Sweeteners cover the spectrum from refined cane and beet sugar through honey and tree syrups to non-nutritive alternatives such as stevia and sucralose. Nutritionally, refined sugars are essentially pure carbohydrate at around 400 kcal per 100 g. Honey, maple syrup, agave and date syrup carry small amounts of trace minerals and antioxidants, but they remain calorically equivalent to sugar in everyday quantities. Treating any sweetener as a "healthier" version of another is mostly marketing rather than meaningful nutrition.
UK guidance frames "free sugars" as the meaningful target. Free sugars are added sugars plus those naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juice and fruit purée; the lactose in milk and the fructose locked inside whole fruit and vegetables don't count. The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition recommends free sugars provide no more than 5% of daily energy intake, which works out at around 30 g for adults and less for children. Most adults in the UK currently take in roughly twice that.
The category covers four practical groups. Refined sugars (granulated, caster, demerara, light brown, dark brown, icing) are sucrose at varying processing depths; the brown forms keep small amounts of molasses for flavour but are nutritionally interchangeable with white sugar. Liquid sweeteners (honey, golden syrup, maple syrup, treacle, agave) bring distinct flavours and slightly different sweetness profiles, with golden syrup and treacle being particularly British store-cupboard staples. Non-nutritive intense sweeteners (stevia, sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame K, saccharin) provide sweetness without calories or carbohydrate, and are common in diet drinks, sugar-free chewing gum and reduced-sugar products. Sugar alcohols (xylitol, erythritol, sorbitol, maltitol) sit between the two: lower calorie than sugar, sweeter than sugar alcohols deserve some watchfulness around digestive tolerance in larger amounts.
The headline practical point: cutting overall volume of sweetener tends to matter more than swapping one type for another. Most people who reduce their daily added-sugar intake recalibrate to less-sweet drinks and foods within a few weeks. Replacing free sugar with intense sweeteners cuts calories but does little for the underlying preference for sweet flavours.
The entries below cover individual sweeteners. Each page shows per 100 g energy and total carbohydrate, with usage notes where helpful.