If you’ve decided to switch to a sugar-free diet, we applaud you. Sugar is one of the worst things you can put in your body. Aside from making our food taste good, it doesn’t have a single redeeming quality. Not only is sugar void of all essential nutrients, it also rots your teeth, makes you fat, and when eaten in excess contributes to all sorts of diseases.

While many folks are under the impression that adopting a sugar-free diet is as straightforward as cutting out sweets and switching to diet soda, this simply isn’t true. If this has been your method thus far, we’d be surprised if you’ve seen the results you’re looking for. Why? Sugar is really sneaky. It likes to hide in unsuspecting places under names you don’t recognize. As a result, you’re probably eating more of it than you think.

Truly switching to a sugar-free diet means you have to eliminate everything that contains sugar. This is nearly all of the processed foods you’ll find at the supermarket. So, unless you only plan to eat fruits, vegetables, and raw nuts – you’re going to have to learn how to read food labels, spot sugar under all of its pseudonyms, and leave it on the shelf. The next time you go grocery shopping, don’t leave without this handy list of the 10 most common code words for sugar.

1) Barley malt

What it’s in: malt beers, cereals, candy bars

2) Sucrose
What it’s in: cookies, cakes, biscuits, pies, ice cream

3) Non-diastatic malt

What it’s in: Baked goods including cookies, bagels, and breads

4) Brown rice syrup

What it’s in: rice milk, cereal bars, organic foods

5) Evaporated cane juice

What it’s in: baked goods, cereals, beverages

6) High fructose corn syrup

What it’s in: fast foods, sodas, yogurts, canned foods, frozen pizzas, macaroni and cheese, cereal bars, breads

7) PanochaWhat it’s in: cookies, desserts, fudge

8) Agave nectar

What it’s in: cereals, ice cream, organic foods

9) Sorghum syrup
What it’s in: topping for biscuits, grits, pancakes, and other breakfast foods

10) Fruit juice concentrate
What it’s in: fruit juices, fruit-flavored yogurts

For a complete list of sugar’s sneaky pseudonyms (get ready – there’s a lot of them), reference this list from Prevention Magazine.

(http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/57-names-sugar/)