Short answer: The WHO advises keeping free sugars – added sugars plus those in honey, syrups and fruit juice – below 10% of your calories, about 50 g (12 teaspoons) on 2,000 kcal a day, and ideally below 5%, about 25 g (6 teaspoons). The American Heart Association’s added-sugar limits are 25 g for women and 36 g for men. Sugar in whole fruit and plain milk doesn’t count.
“Sugar” on a label, in a guideline and in your fruit bowl are not the same thing. Most limits cover only added or free sugars, and health bodies draw the line in different places. Here is what each number means, how to turn it into grams for your calorie intake, where sugar hides and how to cut back.
This is general information, not diabetes advice. If you have diabetes or prediabetes, follow the carbohydrate plan agreed with your care team. If you are pregnant, feed a young child, take medication that affects blood sugar or have a history of disordered eating, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian first.
Total, added and free sugars: what’s the difference?
- Total sugars are all sugars in a food, including those naturally in fruit, vegetables and milk. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets no Daily Value for them.
- Added sugars (the US label term) are sugars added during processing, table sugar, syrups, honey and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices – not the sugars naturally in milk, fruit and vegetables.
- Free sugars (the WHO term, also used by the European Food Safety Authority, EFSA) are sugars added by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and juice concentrates.
The practical difference is fruit juice: its sugar counts as free sugar even when nothing has been added.
| Sugar source | Total sugars | Added sugars (US label) | Free sugars (WHO) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar, syrups and honey added to food or drinks | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sugar naturally in 100% fruit juice | Yes | No | Yes |
| Sugar in whole fruit and vegetables | Yes | No | No |
| Milk sugar in plain milk and yogurt | Yes | No | No |
How much sugar per day? The limits compared
The US Dietary Guidelines 2025–2030 (January 2026) dropped the earlier “less than 10% of calories” wording; the FDA label still uses a 50 g Daily Value.
| Source | Limits | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| WHO (2015) | Free sugars | Below 10% of energy (strong); below 5% for extra benefit (conditional): 50 g and 25 g at 2,000 kcal |
| US Dietary Guidelines 2025–2030 | Added sugars | No amount recommended; no more than 10 g in one meal |
| FDA Daily Value | Added sugars | 50 g a day, the basis for %DV on US labels |
| EFSA (2022) | Added and free sugars | As low as possible within a nutritionally adequate diet; no safe upper level could be set |
| American Heart Association | Added sugars | Below 6% of calories: women 25 g (6 tsp), men 36 g (9 tsp) |
| NHS (UK) | Free sugars | No more than 5% of energy: adults 30 g |
The WHO rates its 10% limit as strong: adults who eat less sugar have lower body weight, and tooth decay is more common above 10%. The 5% step is conditional because that evidence is more limited. EFSA found no intake at which the risk of tooth decay and metabolic diseases is not increased. Many people are well above all these limits: the AHA says people in the US get about 12–13% of their calories from added sugars.
Children: the WHO limits apply to them too. The NHS sets 19 g of free sugars a day for ages 4–6 and 24 g for ages 7–10, and the US guidelines advise avoiding added sugars from birth to age 4.
How many grams of sugar a day for your calories?
Sugar provides 4 kcal per gram, so multiply your daily calories by 0.10 (or 0.05) and divide by 4. A level teaspoon of granulated sugar weighs about 4.2 g in USDA data.
| Daily calories | 10% of energy | 5% of energy |
|---|---|---|
| 1,600 kcal | 40 g (about 9½ tsp) | 20 g (about 5 tsp) |
| 2,000 kcal | 50 g (about 12 tsp) | 25 g (about 6 tsp) |
| 2,500 kcal | 62.5 g (about 15 tsp) | 31 g (about 7½ tsp) |
Worked example: at 1,800 kcal a day, 10% is 180 kcal, or 45 g; 5% is about 22 g. A 355 ml (12 fl oz) can of regular cola has about 37 g of sugar. Add two teaspoons in your coffee (about 8 g) and the 10% budget is gone before any sauce, cereal or flavored yogurt. If you track macros, sugar is part of your carbohydrate total, not extra.
Where does sugar hide? Sugar in common foods and drinks
Much of our sugar comes from foods we don’t think of as sweets. Values are total sugars rounded from USDA FoodData Central; brands vary, so check your label.
| Food or drink | Portion | Total sugars | Source of the sugar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cola, regular | 1 can, 355 ml (12 fl oz) | 37 g | Added |
| Energy drink, sugar-sweetened | 240 ml (8 fl oz) | 33 g | Added |
| Fruit yogurt, low-fat | 170 g (6 oz) | 32 g | Milk plus added |
| Apple juice, unsweetened | 240 ml (8 fl oz) | 24 g | Juice (free) |
| Chocolate milk, reduced-fat | 240 ml (8 fl oz) | 24 g | Milk plus added |
| Honey | 1 tbsp (21 g) | 17 g | Free |
| Frosted oat cereal with marshmallows | 30 g (¾ cup) | 11 g | Mostly added |
| Barbecue sauce | 2 tbsp (34 g) | 11 g | Mostly added |
| Granola bar, plain | 1 bar, 28 g (1 oz) | 8 g | Mostly added |
| Ketchup | 1 tbsp (17 g) | 4 g | Mostly added |
One can of cola exceeds the AHA’s daily limit for women, and fruit yogurt has about 20 g more sugar than plain low-fat yogurt (12 g, all from milk).
Does sugar in fruit and milk count?
