How to read a ginger drink label like a nutritionist

The ginger drink market is full of products that look healthy but hide surprising amounts of sugar. Here's your complete guide to reading labels.

Step 1: Check sugar per 100ml

This is the key metric. Benchmarks:

• Under 1g = genuinely low sugar
• 5-10g = moderate (like orange juice)
• 10-20g = high (like a soft drink)
• 34g = over 3× Coca-Cola (yes, some ginger concentrates)

Step 2: Read the ingredient order

Ingredients are listed by weight. If cane sugar, agave, or honey appears in positions 2-3, sugar is a major component.

Step 3: Ignore the front, read the back

"Natural," "organic," "artisanal" — these words mean nothing about sugar content. Only the nutritional facts panel tells the truth.

Step 4: Look for the triple formula

The optimal anti-inflammatory combination: ginger + turmeric + black pepper (piperine). Most products have ginger + sugar + lemon.

Step 5: Calculate the annual sugar load

Daily dose × 365. Example: 25ml of a concentrate with 34g sugar/100ml = 8.5g sugar/day = 3.1 kg sugar per year from your "health drink."

The gold standard

INTI: zero added sugar, triple formula (ginger + turmeric + black pepper), organic, Belgian. Annual sugar from INTI: 0 kg.