Let's Do Lunch Community

Today is day 1. I was scrolling back a few pages and someone had commented about sugar in their canned beans. I just went to my pantry to check this out. The only beans without sugar are my black beans and cannelloni beans.

I do have a few questions:

1) My red beans show 2g of sugar, but I don't see any ingredients that would make me think sugar. Do they naturally have sugar?

2) My diced tomatoes have 3g sugar, but looking at the ingredients, the only one I'm not sure of is "citric acid". Is that a sugar?

3) My corn has 7g sugar but the ingredients are: corn, water, salt....so this is safe, correct?

4) Pinto beans list 1g sugar but here are the ingredients: prepared pinto beans, water, salt, calcium disodium edta added to promote color retention. Is this one okay?

Thanks for your help. Looks like I'm going shopping again! 

First off welcome to the best Lifestyle of eating there is. If you have the book, please read it at least 3 times to fully grasp how to do it. If you don't there are places on here to find a lot of your answer's. When looking at the label on the can...always look at the ingredients. Sugar comes in many, many names. You can Google "names of sugar" and it is unreal the different names. The order that the ingredient...the more of it is in the can. If your beans or corn or whatever has sugar "listed in the ingredients" just put in a strainer and rinse under water. Now I have a can of Stewed tomatoes that I got at Aldi's and the 3rd ingredient is "sugar". Could I have made a better purchase...yes.......but I got what I can afford and "all" the ingredients I can at least pronounce and understand what they are. That is the rule of thumb I use. You can always add water or tomate juice to dilute the things that have sugar in them. Ideal you want "NO sugar in it or w-a-y down on the "list of ingredient'.  Now had this can had corn syrup in it I WOULD NOT HAVE BOUGHT IT NO MATTER WHAT IT COST, but that is my personal pick. You want the ingredient to be as close to what God would have made and that YOU know what is in there. Hope this helps and makes sense. I have learned a lot from this and you will to. Have fun and come and ask question anytime.  *^_^*

The way that I have always understood labels is that if it is listed on the ingredient list it is added. If it has a certain number of grams of sugar but there is no sugar of any kind listed - the sugar is found naturally in that product. Don't know if that came out right but anyway, I think if it is added by the manufacturer it has to be listed on the ingredient list.

That's right Grambonnie.  We read the ingredients first for sugars and unacceptable fats (animal, palm, hydrogenated, etc.)  Then read the Nutritional Facts list (where the grams are) to check for fiber (the good stuff) and to see if any of the amounts of sugars or fats look wildly out of proportion, especially in snacks. 

It's possible to concentrate 100% natural fruit and juices to drive up the sugar content of the food.  Same with frying things, even in good fats.  Fried foods are just naturally going to be more fattening than baked or roasted.

Here's a link to a list of 101 names for sugar, and an informative video about what to look for on the labels.  http://www.letsdolunch.com/boards/http: ... 736#p42736