Does Sugar Cause Joint Pain? Sugar, Inflammation & Arthritis

"Cut the sugar and your joints will thank you" is one of the most repeated pieces of arthritis advice. The honest answer is more interesting than a yes or no. Sugar is not a direct cause of most joint pain, but a diet heavy in added sugar — above all, sugar-sweetened drinks — feeds several processes that make joints worse: uric acid and gout, weight gain, insulin resistance, and short bursts of inflammation. Some of these links are rock-solid; others are still being worked out. This page separates the two, explains the biology in plain language, and ends with practical, realistic ways to cut back.

Important: This page is general educational information, not medical advice. Joint pain has many causes and needs a proper diagnosis. Always consult a healthcare professional before changing your diet, supplements, exercise, or medication. If you have diabetes, talk to your doctor, diabetes educator or pharmacist before cutting carbohydrates sharply, and never stop or adjust a prescribed medication on your own.

Key takeaways

  • Sugar-sweetened drinks and fructose raise gout risk in large prospective cohorts of men and women, by raising uric acid. Strong
  • Sugary drinks promote weight gain, and every kilogram lost takes roughly four kilograms of load off the knee with each step. Strong
  • High blood glucose and sugary drinks can raise inflammatory markers such as IL-6 and hs-CRP in short-term studies, but pooled trials of everyday sugar intake are mixed. Contested
  • AGEs (advanced glycation end-products) build up in cartilage with age and make it more fragile; how much diet adds to this is unclear. Emerging
  • Daily sugary soda was linked to a 63% higher risk of seropositive RA in U.S. nurses, but a French cohort found no link; diabetes is associated with osteoarthritis and faster knee OA progression. Emerging
  • Naturally occurring sugar in whole fruit, vegetables and plain dairy behaves differently from added sugar and is part of anti-inflammatory eating. Strong

Added sugar vs. naturally occurring sugar Strong

Not all sugar is created equal, and most of the research worth worrying about concerns added sugars: sugars and syrups put into foods and drinks during processing or preparation (table sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, agave, and fruit-juice concentrates). Naturally occurring sugars are the ones that come packaged inside whole foods — fructose in an apple, lactose in plain milk or yogurt.25

The packaging matters. Fiber, water and polyphenols in whole fruit slow digestion and blunt the blood-sugar rise, and a serving delivers far less sugar than a can of soda. In three large U.S. cohorts, eating more whole fruit — especially blueberries, grapes and apples — was associated with a slightly lower risk of type 2 diabetes, whereas each extra three servings a week of fruit juice was associated with about an 8% higher risk.22 Liquid sugar is the form most consistently linked to harm, which is why sugary drinks are the main target throughout this page.

Added sugar (limit)

  • Regular soda, energy drinks, sweet tea, sweetened coffee drinks
  • Fruit juice and "fruit drinks"
  • Candy, desserts, pastries, cookies
  • Sweetened cereals, flavored yogurts, granola bars
  • Sauces and dressings with sugar or syrup near the top of the ingredients

Naturally occurring sugar (generally fine)

  • Whole fruit, fresh or frozen, including berries and cherries
  • Vegetables, including starchy ones like sweet potato
  • Plain milk, plain yogurt and kefir
  • Legumes and intact whole grains

How sugar could affect joints: five pathways

Researchers have proposed several routes from a high-sugar diet to sore joints. They overlap, and they differ a great deal in how well they are proven. The table summarizes them; each is explained below.

Proposed pathways from added sugar to joint problems
PathwayMain conditionsEvidence
Fructose raises uric acidGoutStrong
Weight gain increases joint load and inflammatory fat tissueKnee and hip OA, goutStrong
Insulin resistance and high blood glucoseOA ("metabolic OA"), goutEmerging
AGEs stiffen cartilage and activate RAGEOA, possibly RAEmerging
Post-meal glucose spikes raise inflammatory cytokinesAll inflammatory arthritis (theoretical)Contested

