How to eat less sugar

Quitting sugar “from Monday” is a plan that usually ends on Wednesday by the biscuit tin. Here's the deal: you don't need to quit completely. It's enough to know where sugar hides and change one thing at a time.

By the Dumpli team · Information checked on 2026-10-10. General information, not medical advice. Who writes this and how we check · How we calculate

What “free sugars” are

The World Health Organization (WHO) doesn't count all sugar, only free sugars:

• sugar added to food by the manufacturer, the cook or you;
• honey and syrups (maple, agave, glucose);
• fruit juices and juice concentrates – even “100% juice, no added sugar”.

Not counted: sugar inside whole fruit and vegetables, and the natural sugar in milk (lactose). So an apple and a glass of apple juice aren't the same thing for your body.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reached a similar conclusion in 2022: added and free sugars should be kept as low as possible within a nutritionally adequate diet.

What that looks like in real life

At 2,000 kcal a day, 10% is about 50 g of sugar and 5% is about 25 g – roughly 6 teaspoons. Here's where that limit goes (figures from our data):

• A can (330 ml) of sweet fizzy drink – about 35 g of carbs, and in a drink that's almost all sugar (10.6 g per 100 ml). One can is already more than the “ideal” daily limit.
• A glass (250 ml) of orange juice – about 26 g (10.4 g per 100 ml). That's free sugar too.
• A teaspoon of sugar in your tea – about 4 g. Three cups a day with two teaspoons each is already about 24 g.

Where sugar hides

We expect it in sweets. But quite a lot of sugar turns up where you wouldn't expect it:

• sweetened yoghurts, curd cheese snacks and dessert curd creams;
• breakfast cereals and “healthy” granola bars;
• ketchup, sweet-and-sour sauces and some salad dressings;
• products decorated with “fitness” or “lactose-free” labels – a label like that says nothing about sugar;
• coffee drinks with syrups, iced tea and sports drinks;
• white loaves and some breads made with honey or malt.

How to find sugar on a label

1. In the nutrition table, look for the line “carbohydrate, of which sugars” and use the per 100 g column – that makes products easy to compare.
2. Remember that line shows all sugars, including the natural sugar in milk. For example, by our data natural yoghurt has about 4.7 g of carbs per 100 g – that's lactose, not added sugar.
3. In the ingredients list, ingredients are listed from the largest amount down. If sugar or one of its “aliases” is in the top three, the product is basically sweet. Aliases: sucrose, glucose, fructose, dextrose, glucose-fructose syrup, invert syrup, honey, malt extract, concentrated fruit juice.
4. EU labels follow rules. “Low sugar” means no more than 5 g per 100 g (2.5 g per 100 ml for drinks). “Sugar-free” means no more than 0.5 g. “No added sugar” means none was added, but there may still be plenty of natural sugar (from fruit, for example).

More on the whole label in the guide to reading food labels.

10 small steps

You don't need all of them at once. Pick one or two for this week:

1. Swap one sweet drink a day for water, sparkling water or unsweetened tea.
2. Don't drink juice every day – eat the whole fruit instead.
3. Cut the sugar in your tea or coffee by half a teaspoon each week.
4. Buy plain yoghurt or cottage cheese and sweeten it yourself – with berries or grated apple.
5. Swap breakfast cereal for oats: rolled oats aren't sweet on their own.
6. Keep sweets in the cupboard, not on the table. What you don't see, you want less often.
7. Have dessert after a meal, not instead of one – you want less when you're full.
8. Keep an unsweetened snack ready: fruit, a handful of nuts, some cottage cheese.
9. If you love chocolate, go for dark and a smaller piece – it's more filling and less sweet.
10. Don't ban everything. Your favourite cake on Sunday isn't a failure, it's normal life.

Sweet, but with no added sugar: recipe ideas

• Banana and berry “ice cream” – just banana and frozen berries.
• Roast pumpkin with cinnamon and seeds – sweet all by itself.
• Apple with peanut butter – a quick snack.
• Greek yoghurt with hemp seeds and berries.
• Cottage cheese with pear and flaxseed.
• Soya yoghurt with berries and seeds – dairy-free.

Some of our recipes (for example porridge with blueberries and nuts) have a teaspoon of honey. You can reduce it or leave it out – the berries bring the sweetness.

Frequently asked questions

Read next

• How to read food labels (EU): what to check first – Per 100 g or per portion, sugar and salt, ingredient order, “no added sugar” and “light” claims: a plain guide to EU food labels and how not to be fooled.
• How to start eating healthier: 5 simple steps – A calm path for beginners: find your number, plan a few days, shop once, cook simply and review after 2 weeks. Small changes, no perfection.
• How much water to drink a day: a simple answer – How much fluid an adult needs a day, whether coffee and tea count, how to tell you're drinking too little and when to check with a doctor.
• Calorie deficit: what it is and how much you need – How to work out a safe calorie deficit, why bigger isn't always better and when to review it.