Consumers increasingly trade glazed pastries for products labeled “all natural,” “low-fat” or “organic,” believing they are choosing healthier options. But many of those items — from granolas branded as high-protein to plant-based milks and bottled smoothies — often contain significant added sugar that is not obvious on the shelf. Nutrition experts and recent labeling changes explain how sweeteners have migrated into unexpected products and why shoppers can still be misled. The result: well-marketed foods can contribute substantial sugar to daily intake despite health-forward packaging.
Key Takeaways
- Labeling changes in 2021 require added sugars to be listed separately on nutrition panels, but manufacturers have shifted to alternative sweeteners that skirt the “added sugar” definition.
- The American Heart Association estimates the average American consumes 17 grams of added sugar per day — stated as 57 pounds (26 kilograms) per year — with about half from beverages.
- FDA guidance allows up to 10% of calories from added sugar (roughly 50 grams on a 2,000-calorie diet); some experts recommend 5% or less for people at metabolic risk.
- Common “healthy” items can be surprising sources: one Chobani black cherry yogurt lists 9 grams of added sugar; Silk almond milk can have about 7 grams per cup.
- Manufacturers have substituted sweeteners such as monk fruit and sugar alcohols like erythritol, which currently are not classified as “added sugars” under FDA labeling rules.
- Artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols reduce calories but may sustain sweet preferences and could prompt overeating, according to researchers.
Background
Over the past decade consumer demand for products marketed as healthier has accelerated, prompting food companies to develop lines focused on protein, organic ingredients and plant-based alternatives. That shift reflects a public more aware of saturated fat and sodium, and increasingly concerned about added sugars, which are linked to heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. In 2021 the Nutrition Facts label was updated to require manufacturers to declare added sugars separately from total sugars; the change aimed to make sugar content clearer to shoppers.
However, the labeling update created new incentives for product reformulation. Some brands reduced traditional sweeteners such as refined sugar and high-fructose corn syrup and introduced alternatives — including non-nutritive sweeteners, novel sweeteners and sugar alcohols — that do not count as “added sugars” under current federal rules. At the same time, marketing terms like “made with real fruit,” “superfood,” “organic” and “low fat” can suggest better nutrition even when added sweeteners remain present.
Main Event
Experts warn that grocery aisles are full of items whose ingredient lists or front-of-package claims obscure significant sugar content. Nicole Avena, a professor of neuroscience and psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical School and Princeton University who studies added sugars, says some health-focused brands take sugar reduction seriously while larger companies prioritize taste and sales. The result is many products that look healthy but retain high sweetness levels through alternative sweeteners.
Dietitian Collin Popp at NYU Langone Health points to the FDA’s percentage-based guidance as permissive: the current recommendation allows about 10% of daily calories from added sugars, which translates to roughly 50 grams for a 2,000-calorie diet. He notes that many people with diabetes or prediabetes would benefit from aiming lower, and that even products with zero fat can contain multiple teaspoons of added sugar — for example, a Chobani black cherry yogurt lists 9 grams of added sugar despite zero grams of fat.
Manufacturers have also leaned on sugar alternatives like monk fruit and erythritol. Because those ingredients are not counted as “added sugars” on the Nutrition Facts label, products can be reformulated to appear compliant while remaining quite sweet. Some alternatives, such as allulose, do not raise blood glucose and may be useful for people with Type 1 diabetes; others may have metabolic or behavioral effects linked to appetite and reward pathways.
Analysis & Implications
The labeling shift has improved transparency in one way — consumers can now see “added sugars” numerically — but the market response has complicated interpretation. When companies replace sucrose with non-counted sweeteners, shoppers face a new information gap: sweetness remains, but the label understates the total sweetening impact on taste preferences and caloric intake. That may blunt public-health gains aimed at reducing sugar consumption.
