Whole fruit, juice and sugar labels

WHO’s free sugars include added sugars and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juice, but not sugars within whole fruit. WHO definition

On US FDA labels, total sugars includes naturally occurring and added sugars; added sugars is part of the total. Label explanation Do not treat the sugars number on a Korean package as a direct measurement of added or free sugars. The FDA source describes US terminology.

Fruit juice contains sugars from fruit even when no table sugar is added. Do not infer zero sugars from a statement about not adding sugar.

This distinction is not a reason to avoid fruit or call a glass of juice a failure. Consider eating fruit and drinking a beverage as different choices, and notice how often each appears in your meals.

If a hypothetical drink contains 8 g of sugars per 100 mL and you drink 250 mL, that is 8 × 2.5 = 20 g. These are invented numbers. This calculation does not tell you how many grams are added sugars or free sugars.

Use equal volumes to compare products and your actual volume to log intake. Check that you have not counted a whole bottle when you left some behind.

Choose a drink you regularly have during the week. Consider a different size, asking for syrup separately or having water on some occasions. These are editorial ideas, not a prescription promising weight loss.

You could also prepare whole fruit with a meal or as a snack. Rather than removing everything containing sugar, understand the food’s form, the portion and the habit around it.