Sugar Has 61 Names.
Here's the Full List.

You check the label. You don't see "sugar" in the ingredients list. You assume the product is low in sugar. You buy it. And then you wonder why your energy crashes an hour later, or why the cravings don't stop.

Here's what's actually happening: sugar is on that label. It's just hiding behind one of its 61 other names.

The food industry uses this deliberately. Regulations require manufacturers to list ingredients in order of quantity. By splitting sugar into multiple different forms — each with a different name — companies push each individual form lower down the list, even if the combined sugar content is high.

Why this matters for your health

When you consume refined sugar, your blood glucose spikes rapidly. Your body releases insulin to manage it. If this happens repeatedly throughout the day — which it does when sugar is hidden in your breakfast cereal, your "healthy" yoghurt, your salad dressing, and your mid-afternoon snack — insulin stays elevated.

Chronically elevated insulin doesn't just cause weight gain. It leads to energy crashes, persistent cravings, poor sleep, brain fog, and over time, insulin resistance — a precursor to type 2 diabetes.

Understanding the names sugar hides behind is one of the most powerful things you can do for your health right now. It costs nothing. It just requires knowing what to look for.

The 61 names for sugar

Here is the complete list, organised by category:

Names ending in "-ose"

• Dextrose
• Fructose
• Galactose
• Glucose
• Lactose
• Maltose
• Sucrose
• Trehalose
• Ribose
• Xylose

Syrups

• High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
• Corn syrup
• Corn syrup solids
• Brown rice syrup
• Malt syrup
• Maple syrup
• Oat syrup
• Rice bran syrup
• Sorghum syrup
• Tapioca syrup
• Refiner's syrup
• Golden syrup
• Invert syrup

Sugars and nectars

• Brown sugar
• Cane sugar
• Cane juice crystals
• Castor sugar
• Coconut sugar
• Confectioner's sugar
• Date sugar
• Demerara sugar
• Evaporated cane juice
• Muscovado sugar
• Panela
• Raw sugar
• Turbinado sugar
• Agave nectar
• Coconut nectar

Juices and concentrates

• Fruit juice
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Apple juice concentrate
• Grape juice concentrate
• White grape juice concentrate

Other names

• Barley malt
• Beet juice
• Blackstrap molasses
• Caramel
• Carob syrup
• D-ribose
• Dextrin
• Ethyl maltol
• Florida crystals
• Honey
• Icing sugar
• Malt extract
• Maltodextrin
• Molasses
• Panocha
• Treacle
• Yellow sugar

The ones to watch most carefully

High-fructose corn syrup is one of the most damaging forms — it's metabolised almost entirely by the liver and strongly linked to fatty liver disease and obesity. It's in everything from soft drinks to bread.

Maltodextrin is technically a carbohydrate, not a sugar — but it has a glycaemic index higher than table sugar. It spikes blood glucose faster than almost anything.

Agave nectar is marketed as "natural" and "low GI". It is extremely high in fructose (up to 90%) — significantly more than HFCS. The low GI is because fructose doesn't spike blood glucose directly, but the liver damage pathway is the same.

"Fruit juice concentrate" is the food industry's most sophisticated trick. It sounds healthy. It is, effectively, liquid sugar — with most of the fibre and nutrients stripped out during concentration.

What to do with this information

Start reading ingredient lists on the things you eat every day — cereal, yoghurt, sauces, salad dressings, protein bars, flavoured water. You'll be surprised what you find.

The goal isn't to become obsessive about every gram of sugar. The goal is to stop being deceived by labelling that was designed to confuse you.

In the 99 Not Out Method, understanding sugar is a cornerstone of Week 2 — because you can't remove something you can't identify. This is one of the most transformative lessons our clients report.