Sugar 101: what it is, why it matters & healthier alternatives

Maybe you stir white sugar into your tea or coffee, sprinkle brown sugar on pancakes or love a sweet snack every now and then. Everyone can think of at least one sugary food they absolutely love.

Beyond the sweet taste, sugar also helps preserve food, making it a common ingredient in processed and ultra-processed foods. This guide explores what sugar is, its impact on our health, and healthier alternatives.

But first, the basics of sugar

What is sugar?

Sugar is a type of carbohydrate that is found naturally in fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy. Besides sugar, these foods also provide essential nutrients like fibre, antioxidants, minerals, and protein. Your body digests them slowly and the sugar they contain offers a steady supply of energy to your cells.¹

There are two types of sugar:²

• Monosaccharides (simple sugars): fructose, glucose, and galactose
• Disaccharides (sugars made of two molecules): sucrose (table sugar), lactose, and maltose
  

Where can we find these sugars?²

• Fructose, glucose, and sucrose: in fruit and certain vegetables
• Lactose: in dairy products
• Maltose: in sprouting grains
• Fructose and glucose: in honey and table sugar

Natural vs added sugar: understanding the difference

Natural sugars in whole foods come with fibre and nutrients. But most of us also enjoy chocolate, ice cream, biscuits, or sugary drinks. These foods contain added sugar, which is used in processed and ultra-processed foods to enhance taste, texture, or shelf life.¹

Looking to reduce your intake of ultra-processed foods? Discover how in our article: How to Reduce Ultra-Processed Food | 5 easy UPF Swaps

While our bodies process both natural and added sugars in the same way, natural sugars are accompanied by important nutrients, whereas added sugars offer no benefits and can be harmful when we eat too much of them.² This actually counts for all free sugars, not only those added to food.

Free sugar? What does that mean?

Free sugars are sugars added to foods, as well as those naturally present in honey, syrups, and unsweetened fruit or vegetable juices and smoothies.³ While these sugars provide energy, they’re considered less healthy than the natural sugars found in whole fruits and vegetables, which also contain important nutrients like fibre.

Example: When fruit is turned into juice, its natural sugars are released. That’s why fruit juice contains much more free sugar than simply eating a piece of fruit like an orange or an apple.⁴

How much sugar is too much?

The World Health Organisation says we should only get about 5–6% of our daily calories from free sugars, and no more than 10%. That means about 30 grams of sugar a day for men (around 7 sugar cubes) and 25 grams for women (about 6 sugar cubes), based on an average diet.⁴

There is also a recommended daily limit for total sugar, which includes both free sugars and those naturally found in foods like fruit and milk. This total amount is about three times higher than the limit for free sugar.³

Did you know? In Europe, the top sources of added sugar are sweet products (confectionery, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, sugar, and jam), sugary drinks and dairy products, such as flavoured yoghurt. But added sugar is also present in items that you may not think of as sweetened, like soups, bread, cured meats, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and granola.

The recommended daily intake

30 grams of free sugar a day might seem like a lot, but it’s actually much less than what most people in Europe eat. On average, Europeans eat more than 80 grams of free sugar per day, which is much higher than the recommended limit.⁵ This overconsumption has contributed to rising obesity rates in Western countries.⁴

What 30 grams of free sugar per day actually looks like: ^{6 7 8 9 10 11}

Meal	Food Item	Portion Size	Free sugar Content (g)
Breakfast	Flavoured yoghurt  and a cup of coffee with 1 teaspoon of sugar or A slice of white toast with jam	150g A teaspoon of sugar 20 grams of jam White toast	7.2g (on average, but with big differences between brands and yoghurt types) 4g 10g 1.2g
Lunch	Ketchup on a sandwich or as a sauce to complement you salad and a cup of coffee or tea with 1 teaspoon of sugar	A tablespoon of sauce A teaspoon of sugar	4g 4g
Snack	Granola bar or A glass of iced tea or Small chocolate bar	1 packet or 2 bars of 21g 250 ml 25g	11g 12.5g 12.5g

How to spot sugar in your food

If you want to eat less sugar, knowing how to read food labels can help you make better choices.

You can start by checking the back of food packaging and find the label that shows the nutrition facts. Look for the part that says ‘Carbohydrates – of which sugars’. This tells you how much sugar is in the food. But what is a lot, and what is not?

