Natural Sugars

Sugar has calories but few vitamins or minerals. Foods high in sugar are usually also high in fat and calories, which can lead to poor diabetes control and weight gain.

The Nutrition Facts label on packaging gives the number of grams of sugar in the food. This number includes both natural and added sugars. Natural sugars are found naturally in foods, such as fructose in raisins or lactose in milk.

These sugars provide some vitamins and minerals. Added sugars are put into foods to make them sweet, such as sugar in cookies or high-fructose corn syrup in soft drinks.

These sugars provide calories but no other nutrients.
When you read the food label, check the type of sugar the food contains, but focus on the grams of total carbohydrates rather than the grams of sugar.

Sugar and sweets are fine occasionally and in small portions. The key is to substitute them for other carbohydrate foods in your meal plan and check your blood sugar to see how the food affects you.