Glucose spikes & inflammatory cytokines Contested

A frequently quoted experiment raised volunteers' blood glucose to about 15 mmol/L (270 mg/dL) for several hours. Circulating IL-6, TNF-α and IL-18 — the same cytokines that drive inflammatory arthritis — rose within two hours, and the rise lasted longer in people with impaired glucose tolerance. Giving the antioxidant glutathione blocked the effect, pointing to oxidative stress as the trigger.9

In a randomized crossover trial in 29 healthy young men, drinking 600 mL a day of sugar-sweetened beverages for three weeks raised fasting glucose by 4–9% and hs-CRP by 60–109%, whether the drinks contained fructose, glucose or sucrose.10

Why this is graded "contested"

The glucose-clamp study used intravenous glucose at levels most people without diabetes rarely reach after a meal, and the drink trial was small and short. A 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 controlled feeding studies (1,141 participants) found low-quality evidence and no sign that fructose or high-fructose corn syrup raised CRP more than other sugars.11 The plausible reading: repeated large spikes, especially in people with prediabetes or diabetes, probably add to low-grade inflammation, but a moderate amount of sugar inside a healthy diet has not been shown to inflame joints.

AGEs, cartilage & RAGE signaling Strong (biology) Emerging (diet link)

Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) form when sugars react with proteins without an enzyme — the same chemistry that browns toast. Cartilage is unusually vulnerable because its collagen is almost never replaced: one study estimated the half-life of human cartilage collagen at about 117 years, versus 15 years for skin collagen, and AGEs such as pentosidine accumulated steadily with age.12

AGEs cross-link collagen, making cartilage stiffer and more brittle. When researchers raised cartilage AGE levels about five-fold in young dogs (similar to the natural increase in old dogs) and then destabilized the knee, the dogs developed more severe osteoarthritis, with more collagen damage and poorer repair.13

Mechanism: RAGE, the AGE receptor

Chondrocytes (cartilage cells) carry a receptor called RAGE. Its expression increases with age and further in osteoarthritic cartilage. When RAGE is stimulated, it switches on the NF-κB inflammatory pathway and increases production of MMP-13, a key cartilage-degrading enzyme.14 This links glycation to the breakdown-and-inflammation loop at the heart of OA, and is one reason high-glucose states such as diabetes are suspected of speeding cartilage damage.16

The honest caveat: most cartilage AGE build-up reflects age and slow tissue turnover, and no human study has shown that eating less sugar lowers cartilage AGEs or slows OA. Dietary AGEs are also a separate issue — the richest sources are fatty, protein-rich foods cooked with dry heat (grilling, frying, roasting), not sugary foods; moist cooking, lower temperatures and acidic marinades cut their formation substantially.15

Fructose → uric acid → gout Strong

This is the best-established sugar–joint connection. Fructose is the one common sugar that directly raises uric acid: the liver processes it so quickly that it burns through ATP, and the breakdown products end up as urate. Table sugar is half fructose, and high-fructose corn syrup is roughly half as well. Persistently high urate forms crystals in joints — the cause of gout.

In 46,393 men followed for 12 years, those drinking two or more sugar-sweetened soft drinks a day had an 85% higher risk of gout than those drinking less than one a month (relative risk 1.85), and men in the top fifth of fructose intake had about twice the risk. Diet soft drinks showed no association.5 In 78,906 women followed for 22 years, one sugary soda a day was associated with a 74% higher risk and two or more a day with a 2.4-fold risk; orange juice showed a similar pattern.6 A meta-analysis pooling these cohorts found a 62% higher gout risk in the highest fructose consumers, though GRADE rated the evidence low quality because the participants were mostly white health professionals.7

Full detail on the biochemistry and on treat-to-target urate lowering is on the gout page's fructose section.

Insulin resistance & metabolic osteoarthritis Emerging

Osteoarthritis was long seen as simple "wear and tear", but a metabolic OA subtype is now widely discussed: joints affected by the same high blood glucose, abnormal lipids, high blood pressure and inflammatory fat tissue that make up the metabolic syndrome. A review in Nature Reviews Rheumatology went as far as proposing OA as a fifth component of the metabolic syndrome, with high glucose acting locally through oxidative stress and AGEs and systemically through low-grade inflammation.16

Insulin resistance also matters for gout: high insulin levels make the kidneys hold on to urate. A diet high in added sugar, particularly sugary drinks, is one of several contributors to insulin resistance, alongside excess weight, inactivity, poor sleep and genetics. See insulin resistance in osteoarthritis and the broader picture on metabolic dysfunction.

