According to experts like Nicole Avena, a neuroscience and psychiatry professor, companies sometimes reduce traditional sweeteners like refined beet sugar or high-fructose corn syrup but replace them with alternatives such as monk fruit or erythritol, which don’t count as “added sugars” under current U.S. labeling rules — allowing products to appear healthier while remaining extremely sweet.
Excessive sugar intake has clear health implications: it’s linked with heart disease, obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions, and the average consumer unknowingly ingests about 17 grams of added sugar daily — equivalent to roughly 57 pounds per year of sugar — much of it hidden in cereals, sauces, prepared foods and even dairy products.
Nutrition professionals encourage consumers to read nutrition labels closely, paying attention to the separate listing of “added sugars” mandated since 2021. However, the use of sugar substitutes and vague marketing means labels alone don’t always reveal the true sugar load, and products like roasted nuts, plant milks, English muffins and flavored yogurts can still have unexpected sugar content.
