SWEET AND SNEAKY

Despite our desire to cut back on sugar, it’s not always easy to make the healthiest choices. Comparing two nutrition labels, for example, you might be tempted to pick the product with less sugar. But if that label comes from a powdered flavored drink, and all of its sugar is added, you get all the calories but no natural nutrients. The other product, although with a higher sugar content on its nutrition label, may be a pure orange juice, and all its sugar is a natural component of the orange, part of a healthy package that includes a variety of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. To decode this information when you’re grocery shopping, check out the ingredients list on the package. Steer clear of products that list sugar first. And be on the lookout for the sweetener’s many aliases, including sucrose, fructose, syrup, evaporated cane juice, cane crystals, fruit juice concentrate, honey and molasses.