• A lot of sugar: more than 22.5g per 100g
• A little sugar: 5g or less per 100g

This number includes all types of sugars, even the natural ones that come from milk or fruit. For example, plain yoghurt might have 8g of sugar, but it all comes from milk, so it's still a healthy choice.

Sometimes the label just says ‘Carbohydrates’ and doesn’t include the ‘of which sugars’ part. This includes things like starch and doesn't show how much sugar there is. In that case, check the ingredients list instead.

This list shows what the food is made of, starting with the ingredient used the most. If sugar is near the top, there’s probably a lot of it inside and you will probably mostly eat sugar. Make sure to also look out for sugar hiding under other names too, like:

• Honey
• Brown sugar
• Syrup (like maple or agave)
• Fruit juice concentrate
• Glucose, fructose, sucrose, dextrose
• Molasses or treacle

The examples above are all types of added sugar!³

Sugar and health

Should we limit our sugar intake?

Eating too much sugar can cause tooth decay and lead to weight gain and obesity. Research is still insufficient on whether sugar directly causes heart disease or diabetes. However, being overweight is a well-known risk factor for both diseases. If we eat too much sugar and gain weight, we’re more likely to develop these health problems over time.⁴

Why we crave sugar

Our bodies are designed to crave high-energy foods to help us survive. This made sense in times when food was hard to find. But now that food is always available, this instinct works against us. Junk food makes our brains release dopamine, a ‘feel-good’ chemical, which keeps us coming back for more.¹²

Ultra-processed foods are engineered to hit the perfect level of sweetness that maximises pleasure and cravings. Foods with added sugars trigger stronger brain responses than whole foods, which makes them harder to resist.¹³

Ever wondered how the sugar in your kitchen gets from plant to packet? Uncover how your table sugar is made!

10 sugar alternatives

Nowadays, people are looking for healthier, natural alternatives to regular sugar. There are a lot of different options, which can be easily found in local supermarkets. Let’s take a closer look at ten of the sugar substitutes that are derived from natural sources or plants. We compare calories, sweetness, glycaemic index, their key benefits and potential drawbacks.¹⁴

Wait a minute? What is the glycaemic index?

The glycaemic index (GI) is a way to measure how much a food raises your blood sugar. Foods are classified as low, medium, or high glycaemic foods and ranked on a scale of 0–100, with pure glucose having a score of 100. The lower the score, the slower your blood sugar rises after eating that specific food. Besides better blood sugar management, the GI can also support weight loss and lower blood sugar levels and cholesterol.^{15 16}

Sweetener	Source	Calories (kcal/gram) (Sugar has 4kcal/gram)	Sweetness compared to sugar	Glycaemic Index (GI)	Key benefits	Potential drawbacks
Molasses (Treacle)	Sugarcane or sugar beets	4	Less sweet	70	Richer in nutrients than refined sugar	Strong flavour, not suitable for all recipes
Agave Nectar	Agave plant	6	30-40% sweeter	19	Low glycaemic index	High in fructose, debated health benefits (both general and oral)
Date Sugar	Dates	3	Less sweet	54	Contains fibre, added nutrients	Can alter texture in baking
Coconut Sugar	Coconut palm sap	4	Same as sugar	54	Contains minerals	Still affects blood sugar levels
Honey	Flower nectar (bees)	4	Varies	45-60	Natural alternative, contains antioxidants	Still a free sugar, affects blood sugar
Maple Syrup	Sugar maple sap	4	Same as sugar	54	Contains minerals & antioxidants	Expensive, still high in sugar
Yacon Syrup	Yacon plant		Less sweet	Very low	Supports gut health, contains prebiotics	Too much can cause digestive issues
Stevia	Stevia plant	0	Up to 300 x sweeter	0	No calories, good for diabetics	Often mixed with other sweeteners for taste
Xylitol	Found in berries, made commercially	2.4	Same as sugar	7	Used in sugar-free gum, fewer calories	Can cause digestive issues if overconsumed
Erythritol	Some plants (fermented)	0.2	30% less sweet	0	Easy to digest, no impact on blood sugar	More research needed

Sugar hack Craving something sweet? Dried fruits like raisins, dates, prunes, and apricots are a great natural option. Enjoy them on their own or use them in baking, confectionery, and home-made sweets. They’re a good source of iron and fibre and have a low to moderate glycaemic index. However, they contain more sugar per gram than fresh fruit, so portion control is important.