Weight gain & joint load Strong

Sugary drinks are the single most studied food link to weight gain. In a meta-analysis of cohort studies, each additional daily serving was associated with an extra 0.12–0.22 kg of weight gain per year in adults, and in randomized trials adding sugary drinks to adults' diets increased body weight by about 0.85 kg.20 An umbrella review of sugar research in the BMJ rated the link between sugary drinks and higher body weight as moderate-quality evidence.8

~4×less knee force per step for each unit of weight lost
0.85 kgweight gain when sugary drinks were added in adult RCTs
+63%seropositive RA risk with ≥1 sugary soda/day (one cohort)
1.85relative risk of gout with ≥2 sugary soft drinks/day (men)

Weight matters for joints in two ways. Mechanically, in older adults with knee OA, each kilogram lost reduced knee-joint compressive force by about four kilograms with every step.21 Biologically, fat tissue releases inflammatory signals (adipokines) that act on joints even where there is no extra load, such as the hands.16 Weight loss is covered in depth on osteoarthritis.

The evidence, condition by condition

Sugary drinks and rheumatoid arthritis risk Emerging

Researchers followed 186,900 women in the Nurses' Health Study and Nurses' Health Study II for over two decades, recording 857 new cases of RA. Women who drank one or more sugar-sweetened sodas a day had a 63% higher risk of seropositive RA (hazard ratio 1.63) than those who drank almost none, after adjusting for other diet and lifestyle factors. The association was stronger for RA starting after age 55, there was no link with seronegative RA, and diet soda showed no association.1

But results have not been consistent. In the French E3N cohort of 62,631 women (481 RA cases), sugar-sweetened soft drinks were not associated with RA risk — while, unexpectedly, artificially sweetened drinks were.2 A U.S. cross-sectional survey of young adults found that drinking high-fructose beverages five or more times a week was associated with three times the odds of self-reported arthritis, but this kind of study cannot show cause and effect.4 Bottom line: sugary drinks may modestly raise RA risk, but this is not settled, and smoking, genetics and other factors on the RA risk-factor list are far better established.

Sugary drinks and gout Strong

As described above, two large prospective cohorts show a clear dose-response link between sugar-sweetened soft drinks, fructose and gout in both men and women.56 The BMJ umbrella review estimated about a 4% higher gout risk for each additional weekly serving of sugary drinks (low-quality evidence).8 Because the absolute risk of gout in women is low, the authors of the women's study noted that the population impact is modest — but for someone who already has high uric acid, cutting sugary drinks is a sensible, low-risk step.6

Food "triggers" reported by people with RA Emerging

When a Boston RA registry surveyed 217 patients about 20 foods, about a quarter said diet affected their symptoms: 15% reported foods that helped and 19% reported foods that made symptoms worse. Soda with sugar and desserts were the items most often reported to worsen RA symptoms, while blueberries and spinach were most often reported to help.3 This is self-reported perception, not a controlled trial — but it matches what many patients describe and is a reasonable starting point for a personal experiment (see below).

Diabetes, blood sugar and osteoarthritis Emerging

A meta-analysis of 49 studies found OA in about 30% of people with diabetes, and diabetes was associated with higher odds of OA (odds ratio 1.46). Among the 12 studies that adjusted for body weight, seven still found diabetes to be an independent risk factor and five did not.17 In 559 people with knee OA followed for three years, those with type 2 diabetes lost cartilage (joint space) almost twice as fast — 0.26 vs. 0.14 mm a year — after adjusting for weight, although the effect was significant only in men.18 In the Osteoarthritis Initiative, men who drank soft drinks most often showed faster joint-space narrowing in knee OA, independent of BMI; no association was seen in women.19

Whether good blood-sugar control (for example, a lower HbA1c) slows OA has not been tested in a definitive trial. Metabolic markers such as fasting insulin and HOMA-IR are explained on biomarkers; ask your doctor whether an HbA1c or fasting glucose test makes sense for you.

