Yes, added sugars are included in the total sugars number on a nutrition label. The Total Sugars line represents everything: naturally occurring sugars from ingredients like fruit and milk, plus any sugars added during processing. Added Sugars, listed directly beneath, is a subset of that total, not a separate amount on top of it.
How the Two Lines Work Together
The FDA designed the Nutrition Facts label so that the word “includes” appears right before “Added Sugars.” That wording is intentional. It signals that the added sugars gram count is already part of the total sugars figure, not something you need to add on top of it.
Here’s a concrete example. If a flavored yogurt label reads Total Sugars 15g and, indented beneath it, “Includes 7g Added Sugars,” that means the product contains 7 grams of sugar that were added during manufacturing and 8 grams of sugar that occur naturally in the milk and any fruit. Those two amounts combine to make the 15-gram total. You can always subtract added sugars from total sugars to find out how much naturally occurring sugar a product contains.
What Counts as Added Sugar
Added sugars include any sweetener introduced during processing. Table sugar, honey, syrups, dextrose, and concentrated fruit or vegetable juices all qualify. If a manufacturer stirs honey into a cereal or adds high fructose corn syrup to a sauce, those grams land in both the Added Sugars line and the Total Sugars line.
Naturally occurring sugars are different. The lactose in plain milk, the fructose in a whole apple, and the sugars in unsweetened fruit all count toward Total Sugars but never toward Added Sugars. A carton of plain milk might show 12 grams of total sugars and 0 grams of added sugars because all of that sugar is lactose that exists in the milk itself.
Why the Label Separates Them
Your body processes natural and added sugars the same way at a molecular level. The reason the distinction matters is context. Sugars that come naturally packaged in whole fruit or dairy arrive alongside fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Those nutrients slow digestion and provide real nutritional value. Added sugars deliver calories with none of that benefit, making it easy to consume far more than your body needs.
The federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend keeping added sugars below 10% of your daily calories. For someone eating 2,000 calories a day, that works out to about 50 grams. The American Heart Association sets a tighter target: no more than 36 grams (9 teaspoons) per day for men and 25 grams (6 teaspoons) per day for women. The World Health Organization goes further still, suggesting that cutting added sugars below 5% of total calories offers additional health benefits.
Reading the Label in Practice
When you’re comparing products at the store, the Added Sugars line is the one to watch. Two brands of pasta sauce might both show 10 grams of total sugars, but one could have 8 grams of added sugars while the other has only 2. The difference tells you which sauce relies more on the natural sweetness of tomatoes and which one was sweetened during production.
The Added Sugars line also carries a % Daily Value, based on the 50-gram limit from a 2,000-calorie diet. Total Sugars has no % Daily Value because there’s no official recommendation to cap naturally occurring sugars from whole foods. If you see a high % Daily Value next to Added Sugars, the product contributes a significant chunk of your daily budget in a single serving.
For products with no naturally occurring sugar sources (think sodas, candy, or flavored syrups), the Total Sugars and Added Sugars numbers will often be identical. For dairy products, fruit juices, and foods with real fruit ingredients, you’ll typically see a gap between the two, and that gap represents the naturally occurring sugars.
Spotting Added Sugars in the Ingredients
If you want to double-check, scan the ingredients list. Added sugars appear under many names: sucrose, dextrose, corn syrup, honey, agave nectar, cane juice, malt syrup, and concentrated fruit juice are among the most common. Ingredients are listed in order of weight, so if one of these names appears near the top, sugar is a major component of the product. Some manufacturers spread sweeteners across several different names, which can push each one further down the list and make the product look less sweet than it really is. The Added Sugars line on the Nutrition Facts panel cuts through that tactic by giving you one combined number.