Artificial sweeteners: are they a good alternative?

We’ve covered natural sugar alternatives, but what about artificial sweeteners? These are widely used in a lot of everyday products, such as desserts, light dairy products, sweets, chewing gum, and low-calorie products. Two of the most common ones are aspartame and sucralose.

Sweetener	Key facts	Potential concerns
Aspartame	200 times sweeter than sugar 0 calories  Often used in diet drinks (such as diet coke and a lot of other zero sugar drinks)	Daily limit recommended due to conflicting health concerns: 40mg/kg body weight  (This compares to 9-14 cans of diet soda per day for a 70kg adult)
Sucralose	400-800 times sweeter than sugar  found in fizzy drinks and gum Commonly known as for example Canderel or Splenda	May increase hunger hormones

Sources: ^{24 25 26}

Did you know? When we eat sugar, it binds to the ‘sweet’ taste buds on our tongue, sending signals to our brain that make us taste the sweetness. Sweeteners also bind to these taste buds, but much more effectively, making them taste much sweeter than sugar, even in smaller amounts.

While some sugar substitutes are digested well, others can pass through our bodies without being absorbed. This means they don’t add any calories and don’t raise blood sugar levels, which makes them a good option for people who are trying to reduce their sugar intake.¹⁷ This might seem like an easy way to cut down on sugar and lose weight. However, researchers are concerned that sweeteners could have other effects on our health, too.²⁵

Sweeteners and health

Sweeteners and our gut

Certain sweeteners and sugar substitutes can have an effect on our digestion. Xylitol for example, is a sweetener that is often found in chewing gum and can have a laxative effect. This happens because our bodies struggle to digest it. When it reaches the gut without being fully absorbed, it pulls in extra water, which may lead to diarrhoea.¹⁴

Sweeteners and hunger

When we eat foods with natural or added sugar, our blood sugar levels rise. This tells our body to release hormones such as insulin that control hunger and help us feel full. Some sweeteners pass through our bodies without being digested or affecting blood sugar, so they don’t send the same signals. In fact, sweeteners like sucralose may even increase hunger hormones, making us eat more.²⁵

For people who need to watch their blood sugar levels, sweeteners can be a useful alternative. But if sweeteners don’t trigger the same fullness signals as sugar, they might leave us craving more sweet foods. So swapping sugar for sweeteners isn’t always the simple solution.²⁵ 

The key to a balanced sugar intake

With so many options and facts to consider, how can we make healthier choices in our daily lives? Start by making small, mindful changes, like swapping sugary drinks for water or choosing whole foods over ultra-processed options. Every little step counts toward a healthier and balanced life. You don't need to make drastic changes overnight. Starting with one small action each week can change your sugar intake drastically! 

Your sugar intake checklist

Use this simple checklist to limit your daily sugar intake, without making it feel like a big chore! And remember, take one step at a time.

☐ Check food labels – Look for hidden sugars in processed and ultra-processed foods. Don’t forget to check items you wouldn’t consider sweet at all, like supermarket bread and spaghetti sauce. Maybe an alternative without these added sugars is easy to find!

☐ Try to choose whole foods instead of juices – An apple instead of a smoothie, an orange instead of juice.

☐ Limit Sugary Drinks – Swap fizzy drinks and flavoured coffees for water, herbal tea, and unsweetened options. 

☐  Try to choose a healthy snack instead of a sugary one – Opt for nuts, yoghurt, and homemade snacks instead of sweets, biscuits and chocolate.

☐  Alternate sugar with other healthy sugar substitutes, but watch portion sizes – Even healthier sugar sources, like dried fruit, should be eaten in moderation.

☐  Choose a fresh home-cooked meal often – Making your own meals helps control sugar intake and avoid hidden sugars.

☐ Reduce sugar cravings – Eat balanced meals with protein, fibre, and healthy fats. 

Remember, small changes make a big difference. You don’t have to tick off everything on this list. Just focusing on one action each week can put you on the path to better health. Your body will thank you!