How much added sugar is too much? Strong

There is no joint-specific sugar limit, so the best guide is the cardiometabolic guidance below, which targets the same insulin-resistance and weight pathways.

Added-sugar limits from major U.S. bodies
SourceUpper limit for added sugarRoughly equals
American Heart Association — most women≤ 100 calories/day23About 6 teaspoons (≈ 25 g)
American Heart Association — most men≤ 150 calories/day23About 9 teaspoons (≈ 36 g)
American Heart Association — children 2–18≤ 25 g/day; none for children under 224About 6 teaspoons
FDA Nutrition Facts label Daily Value50 g/day, based on < 10% of a 2,000-calorie diet25About 12 teaspoons
Context: a single 12-oz (355 mL) can of regular cola typically contains around 35–40 g of added sugar — already over the AHA's suggested daily limit for most women. The AHA notes that sugary drinks are the leading source of added sugar in U.S. diets.23

Reading labels: finding hidden sugar

U.S. Nutrition Facts labels list "Includes Xg Added Sugars" under Total Sugars, with a % Daily Value. Total Sugars includes natural sugar from milk or fruit; the Added Sugars line is the one to watch.25

  • Convert grams to teaspoons: 4 g of sugar is about 1 teaspoon.
  • Use % Daily Value: 5% DV or less per serving is low; 20% or more is high.
  • Check the serving size: a bottle labeled "2.5 servings" can triple the number you see.
  • Scan the ingredients for sugar under other names: sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids, dextrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, cane juice, evaporated cane juice, brown rice syrup, agave nectar, honey, maple syrup, molasses, coconut sugar, and fruit-juice concentrate. Several of these near the top of the list is a red flag.
  • Watch "health halo" foods: flavored yogurt, granola, protein bars, bottled smoothies, plant milks, salad dressings, ketchup and pasta sauce often carry more added sugar than expected.

Practical swaps table

The biggest wins usually come from drinks. Swap one item at a time and give your taste buds two to three weeks to adjust.

Easy swaps to cut added sugar
Instead of…Try…Why it helps
Regular soda or energy drinksSparkling water with citrus, berries or cucumber; unsweetened iced teaRemoves the drink most strongly linked to gout and weight gain
Fruit juiceA piece of whole fruit plus waterKeeps the fiber; juice is linked to higher diabetes and gout risk
Sweetened coffee-shop drinksCoffee or tea with milk and cinnamon; gradually cut syrup pumpsCoffee is associated with lower gout risk (see gout)
Flavored yogurtPlain Greek yogurt with berries and a few nutsProtein and fiber; often saves 10–15 g added sugar
Sweetened breakfast cerealOats or muesli with no added sugar, topped with fruitSlower glucose rise; more fiber
Cookies, pastries and candyDark chocolate (70%+), a handful of nuts, or fruit with nut butterSmaller sugar hit with fat, fiber or polyphenols
Bottled sauces and dressingsOlive oil and vinegar or lemon; tomato-based sauces without added sugarRemoves hidden sugar; olive oil fits a Mediterranean pattern
Dessert every nightFrozen berries or cherries, baked fruit, or dessert on set daysKeeps pleasure while cutting frequency
What about sweeteners? Diet soft drinks were not linked to gout or RA in the U.S. cohorts above, but one French cohort linked artificially sweetened drinks with higher RA risk.2 Water, sparkling water, coffee and tea are the simplest choices. For the bigger picture, see the anti-inflammatory diet and the sugar section of foods to avoid.
Dietary & supplement note: Statements here about foods have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Test it on yourself with a flare diary Emerging

Because research averages hide individual differences, many people find it useful to run a simple, structured experiment:

  1. Log your pain, stiffness and sleep daily for two weeks while eating as usual, ticking the sugar tag on days with sugary drinks or desserts.
  2. Cut added sugar — especially drinks — to within the AHA limits for three to four weeks, keeping the rest of your routine and medication the same.
  3. Compare the two periods, remembering that arthritis naturally waxes and wanes and that expecting an improvement can create one.

