About time?http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-wan...sugar-labeling/

What constitutes an added sugar, though? Grape juice, or grape juice concentrate would probably count as natural. But concentrated grape juice could easily be a sweetener in ketchup etc. At what point is sugar a natural component of a food ingredient, at what point a "sugar?" Cane juice or evaporated cane juice? Food manufacturers already try to get people with that one.

This is the part that really makes me laugh:

"Specifically, the agency wants the "percent daily value" of added sugars listed on labels. That is the percentage of recommended daily calories for a particular nutrient. Right now, sugar content is only listed as grams."

So currently they are recommending added sugars not exceed 10% of your diet, so 200 calories, or almost a 1/4 cup for a 2,000 calorie diet! And that's just "added sugar". If excess sugar is bad for you, why delineate between "natural sugars" and "added sugars"?

Oh well, it is a minor step in the right direction, putting more emphasis on sugar not being so great for us. Now the manufacturers will have to create more "work arounds" to make the label look good.

NPR, No More Hidden Sugars:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt...-new-label-rule

No such thing for my body. Even fairly small amounts of naturally occurring sugars (starches, too) in otherwise would-be healthy whole foods are too much for me. Suspect I don't produce much insulin anymore, so present goal involves limiting carbs to match whatever insulin producing capacity I have left. I've found the advice "eating to my meter" by testing foods for blood sugar rise to see if they're safe for me or not really helps. I've been kind of surprised by some of the typically okay low carb foods that didn't turn out to be okay for me, but I'm alright with eliminating them. I've seen what diabetes has done to relatives and that's enough motivation for me.

With fruit juice and no added sugar, the label likely does not account and convey the issue regarding the condensed/ distorted amount of sugar that is a product of producing the juice from the fruit. In the absence of fiber, it's still a distortion as quantity is not going to alert one to the effects of sugars to the insulin response compared with eating the fruit. Typically the juice provides a much greater quantity of sugars than consuming the fruit; therefore, consuming "healthy juices" distorts peoples' perceptions of what is considered healthy.

From Janets link:

This is extremely important for those of us who have a health issue with some sweeteners. Today, they are not always listed on the label, especially with health supplements. I recently purchased Nascent Iodine Supplement, a product by Go Nutrients, that I now know has aspartame in it. When I first took it, I detected a sweet taste, but since I wasn't consuming that much and hoping it was something like stevia or even sucralose, I ignored it. Then the migraines started. Aspartame gives me ocular migraines, and it's the only thing that does that. So, by elimination, the iodine supplement was the culprit. No mention of aspartame on the label or of any sugars/ sweeteners of any kind. We need this kind of information for those who have sensitivities for certain ingredients. Yes, it's a start.

It is hard to believe the FDA is telling us what is good or bad for us when they don't even have a clue.

That hasn't stopped them before!

What is the difference between unhealthy sugars and beneficial sugars? Is it the "added" part? Are we really arguing about adjectives over nouns?

I agree, it's a start. Imagine the fuss if the FDA said:

From now on, NO SUGAR IS ALLOWED.

Well, actually it would be kind of fun to watch. And people would be beating on FDA PR officials with those giant Pixie Stix...