![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/138571116.jpg\")
Should you cut out all sugars from your diet, fruits included?<\/p>\n
Round #1: Can you find the lie?<\/p>\n
Statement A: <\/strong>Natural sugars in whole foods, like fruits and vegetables, come with fiber, vitamins and minerals that affect how your body processes them.<\/p>\n Statement B: <\/strong>To stay healthy, you should cut all sugar from your diet, including the natural sugar found in fruit.<\/p>\n Statement C: <\/strong>The added sugars line on a nutrition label tells you how much sugar has been added to a food, separate from naturally occuring sugar.<\/p>\n The two truths: <\/strong><\/p>\n Natural sugars in whole fruits are healthy because they don\u2019t exist in isolation. <\/p>\n When you eat a whole fruit, its sugar \u2014 the simple sugars glucose and fructose \u2014 comes packaged with fiber, water and other nutrients. This slows the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, leading to a more gradual rise in blood sugar and helping you feel satiated.<\/p>\n Some parts of a nutrition label can admittedly be confusing. But the added sugar line is relatively straightforward: It tells you how much sugar has been added to a food beyond what occurs naturally.<\/p>\n Take milk, for example. It naturally contains about 12 grams of sugar in the form of lactose \u2014 the simple sugars glucose and galactose. A label might list 12 grams of total sugars and 0 grams of added sugar.<\/p>\n Chocolate milk, on the other hand, might have 25 grams of total sugar, with about 13 grams listed as added sugars from sweeteners used to give it its chocolate flavoring.<\/p>\n Which brings us to statement B, the lie<\/strong>: <\/p>\n Reducing added sugars is a worthwhile health goal. But going out of your way to avoid or minimize whole fruits because of their natural sugar content generally isn\u2019t recommended. Fruits provide a wide variety of essential nutrients and fiber that are crucial for good health. <\/p>\n \u201cThe benefits of whole fruits far outweigh the concerns about their natural sugars for most healthy individuals,\u201d said Case.<\/p>\n Instead, she advised focusing on reducing added sugar while being mindful of portion sizes. <\/p>\n Round #1: Can you find the lie?<\/p>\n Statement A:<\/strong> The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar while encouraging whole foods with naturally occurring sugars and other nutrients.<\/p>\n Statement B: <\/strong>The added sugars line can help you spot sugars that may be hiding under more than 50 different names on an ingredient list.\u00a0<\/p>\n Statement C: <\/strong>Sweeteners like honey, maple syrup and fruit juice concentrates are natural sugars, so they don\u2019t count toward the added sugars total on a nutrition label.<\/p>\n The two truths: <\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ve established that the sugars naturally found in whole fruits can be part of a healthy diet. The same goes for the naturally occurring sugars in vegetables, milk and other whole foods. <\/p>\n When you eat these foods in their whole form, their naturally occurring sugars come packaged with fiber, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Added sugars, however, provide calories without those same nutritional benefits. <\/p>\n![\"Maple](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/maple-syrup-glass-bottle-wooden-138571114.jpg\")
Do honey and maple syrup sweeteners count as added sugar? showcake \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n