The free, private flare tracker compares your average pain on tagged versus untagged days. It describes patterns, not causes — share what you find with your doctor rather than drawing firm conclusions on your own.

When to see a doctor Strong

Seek urgent, same-day medical care if you have:
  • a suddenly hot, red, swollen, very painful joint, especially with fever or chills — this can be gout, but it can also be a joint infection that needs immediate treatment;
  • signs of very high blood sugar, such as extreme thirst, frequent urination, confusion, vomiting or rapid breathing.

Book a routine appointment if you:

  • have joint swelling, or morning stiffness lasting more than 30–60 minutes, for more than a few weeks — early treatment of inflammatory arthritis protects joints;
  • have had a suspected gout attack, even if it settled;
  • notice increased thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss or fatigue — these can be signs of diabetes and deserve a blood test;
  • have diabetes and plan to change your diet significantly, especially if you take insulin or a sulfonylurea, which can cause low blood sugar when intake drops;
  • take steroid medicines such as prednisone for arthritis, which can raise blood sugar — ask whether your glucose should be checked. Do not stop or change the dose yourself; discuss it with your doctor or pharmacist.

Frequently asked questions

Does sugar cause joint pain?

Sugar is not a direct cause of most joint pain, but a diet high in added sugar, especially sugar-sweetened drinks, is linked to several things that make joints worse: higher gout risk through fructose and uric acid, weight gain that loads the knees and hips, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes that are associated with osteoarthritis, and short-term rises in inflammatory markers. The evidence is strong for gout and weight, and still emerging for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. This is educational information, not medical advice.

Is the sugar in fruit bad for arthritis?

Whole fruit is not the same as added sugar. Its fiber, water and polyphenols slow absorption, and large cohort studies link whole fruit with a slightly lower risk of type 2 diabetes, while fruit juice is linked with a higher risk. People with gout may want to keep fruit juice and very large amounts of fructose-rich fruit in check, but whole fruit is generally part of an anti-inflammatory eating pattern.

How much added sugar is too much?

The American Heart Association suggests an upper limit of about 100 calories a day from added sugar for most women (about 6 teaspoons or 25 grams) and 150 calories for most men (about 9 teaspoons or 36 grams), and no more than 25 grams for children. The U.S. food label uses a Daily Value of 50 grams, based on keeping added sugar below 10 percent of a 2,000-calorie diet. A single 12-ounce regular soda usually contains more than 35 grams.

Do sugary drinks increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis?

In the Nurses' Health Study cohorts, women who drank one or more sugar-sweetened sodas a day had a 63 percent higher risk of seropositive rheumatoid arthritis than women who drank almost none, while diet soda showed no association. However, a large French cohort (E3N) did not find an association between sugar-sweetened soft drinks and rheumatoid arthritis, so the link is suggestive rather than proven.

Should I cut sugar if I have diabetes and arthritis?

Reducing added sugar is generally sensible, but if you take insulin, a sulfonylurea or other glucose-lowering medicine, a sudden change in what you eat can cause low blood sugar. Talk to your doctor, diabetes educator or pharmacist before making big dietary changes, and never stop or adjust a prescribed medication on your own. Steroid medicines used for arthritis flares can also raise blood sugar, which is worth discussing with your care team.

