On the FDA Nutrition Facts panel, the carbohydrate section lists "Total Sugars" and, indented directly beneath it, "Includes Xg Added Sugars." In kitchens that use traditional Ayurvedic and Indian ingredients—such as jaggery (gur), bee honey (madhu), whole dates, dairy milk and plant-based milks—knowing what each line counts helps you read labels accurately.
Separating intrinsic sugars in intact whole fruit and plain dairy from added sweeteners—and understanding the special FDA label rule for single-ingredient honey, maple syrup and sugar jars—clears up common grocery myths.
Total Sugars vs Added Sugars on the FDA Nutrition Facts label
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Total Sugars include all sugars naturally present in nutritious foods and beverages—such as lactose in milk and plain yogurt, or fructose and glucose in whole fruits and vegetables—as well as any added sugars present in the product. No Daily Value has been established for Total Sugars because no daily target has been set for total natural plus added sugars combined.
Added Sugars include sugars added during food processing (such as sucrose or dextrose), foods packaged as sweeteners (such as table sugar), sugars from syrups and honey, and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices. Based on a 2,000-calorie daily diet, the FDA Daily Value (DV) for Added Sugars is 50 grams per day (200 calories, or less than 10 percent of total daily calories). On any label, 5% DV or less per serving is considered a LOW source of added sugars, while 20% DV or more per serving is considered HIGH.
- How the "Includes" line works: In the FDA’s sweetened yogurt example, a serving listing "Total Sugars 15g" and "Includes 7g Added Sugars" contains 8 grams of naturally occurring milk sugar plus 7 grams of added sweetener (14% DV)—for a total of 15 grams of sugar, not 22 grams.
Where jaggery and honey fit—and the Single-Ingredient Sugar label exception
In classical Ayurvedic dietetics (Charaka Samhita Sutra Sthana 27j), sugarcane products such as jaggery (gur) and bee honey are categorized by traditional qualities and degree of condensation. Under modern FDA nutrition labeling, however, sugars from honey, syrups, jaggery/cane sugars and concentrated fruit juices all count toward Added Sugars when used to sweeten foods, and different sweeteners vary in moisture, crystal density and gram weight per spoonful rather than sharing a single universal calorie number per teaspoon.
What if you buy a jar of pure honey, pure maple syrup or a bag of pure cane sugar? Under the FDA’s Single-Ingredient Sugars and Syrups exception, these packages are not required to repeat "Includes Xg Added Sugars" (so shoppers do not mistakenly think extra sugar was added to pure honey), but they must still declare the Percent Daily Value (%DV) for Added Sugars per serving, often accompanied by a "†" footnote explaining how many grams of added sugars one serving contributes to the daily diet.
Why you must read the Added Sugars line on both dairy and plant milks
Plain, unflavored dairy milk and plain dairy yogurt contain naturally occurring lactose under Total Sugars and list 0 grams of Added Sugars. Flavored or fruit-on-the-bottom yogurts, by contrast, frequently contain substantial added sugars.
With plant-based milks (such as almond, soy, coconut, oat or rice milk), do not assume a carton has 0 grams of Added Sugars without reading the back panel: even cartons without added cane sugar can list Added Sugars if syrups, concentrated juices or enzymatically hydrolyzed grain sugars are present from processing. Always check the "Includes Xg Added Sugars" line and the ingredient list.
Sources & Classical References
- FDA: Added Sugars on the Nutrition Facts Label — Defines Total Sugars and Added Sugars, states the 50 g (200-calorie) Daily Value, explains the 5% DV low / 20% DV high rule, walks through the sweetened yogurt example, and details the Single-Ingredient Sugars and Syrups labeling exception.
- Charaka Samhita: Sutra Sthana 27j — Class of Sugarcane and Honey (Ikshu) — Describes traditional Ayurvedic classifications of sugarcane products, jaggery (gur), sugar and honey. Cited for historical culinary context.
