| Sugar |
A sweet, crystalline substance, C12H22O11, obtained chiefly from the juice of the sugarcane and the sugar beet. |
| Total sugars |
The term is used conventionally to describe the monosaccharides glucose, galactose, and fructose, as well as the disaccharides sucrose, lactose, maltose, and trehalose. Total sugars include all sugars in a food or beverage from any source, including those naturally occurring (such as fructose in fruit and lactose in milk, starch in vegetables) and those added to foods. |
| Naturally occurring sugars |
Include those that are an innate component of foods (e.g., fructose in fruits and vegetables and lactose in milk and other dairy products). |
| Added sugars |
Include all sugars used as ingredients in processed and prepared foods and sugars eaten separately or added to foods at the table. Sucrose and high-fructose corn syrups are the most commonly added sugars. |
| Intrinsic sugars |
Sugars that are present within the cell walls of plants (e.g., naturally occurring sugars) and are always accompanied by other nutrients. |
| Extrinsic sugars |
Those sugars not located within the cellular structure of a food and are found in fruit juice, honey, and syrups and added to processed foods. |
| Free sugars |
Include monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods and beverages by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. |
