Sweeteners: Sugar Substitutes and Reading Food Labels

Start by asking what a sweetener will replace: sugar in tea, a drink or a packaged dessert. The ingredient matters, but so do the whole product and the amount you eat. A sugar-free biscuit can still supply carbohydrate and energy. [1]

Three questions make a useful label check: Which sweetener is present? How much carbohydrate and energy are in a serving? How many servings will I actually have? Compare products used for the same purpose rather than looking for one best brand.

Sweetener types are not interchangeable

Sugar alcohols do not contain ethanol, the alcohol in alcoholic drinks. They are a different group from intense sweeteners. Most supply less energy than sugar, but they should not all be counted as calorie-free. [2]

An ingredient from a plant still needs a safety and dose assessment. “Natural” alone does not establish greater safety or unlimited use. A pure ingredient and a retail blend are not necessarily the same thing. [3]

Read a sugar-free label in four steps

• Find the sweeteners in the ingredient list. A product may combine several intense sweeteners and polyols.
• Look beyond sugars to carbohydrate, energy and fat.
• Check the pack weight and the amount you eat. One pack is not always one serving.
• Read relevant allergen information and any excessive-consumption warning.

The following figures are invented to demonstrate the arithmetic. They do not describe a tested brand.

For each line, multiply the value per 100 g by 30/100. Although the sugars line is zero, the portion still contains 17.4 g carbohydrate. Do not automatically subtract every gram of polyol and treat it as having no effect. With diabetes, agree on the counting method and assess your glucose response. [4]

A no-added-sugar food may contain sugars already present in its ingredients. “No added sugar”, “sugar-free” and “calorie-free” are different claims. The carbohydrate-counting section shows how to consider the rest of the meal.

Does replacing sugar lead to weight loss?

Replacing a sugary drink with a lower-energy option can reduce the energy from that drink. Adding the new product to everything you already consume is different. Increasing the serving because it uses a sweetener can also change the calculation.

WHO conditionally advises against using non-sugar sweeteners for long-term weight control. The recommendation excludes people with pre-existing diabetes and does not cover polyols. It also does not replace toxicological safety limits. A recommendation against relying on sweeteners for weight control is not a claim that every authorised use is poisonous. [5]

For drink changes, the guide to reducing sugary drinks for weight management may be a useful starting point. If the concern is evening cravings, look at daytime meals too; practical options when you want something sweet addresses that separate need.

How much sweetener can you use each day?

An acceptable daily intake, or ADI, is an amount considered to carry no appreciable health risk when consumed daily over a lifetime. It is usually expressed in milligrams per kilogram of body weight. It is not a consumption target, and exceeding it on one day does not automatically establish poisoning. [3]

A tablet count cannot be calculated from body weight alone. You need the amount of each active ingredient in the tablet and must consider other foods and drinks containing it. One gram of a blend is not one gram of pure sweetener. Without ingredient amounts, a precise ADI calculation from pack counts is not possible.

Alternating sweeteners on different days does not prove that you stay below the relevant limits. Record the products, amounts and frequency rather than mixing products to justify higher consumption.

Stevia, aspartame and erythritol: practical differences

Not every stevia-labelled product has the same contents

A label may list steviol glycosides together with erythritol, dextrose or other carriers. The word stevia on the front does not tell you the carbohydrate and energy in the whole blend. A small amount in tea and a much larger amount in a recipe need separate calculations.

Aspartame and phenylketonuria

People with phenylketonuria need to avoid aspartame or follow the limits in their medical plan because it supplies phenylalanine. For other users, authorised use and overall intake still matter. “Suitable for everyone” is too broad. [3]

Erythritol and digestive tolerance

Erythritol, sorbitol and maltitol do not all behave the same way at the same amount. Polyols can cause gas, bloating or diarrhoea in some people. Several sugar-free products in one day can increase the total intake. [2]

EFSA’s erythritol assessment also considers diarrhoea with excessive intake. Low energy content does not mean that any amount will be well tolerated or that everyone responds alike. [6]

With IBS or recurring symptoms, record the product and quantity rather than banning an entire food group based on one ingredient name. The guide to food choices for gas and bloating considers other possible contributors in a meal.

Can you use sweeteners in baking or hot drinks?

Adding a sweetener to a hot drink is different from prolonged baking. Sugar contributes bulk, colour and texture as well as sweetness, so a spoon-for-spoon replacement does not work with every product. Read the intended use and preparation instructions.

EFSA’s February 2026 sucralose assessment found current authorised uses safe but could not confirm the safety of additional uses involving prolonged high temperatures. It also identified uncertainty about compounds that could form during home baking and frying. Do not assume sucralose suits every high-heat recipe. [7]

Everyday choices without a rigid rulebook

Do not copy an adult tablet count for a child, pregnancy or a person with specialised nutrition needs. Discuss the product, purpose and medical circumstances with the relevant care team.