No, not toward free- or added-sugar limits. The WHO guideline does not cover sugars in fresh fruit and vegetables or sugars naturally in milk, because there is no reported evidence of harm from them. Whole fruit also brings fiber, which the AHA says slows how fast its sugar is absorbed – see how much fiber you need per day.
| Food | Portion | Total sugars | Free sugar? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple, medium | 182 g (6.4 oz) | 19 g | No |
| Orange | 1 fruit, 140 g (4.9 oz) | 12 g | No |
| Orange juice, fresh | 240 ml (8 fl oz) | 21 g | Yes |
| Milk, whole | 240 ml (8 fl oz) | 12 g | No |
One orange yields about 86 g of juice in USDA data, so a 240 ml (8 fl oz) glass holds the juice of roughly three oranges and almost twice the sugar of one whole fruit. The NHS suggests no more than 150 ml of juice and smoothies a day in total; the US guidelines say to drink 100% juice in limited portions or diluted with water. Dried fruit is concentrated too: a 43 g (1.5 oz) box of raisins has about 28 g of sugar, and the NHS suggests keeping dried fruit to mealtimes for your teeth.
How to read sugar on a nutrition label
US labels list Total Sugars with an indented line such as “Includes 7g Added Sugars”; those grams are part of the total. In the FDA’s yogurt example, 15 g of total sugars include 7 g added and 8 g naturally present, and the 7 g are 14% of the 50 g Daily Value. 5% DV or less is low and 20% DV or more is high; 20% is 10 g, the per-meal cap in the current US guidelines.
EU and UK labels show “carbohydrate, of which sugars” per 100 g or 100 ml. That covers all sugars, including those from milk and fruit, with no added-sugar line. The NHS calls more than 22.5 g per 100 g high and 5 g or less low, and the %RI for sugars uses 90 g of total sugars a day as its reference.
The ingredients list runs in order of weight, so sugar near the top means a lot. The US guidelines suggest looking for words with “sugar” or “syrup” and words ending in “-ose”: high-fructose corn syrup, agave syrup, dextrose, sucrose, cane sugar, fruit juice concentrate, honey, molasses. For the full walkthrough, see how to read a nutrition label.
How to cut back on sugar: swaps that work
Start with drinks; that’s where swaps add up fastest.
- Drinks: water, still or sparkling, instead of a can of cola saves about 37 g.
- Juice: eat an orange (12 g, none of it free) instead of a 240 ml glass of juice (21 g, all free).
- Yogurt: choose plain (12 g per 170 g) over fruit yogurt (32 g) and add fresh fruit yourself.
- Cereal: the NHS suggests unsweetened wholegrain cereals rather than frosted or chocolate- or honey-coated ones, with fruit for sweetness.
- Hot drinks: if you take two teaspoons of sugar (about 8 g), cut down gradually until you can drop it.
- Sauces: 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce add about 11 g; measure them, or use herbs and spices.
Are sweeteners a good swap?
In 2023 the WHO advised against using non-sugar sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose and stevia to control body weight or lower disease risk: its review found no long-term benefit for body fat and possible long-term harms, though these findings may be confounded, so the advice is conditional. It excludes people who already have diabetes. The US guidelines also say to limit low-calorie sweeteners. The WHO’s advice: reduce the sweetness of your diet overall.
How Portiva helps
Portiva’s Today summary card shows sugar, fiber and sodium at a glance. Tap it to open Nutrition details (free) for the day or the last 7 days: total sugar in grams and as a share of your calories, plus a “sugar sources” list of the foods that brought the most sugar. Barcode logging of packaged foods is free and unlimited.
Because Portiva shows total sugar, fruit and milk sugars included, there is no limit bar for sugar: guidelines limit added or free sugars, which most food data can’t separate. The sources list shows whether your sugar comes from drinks and sweets or from fruit and milk.
Frequently asked questions
Is 50 grams of sugar a day too much?
As free sugars, 50 g is the WHO’s upper limit on a 2,000-calorie diet and the FDA’s Daily Value, and it is above the AHA’s 25 g for women and 36 g for men. As total sugars it can be fine: a medium apple, 240 ml of milk and 170 g of plain yogurt give about 43 g with no free sugars at all.
How many teaspoons of sugar a day is OK?
On 2,000 kcal, the WHO’s 10% limit is about 12 level teaspoons of free sugars and the 5% target about 6. The AHA suggests no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar for women and 9 for men.
How much sugar should I eat to lose weight?
There is no separate sugar target for weight loss; your overall calorie deficit is what counts. The WHO notes that adults who eat less sugar have lower body weight. Sugary drinks are an easy start: a 355 ml can of cola has about 155 kcal and no protein or fiber.
Is honey or brown sugar healthier than white sugar?
Not in sugar terms. The AHA says added sugar is added sugar no matter what it’s called, and the WHO counts the sugar in honey and syrups as free sugar. A tablespoon of honey has about 17 g of sugar, as much as about 4 teaspoons of table sugar.
Sources
- WHO calls on countries to reduce sugars intake among adults and children, World Health Organization (2015).
- Healthy diet (fact sheet), World Health Organization (2026).
- WHO advises not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control in newly released guideline, World Health Organization (2023).
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2026).
- Added Sugars on the Nutrition Facts Label, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2026).
- Tolerable upper intake level for dietary sugars, EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens, EFSA Journal (2022).
- How Much Sugar Is Too Much?, American Heart Association (2026).
- Added Sugars, American Heart Association (2024).
- Sugar: the facts, NHS (2023).
- FoodData Central (SR Legacy data), U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (2018).