot (British English) or beet (North American English) is the taproot portion of a '' Beta vulgaris'' subsp. ''vulgaris'' plant in the Conditiva Group. The plant is a root vegetable also known as the table beet, garden beet, dinner ...

and cane sugars, malt syrup,

maple syrup Maple syrup is a sweet syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Ma ...

, pancake syrup, fructose sweetener, liquid fructose, fruit juice concentrate,

, and molasses. The most common types of foods containing added sugars are sweetened beverages, including most

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

s, and also desserts and sweet snacks, which represent 20% of daily calorie consumption, twice the maximum limit recommended by the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(WHO). Based on a 2012 study on the use of caloric and noncaloric sweeteners in some 85,000 food and beverage products, 74% of the products contained added sugar.

Sweetened beverages

Sweetened beverages contain a

mixture In chemistry, a mixture is a material made up of two or more different chemical substances which can be separated by physical method. It is an impure substance made up of 2 or more elements or compounds mechanically mixed together in any proporti ...

of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose formed by hydrolytic saccharification of the disaccharide sucrose. The bioavailability of liquid carbohydrates is higher than in solid sugars, as characterized by sugar type and by the estimated rate of digestion. There is evidence for a positive and causal relationship between excessive intake of fruit juices and increased risk of some chronic metabolic diseases.

Guidelines

World Health Organization

In 2003, the WHO defined free sugars principally by defining the term " carbohydrate" into elements that relate more directly to the impact on health rather than a chemical definition, and followed on from meta-studies relating to chronic disease,

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...

, and dental decay related to the overconsumption of high quantities of added sugar in processed foods. In tandem with the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

, the WHO published a revised food pyramid that splits up the diet into more health-directed groups, recommending that a maximum of 10% of an individual's diet should come from free sugars. Sugar companies disputed the WHO report for suggesting that consumption of free sugars within the food pyramid should only amount to a daily maximum of 10%, and that there should be no minimum sugar intake. In 2015, the WHO published a new guideline on sugar intake for adults and children as a result of an extensive review of the available scientific evidence by a multidisciplinary group of experts. The guideline recommends that both adults and children reduce the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake. In 2016, added sugar was added to the revised version of the nutrition facts label and was a given a daily value of 50 grams or 200 calories per day for a 2,000 calorie diet.

European Food Safety Authority

In February 2022, scientists of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that sugar consumption is a known cause of dental caries, and that evidence also links to consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, juices and nectars with various chronic metabolic diseases including obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and type 2 diabetes. EFSA stated: "We underlined there are uncertainties about chronic disease risk for people whose consumption of added and free sugars is below 10% of their total energy intake".

American Heart Association

In 2018, the American Heart Association recommended daily intake of sugar for men is 9 teaspoons or per day, and for women, six teaspoons or per day. Overconsumption of sugars in foods and beverages may increase the risk of several diseases.

References

{{sugar Risk factors for obesity Added

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...