Public-health implications extend beyond individual choices. Excess sugar intake is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders; if the food supply remains engineered to favor sweetness, population-level reductions in sugar consumption will be harder to achieve. For people with diabetes, the practical difference between a product labeled “low fat” and one truly low in added sugars can be clinically meaningful.
Economically, manufacturers have incentives to preserve palatability to maintain sales; shifting to alternative sweeteners can be cheaper than reformulating whole-recipe taste profiles. Regulators face a policy question: should the definition of “added sugars” be broadened to include certain alternatives, or should consumer education be prioritized so shoppers can assess total sweetening and not just declared added sugar grams?
Comparison & Data
| Product | Label Claim | Listed Added Sugar |
|---|---|---|
| Chobani black cherry yogurt | Zero grams fat | 9 g added sugar (≈2+ tsp) |
| Silk almond milk (cup) | Plant-based, often labeled “unsweetened” or flavored | About 7 g per cup (varies by flavor) |
The table above samples commonly cited products to illustrate how items marketed as healthy or low-fat can still deliver notable amounts of added sugar. Broader data from the American Heart Association — which the industry and policy makers use as a reference point — reports 17 grams of added sugar per person per day, cited as 57 pounds (26 kilograms) per year; roughly half of added sugar intake is attributed to beverages, with the rest spread across processed foods such as cereals, sauces and prepared meals.
Reactions & Quotes
Experts emphasize different parts of the problem: some call for tighter labeling rules, while others urge consumer education on ingredient lists and total sweeteners. Below are representative comments, each placed in context.
On industry priorities and health messaging:
“A lot of the bigger brands don’t worry so much about people’s health,”
Nicole Avena, Mount Sinai Medical School & Princeton University (academic)
This remark reflects Avena’s assessment that brand strategy often favors taste and sales over sugar reduction, even as some smaller or health-focused companies do reformulate to cut traditional added sugars.
On recommended limits:
“People should get no more than 10% of their calories from added sugar,”
Collin Popp, Dietitian, NYU Langone Health (medical)
Popp cites the FDA-aligned guidance equating 10% of calories to about 50 grams on a 2,000-calorie diet, while noting that lower thresholds (5% or less) may be safer for people with metabolic conditions.
On the psychology of sweetness and sweeteners:
“Sweet flavors activate the reward center of the brain, not the sugar itself,”
Nicole Avena, Mount Sinai Medical School & Princeton University (academic)
Avena uses this point to argue that replacing sugar with non-nutritive sweeteners can preserve preferences for sweet tastes and may not eliminate overeating driven by flavor cues.
Unconfirmed
- Whether specific large brands intentionally use non-counted sweeteners primarily to avoid added-sugar disclosure has not been confirmed; motivations vary by company and product line.
- The net effect of replacing added sugars with sugar alcohols on long-term consumption and weight outcomes remains an area of evolving research and is not settled.
Bottom Line
Products marketed with health-forward buzzwords can still supply sizable amounts of sweeteners that influence taste preference and health risk. The 2021 labeling update improved numerical transparency but has not eliminated the potential for deceptive reformulation strategies that leave products tasting sweet while not increasing declared “added sugars.”
For shoppers, the most effective steps are practical: read ingredient lists for multiple sweeteners, compare added-sugar grams per serving, choose plain or minimally sweetened bases (for example plain yogurt and whole fruit), and control how much sweetener you add yourself. Policy-makers and regulators will need to weigh whether definitions and labeling rules should be broadened to reflect total sweetening and better guide public-health outcomes.
Sources
- ABC News (news report) — original article summarizing interviews and product examples.
- American Heart Association (official health organization) — data on average added-sugar consumption and health guidance.
- U.S. Food & Drug Administration (official) — information on Nutrition Facts label changes and added-sugar guidance.
- NYU Langone Health (medical center) — institutional affiliation for dietitian Collin Popp.
- Mount Sinai Health System (academic medical center) — institutional affiliation for Nicole Avena.