References

  1. Hu Y, Costenbader KH, Gao X, et al. Sugar-sweetened soda consumption and risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014;100(3):959–967. PubMed 25030783
  2. Ascione S, Barde F, Artaud F, et al. Association between beverage consumption and risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective study from the French E3N Cohort. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2023;62(5):1814–1823. PubMed 36179075
  3. Tedeschi SK, Frits M, Cui J, et al. Diet and rheumatoid arthritis symptoms: survey results from a rheumatoid arthritis registry. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2017;69(12):1920–1925. PubMed 28217907
  4. DeChristopher LR, Uribarri J, Tucker KL. Intake of high-fructose corn syrup sweetened soft drinks, fruit drinks and apple juice is associated with prevalent arthritis in US adults, aged 20–30 years. Nutr Diabetes. 2016;6(3):e199. PubMed 26950480
  5. Choi HK, Curhan G. Soft drinks, fructose consumption, and the risk of gout in men: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2008;336(7639):309–312. PubMed 18244959
  6. Choi HK, Willett W, Curhan G. Fructose-rich beverages and risk of gout in women. JAMA. 2010;304(20):2270–2278. PubMed 21068145
  7. Jamnik J, Rehman S, Blanco Mejia S, et al. Fructose intake and risk of gout and hyperuricemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. BMJ Open. 2016;6(10):e013191. PubMed 27697882
  8. Huang Y, Chen Z, Chen B, et al. Dietary sugar consumption and health: umbrella review. BMJ. 2023;381:e071609. PubMed 37019448
  9. Esposito K, Nappo F, Marfella R, et al. Inflammatory cytokine concentrations are acutely increased by hyperglycemia in humans: role of oxidative stress. Circulation. 2002;106(16):2067–2072. PubMed 12379575
  10. Aeberli I, Gerber PA, Hochuli M, et al. Low to moderate sugar-sweetened beverage consumption impairs glucose and lipid metabolism and promotes inflammation in healthy young men: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011;94(2):479–485. PubMed 21677052
  11. Della Corte KW, Perrar I, Penczynski KJ, et al. Effect of dietary sugar intake on biomarkers of subclinical inflammation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies. Nutrients. 2018;10(5):606. PubMed 29757229
  12. Verzijl N, DeGroot J, Thorpe SR, et al. Effect of collagen turnover on the accumulation of advanced glycation end products. J Biol Chem. 2000;275(50):39027–39031. PubMed 10976109
  13. DeGroot J, Verzijl N, Wenting-van Wijk MJ, et al. Accumulation of advanced glycation end products as a molecular mechanism for aging as a risk factor in osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2004;50(4):1207–1215. PubMed 15077303
  14. Loeser RF, Yammani RR, Carlson CS, et al. Articular chondrocytes express the receptor for advanced glycation end products: potential role in osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52(8):2376–2385. PubMed 16052547
  15. Uribarri J, Woodruff S, Goodman S, et al. Advanced glycation end products in foods and a practical guide to their reduction in the diet. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010;110(6):911–916.e12. PubMed 20497781
  16. Zhuo Q, Yang W, Chen J, Wang Y. Metabolic syndrome meets osteoarthritis. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2012;8(12):729–737. PubMed 22907293
  17. Louati K, Vidal C, Berenbaum F, Sellam J. Association between diabetes mellitus and osteoarthritis: systematic literature review and meta-analysis. RMD Open. 2015;1(1):e000077. PubMed 26535137
  18. Eymard F, Parsons C, Edwards MH, et al. Diabetes is a risk factor for knee osteoarthritis progression. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2015;23(6):851–859. PubMed 25655678
  19. Lu B, Ahmad O, Zhang FF, et al. Soft drink intake and progression of radiographic knee osteoarthritis: data from the osteoarthritis initiative. BMJ Open. 2013;3(7):e002993. PubMed 23872291
  20. Malik VS, Pan A, Willett WC, Hu FB. Sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain in children and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;98(4):1084–1102. PubMed 23966427
  21. Messier SP, Gutekunst DJ, Davis C, DeVita P. Weight loss reduces knee-joint loads in overweight and obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 2005;52(7):2026–2032. PubMed 15986358
  22. Muraki I, Imamura F, Manson JE, et al. Fruit consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: results from three prospective longitudinal cohort studies. BMJ. 2013;347:f5001. PubMed 23990623
  23. Johnson RK, Appel LJ, Brands M, et al. Dietary sugars intake and cardiovascular health: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2009;120(11):1011–1020. PubMed 19704096
  24. Vos MB, Kaar JL, Welsh JA, et al. Added sugars and cardiovascular disease risk in children: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2017;135(19):e1017–e1034. PubMed 27550974
  25. Added Sugars on the Nutrition Facts Label — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). fda.gov/food/nutrition-facts-label/added-sugars-nutrition-facts-label