ZERO CALORIE SWEETENER
In my quest to help home cooks cut through the chaos of zero-calorie sweeteners in U.S. stores, I found thousands upon thousands of options. To make sense of it all, I’ve created the ultimate guide—sorting every sweetener into two easy-to-navigate groups: natural and artificial.
WHAT DOES "ZERO-CALORIE" MEAN?
By law, a sweetener may be labeled calorie-free, no-calorie, or zero-calorie if it provides less than 5 calories per serving. One serving is usually the amount of product (teaspoon, drops, squeezes, packets) with sweetness equivalent to 1 or 2 teaspoons of table sugar.
Zero Calorie Sweeteners are available to you in various forms — granulated, powdered, sachet, cube, tablet, liquid, and syrup. The color code for them tends to be:
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Artificial: yellow for sucralose, blue for aspartame, and pink for saccharin.
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Natural: green for stevia, and, launching in 2025, neon pink for WhatSugar-approved sweeteners, our very own zero-calorie, certified organic line.
WHAT'S A HIGH INTENSITY SWEETENER?
Most zero-calorie sugar substitutes you find in stores contain High-Intensity (HI) Sweeteners — either as the sole ingredient or listed last. When pure, they deliver intense sweetness without calories, and no nutritional benefits. Since they're several hundred times sweeter than table sugar, only tiny amounts are needed.
At such small amounts, HI sweeteners don’t add volume or affect texture—they won’t thicken, bind, or make your recipe viscous.
Unlike table sugar, they are used mainly for sweetening purposes and no other culinary role.
That’s why they’re often blended with bulk sweeteners, which help them in four key ways:
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give them an overall resemblance to table sugar
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make them spoonable and pourable
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mask their off-flavors
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improve mouthfeel by adding weight and volume.
Pure high-intensity sweeteners (without any additives or fillers) work best in recipes that don't rely on sugar for texture, shelf life, moisture retention, color, or flavor.
Here's a common misconception—zero-calorie doesn’t always mean high-intensity.
Take erythritol and allulose — both can be labeled as zero-calorie, but they're not high-intensity. In fact, both are less sweet than table sugar. In addition, they are not completely free of calories as high-intensity sweeteners. They provide about 1 to 1.5 calories per teaspoon or 40 to 70 calories per cup.
FDA-APPROVED HIGH-INTENSITY SWEETENERS
Nine high-intensity sweeteners (HIS) are permitted for use in food in the US. When artificial, they're regulated as a food additive. When natural, they have their use as a sweetener generally recognized as safe (GRAS).
The key difference is that food additives undergo premarket review and approval by the FDA.
GRAS substances, on the other hand, have their safety evaluated by "experts qualified by scientific training and experience" — not by the FDA. In most cases, these experts are industry scientists, which means companies often self-certify the ingredients they sell as safe. That said, it's not an easy process — the FDA still expects thorough toxicology studies, clearly defined safe use levels, and reviews the supporting scientific evidence carefully.
Natural options include stevia, monk fruit, and thaumatin.
Six artificial sweeteners have been approved: saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium (ace-K), sucralose, neotame, and advantame.
Among all, aspartame and thaumatin are the only two approved as nutritive sweeteners because they provide 4 cal per gram — chemically speaking, both are proteins. However, being super sweet, they're used in such small amounts that make them effectively non-nutritive. Aspartame is 100 to 400 times sweeter than sugar, and thaumatin is 2000 to 5000.
Stevia, monk fruit, sucralose, saccharin, acesulfame K, neotame, and advantame are non-nutritive sweeteners (0 cal/gram).
As of march 2025, stevia (leaf extract) carries the medal of the most popular high-intensity sweetener, with over 9000 products sold in stores. As you can see my Guide to Buying Stevia, producs may contain a variety of steviol glycosides (the sweet compounds of the stevia leaf) or just some of them, like reb A or stevioside.
ARTIFICIAL & ZERO-CALORIE
WHAT'S AN ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER?
Artificial sweeteners are not found in nature. Even if produced from a source material found in nature OR if their component parts are common in nature, it does not make them a natural sweetener. For instance, sucralose is made from table sugar. Aspartame is split in our bodies into 3 components widely found in foods such as meats, fish, dairy products, eggs, nuts, fruits, and vegetables.
I wrote a comprehensive blog post defining and comparing natural, minimally processed, refined, synthetic, and artificial sweeteners.
Six artificial sweeteners are approved as ingredients in sugar substitutes — saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium (ace-K), sucralose, neotame, and advantame. As mentioned earlier, unlike the "natural" options above, all artificial sweeteners are regulated as food additives.
Saccharin-based products were the first available in stores; the Sweet'N Low brand name has been the most popular. Aspartame–acesulfame K blends were popular for some time but were surpassed by sucralose, which is the most used of all six. Explore artificial products by clicking below:
ARE SWEETENERS SAFE?
Are sweeteners worse than sugar? What's the safest sweetener to use? These are questions that come up often—and for good reason with the sea of information out there. So here's what you need to know.
By law, all sweeteners sold in stores must be safe for consumption. You can read how the FDA assesses their safety HERE.
All nine FDA-approved high-intensity sweeteners (HIS) are over a hundred times sweeter than table sugar, so we consume them in tiny amounts.
Based on scientific evidence, they're considered safe for the general population when consumed as intended. The FDA has determined that the estimated daily intake of HIS remains within safe limits, even for heavy users.
High-intensity sweeteners hasn’t been linked conclusively to any specific health problems. They do not cause cancer in humans at the levels we consume. They are safe for people with diabetes, children, and pregnant or breastfeeding women, plus they're non-cariogenic.
