Two sugar lines on a US Nutrition Facts label can look like two amounts to add together. They are related categories. This guide explains that reading step and gives you a short practice exercise. It does not set a sugar target for an individual.
Read ‘includes’ as part of the total
The FDA explains that total sugars includes both naturally present sugars and added sugars. On the label, the added sugars line describes an amount already included in total sugars. It is not a second amount to add on top.
Try a fictional example
Imagine a label with 12 g total sugars and a line saying it includes 5 g added sugars, both for the same serving. The total remains 12 g, not 17 g. The 5 g is part of the 12 g. These are invented practice numbers, not measurements from a product.
Draw a rectangle and label the whole rectangle ‘12 g total’. Shade a smaller area inside it and label that part ‘5 g added’. Keeping one shape inside the other is a useful way to remember the relationship.
Keep comparisons on the same basis
When you compare two foods, record the serving size beside the sugar figures. A number for one serving of one product is not automatically comparable with a whole-package number from another product.
- Product and exact label version: ___
- Serving size or other stated basis: ___
- Total sugars on that basis: ___ g
- Added sugars on that same basis, if listed: ___ g
- Any calculation needed to match the comparison amount: ___
Leave missing information as unknown
This explanation applies to US labels that separately list total and added sugars. If another country’s label does not provide the same categories, record the information it actually shows. A missing added-sugars line is not, by itself, a measured zero.
This worksheet helps organize what a label says. It does not rank a food’s overall quality or account for someone’s personal dietary needs.