For example, whether you eat canned fruit packed in natural juices or canned fruit packed in heavy syrup, your body digests it in exactly the same way. The difference is that fruit packed in its own juices is much lower in calories than fruit packed in syrup because juice contains less sugar than syrup does. Contrary to popular belief, sugar does not cause hyperactivity or diabetes. But it can cause dental cavities and supply unnecessary calories. Sugary foods are usually low in nutrients, too, so eat foods with added sugar sparingly if you want to lose weight.
Sugar shows up on food labels in many forms.
If one of the terms in the following list appears as the first or second ingredient on a food label, or several are used in a single product, it's an indication that the food is probably high in sugar. It also means that the food has sugar added to it because the sugars that are naturally present in foods are not listed in the ingredients. Most sugar substitutes do not provide significant calories and therefore may be useful in the diets of people who are concerned about calorie intake. Foods containing sugar substitutes, however, may not always be lower in calories than similar products containing sugars, so check labels. Unless you reduce the total number of calories you eat, the use of sugar substitutes will not help you lose weight.