Three areas regarding the effects of high-intensity sweeteners need more research to fully understand their effects:
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There's lack of evidence showing high-intensity sweeteners are effective in helping people lose weight in the LONG TERM (over 6 to 18 months), even though studies have shown small weight loss in the short term (3 months or less). You can read the position of World Health Organization and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans on that.
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Research on their impact on the gut microbiome is conflicting.
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It's controversial whether consuming something sweet without calories could influence appetite and food cravings.
If you’re concerned about their conflicting effects, remember that how you use them matters. So, keep reading to find the #1 rule to use them wisely.
Sweeteners Done Right
Wondering if there’s a right way to enjoy sweeteners? Or how to get the most out of them? I’m talking about consuming any sweetener—whether it’s zero-calorie or regular sugar.
The key mistake is pairing sweeteners with foods that don’t promote satiety—those that don’t keep you full and make hunger return quickly. These are foods that don’t "stick with you" for long.
For example, one common "wrong" way of having sweeteners is between meals in liquid form—such as sodas, energy drinks, sports drinks, black coffee, and tea.
So, here's the one rule for eating sweeteners: No matter the type—sugars or alternatives—always pair sweeteners with satiating foods. Choose whole, nutrient-dense options that include protein, fat, or fiber-rich components like fruits, vegetables, cream, milk, and whole grains.
Turns out, your mom was right: dessert is best enjoyed after a well-rounded meal.
The secret to using sweeteners in a way that actually works for you?
Try to avoid consuming sweeteners in liquid form between meals, like sodas, energy drinks, or sports drinks—whether diet or regular. Even sweetened black coffee throughout the day may not be the best choice, unless you add cream or milk to increase satiety.
When it comes to zero-calorie sweeteners, why is food pairing crucial?
The reason is simple: it helps you avoid areas still under research or controversy. For example, studies have mixed findings on whether consuming something sweet without calories could increase appetite and food cravings. By pairing sweeteners with satiating foods, you minimize these risks and ensure you’re making healthier choices.
Aspartame Under the Microscope
Aspartame is one of the most studied food additives in the human food supply, yet it remains the most controversial sweetener. Approved in more than 90 countries, Americans have been sweetening with it for nearly 50 years.
The latest controversy arose in July 2023, when the World Health Organization (WHO) released a risk assessment of aspartame and cancer. They classified aspartame as a possible carcinogen on the basis that there's limited evidence for cancer in humans, specifically liver cancer. This means the consumption of aspartame isn’t entirely risk-free.
However, the FDA's strongly disagrees with IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of WHO) with this conclusion. In their response, they stated: "The FDA disagrees with IARC’s conclusion that the studies support classifying aspartame as a possible carcinogen to humans. FDA scientists reviewed the scientific information included in IARC’s review in 2021 when it was first made available and identified significant shortcomings in the studies on which IARC relied."
The FDA emphasizes that the WHO did not raise safety concerns for aspartame at the current levels of use. In addition, WHO did not change the prior Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of aspartame of 40 mg/kg of body. WHO affirmed that an intake within this range is safe for a lifetime of daily use.
Wondering what exactly is the ADI?
ADI is the amount of a substance considered safe to consume every day over the course of a person's entire life. To understand what this limit means for aspartame, a 150-pound (68 kg) person would need to consume a total of 75 packets per day of Equal, every single day of their entire lifetime.
To read what the American Cancer Society has to say about that, go HERE.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the sea of information about sweeteners safety, I’ve created a resource to help you make sense of it all. [Access it here.]
ZERO CALORIE COUNT
HOW MANY CALORIES IN SWEETENERS?
I often get questions about counting calories in food products with sweet carbohydrates—erythritol, allulose, maltodextrin, and glucose—such as:
• How come a product have carbs but no calories?
• I bought a product containing monk fruit, allulose, and erythritol. The Nutrition Facts label states 10 grams of total carbs. Why it's zero calories?
I covered maltodextrin and glucose in the Hidden Calories in Sweeteners, but here's what you need to know.
How are the calories of sweeteners calculated?
According to the FDA, different methods can be used to calculate calories on Nutrition Facts label, such as:
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Atwater or 4-4-9 Method:
Developed over 100 years ago, this is the oldest method for estimating calories content. However, it's the least accurate because it uses average factors – 4 cal/g for carbohydrate, 4 cal/g for protein, and 9 cal/g for fat. These factors tend to overestimate calories as specific ingredients often have fewer calories than these averages. For example, glucose contains 3.75 cal/g, not 4.
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Adjusted 4-4-9 Method and Specific Factors:
These methods use the average Atwater factors above, with reduced calorie counts for specific carbohydrate sweeteners, such as
• Erythritol (0 cal/g)
• Allulose (0.4 cal/g)
• Xylitol (2.4 cal/g)
• Sorbitol (2.6 cal/g)
• Mannitol (1.6 cal/g)
And that’s why a product with 10 grams of carbs can still be zero calories. The type of carbohydrate matters!
PICK YOUR ZERO-CALORIE SWEETENER
Brands and Products
There is A LOT to explore, and you can jump straight to what you need by clicking a category below:
Ready to Skip the Sweetener Guesswork?
You don't have to go through trial and error with different sweeteners, wasting time, pricey ingredients, and not to mention ruined recipes.
That's why I created the Sugar Swap Starter Kit — your shortcut to choosing and using sugar alternatives with confidence. It is designed for home cooks who want to understand how different options stack up, find the best ones, and get practical tips to use them. This kit offers a quick way to get all your questions answered — all in one easy-to-follow resource!
