UK guidance says free sugars should provide no more than 5% of daily energy, which works out at about 30g a day for adults. This article explains what “free sugars” means, how to spot them on a label and where the easiest savings are.
What are free sugars, and how do they differ from the sugar in fruit?
“Free sugars” is the term used in UK advice for sugars that are added to food and drink, plus a few that are naturally present but easy to overconsume. According to the NHS, the category covers sugars added by manufacturers, cooks or people at home, and also the sugars in honey, syrups such as maple or agave, nectars, and unsweetened fruit juices, vegetable juices and smoothies.
It does not include the sugars naturally found in milk, or those in whole fruit and vegetables. The NHS gives examples: a plain yoghurt may contain up to 8g of sugar in a serving, all of it from milk, and an apple has around 11g of total sugar, none of it free unless the fruit is juiced. The British Dietetic Association draws the same line, noting that lactose in milk and dairy and fructose in whole fruit and vegetables do not count.
The distinction matters because whole fruit comes packaged with fibre and water, which makes it harder to eat in large quantities. Once fruit is juiced or puréed, the sugars are released and count towards the limit.
How much free sugar is the limit?
The advice is that free sugars should make up no more than 5% of the energy you get from food and drink each day. The NHS converts that to grams, and the British Dietetic Association, citing the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), gives matching figures for older children and adults.
| Age | Free sugars per day | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 10g | 2.5 sugar cubes |
| 2 to 3 years | 14g | 3.5 sugar cubes |
| 4 to 6 years | 19g | 5 sugar cubes |
| 7 to 10 years | 24g | 6 sugar cubes |
| 11 years and over, including adults | 30g | 7 sugar cubes |
Under the age of one there is no set limit, but the NHS advises that no sugars should be added to babies’ food or drinks. These are upper limits, not targets, and nothing about them suggests that free sugars are needed in the diet.
Where do free sugars turn up in a normal day?
Some sources are obvious: sweets, biscuits, cakes and sugar stirred into tea. Others are less so. The NHS notes that a can of cola can contain up to nine sugar cubes’ worth of sugar, which is more than the adult daily limit in a single drink. Sweetened squash, fizzy drinks and juice drinks belong in the same group, and the NHS advises choosing unsweetened wholegrain cereals precisely because many cereals are sweetened.
Sugar also appears under many names on ingredient lists. The NHS lists cane sugar, brown sugar, honey, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate or purée, corn syrup, fructose, sucrose, glucose, dextrose, maltose, molasses and treacle. If several of these appear near the top of the list, the product is likely to be high in sugar. Ingredients are listed in order of weight, so earlier means more.
How do you read a label for sugar?
Labels show total sugars, which include the natural sugars from milk and fruit as well as free sugars, so they are a guide and not an exact free sugars count. The thresholds used for traffic-light labelling are a useful shortcut. According to the NHS and the British Dietetic Association:
| Foods, per 100g | Rating |
|---|---|
| 5g or less | Low (green) |
| More than 5g up to 22.5g | Medium (amber) |
| More than 22.5g | High (red) |
For drinks, the British Dietetic Association gives these per 100ml figures:
| Drinks, per 100ml | Rating |
|---|---|
| 2.5g or less | Low (green) |
| More than 2.5g up to 11.25g | Medium (amber) |
| More than 11.25g | High (red) |
Red can also apply per portion. For food, that is 27g or more where a portion is over 100g. Check the portion size on the pack, because a “serving” may be smaller than what you really eat.
Worked example: scaling from the label
Illustrative arithmetic: suppose a cereal lists 20g of sugars per 100g, which falls in the amber band. A 40g bowl would then contain 20 × 40 ÷ 100 = 8g of sugars. That is a little over a quarter of the 30g adult limit before milk, juice or anything else is added, and some of the total may be fruit sugars rather than added ones, so the label alone cannot say exactly how much is free sugar.
What does the evidence say about sugar and health?
The NHS states that eating too much sugar can lead to consuming excess calories and weight gain, and that being overweight increases the risk of heart disease, some cancers and type 2 diabetes. The link runs mainly through energy intake and body weight, not through sugar acting alone, and the strength of the evidence differs from one outcome to another.
The most direct and well established effect is on teeth. Both the NHS and the British Dietetic Association identify sugar as a main cause of tooth decay. How often you have sugary food and drink matters as well as how much: frequent sugary drinks and snacks keep teeth exposed to sugar and acid. This is why the NHS advises limiting free sugars to mealtimes where possible.
Sugar is therefore best treated as one part of an overall pattern, not a single villain. Our guide to what a balanced everyday diet looks like shows where it sits among the other food groups.
Are fruit juice and smoothies a healthy option?
Fruit juices and smoothies can contribute to your fruit and vegetable intake, but the sugars in them count as free sugars. The NHS Eatwell Guide advises limiting fruit juice and smoothies to a combined total of 150ml a day, because they contain free sugars that can damage teeth. Having them with a meal rather than between meals reduces the exposure for teeth.
Dried fruit is another case. The NHS suggests eating it as part of a meal and not as a between-meal snack, because it is sticky and sugary and can contribute to tooth decay.
Do diet and no-added-sugar drinks solve the problem?
They remove the free sugars. The NHS suggests water, lower-fat milk, or sugar-free, diet and no-added-sugar drinks as alternatives to sugary ones. Choosing them in place of a sugary drink cuts free sugar intake directly.
There are caveats. The British Dietetic Association points out that diet and sugar-free fizzy drinks are acidic, which can still harm teeth if consumed often. Water remains the simplest choice for regular drinking. For children, the NHS says sweetened squash, fizzy drinks, soft drinks and juice drinks have no place in a child’s daily diet.
Which swaps make the biggest difference?
Most people do better with a few durable changes than with a strict sugar ban. Options suggested by the NHS include:
- Swap sugary drinks for water, lower-fat milk or sugar-free alternatives.
- Choose unsweetened, unfrosted wholegrain cereal, and add sliced banana or other fruit for sweetness.
- Pick tinned fruit in juice rather than syrup.
- Use reduced-sugar jam or lower-fat spreads instead of high-sugar toast toppings.
- Reduce the sugar in recipes, except where it is structural, such as in jam, meringues and ice cream.
- Keep sugary foods and drinks to mealtimes.
Wholegrain choices also help with another shortfall in UK diets, as our piece on how to reach 30g of fibre explains. Sugar-heavy products are also often among the heavily processed items discussed in what the evidence shows on ultra-processed foods, although the two categories overlap without being the same thing.
When should you speak to a GP, dentist or NHS 111?
Cutting back on sugar is a general dietary step, but some situations need individual advice. Speak to a GP if you are worried about your weight, your risk of type 2 diabetes or any unexplained symptoms. Anyone who already has diabetes should follow the plan agreed with their care team, and not change prescribed medicine on the basis of general articles. A dentist can help with toothache, bleeding gums or signs of decay. If you are unsure how urgent a symptom is, NHS 111 can advise.
Closing thoughts: aim for the pattern, not perfection
The 30g limit is easier to meet by looking at drinks, cereals and snacks than by counting every gram. Check the label bands, keep juice small and mealtime-based, and make water the default drink. Those habits are likely to have a larger effect on free sugar intake and dental health than any single food swap.
This is general information, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or other qualified health professional. If you are worried about your health or any symptoms, speak to your GP or call NHS 111.
Sources: NHS; British Dietetic Association
