Free sugar

Definition

World Health Organization guidance counts honey as a free sugar alongside table sugar and syrups, and recommends limiting free sugars to under ten per cent of energy intake. This is the specific reason honey cannot be described as a healthier sweetener: for this purpose it is classified with the thing it is being compared against.

Guide records that discuss this

• Honey compared with sugarHoney is a free sugar. Everything else about the comparison is real but small, and the gap between 'better' and 'good for you' is where most of the confusion lives.

Question records that discuss this

• Is honey healthier than sugar?Only marginally, and not enough to matter. The WHO classifies honey as a free sugar alongside table sugar, and guidance to limit free sugars applies to it identically. Honey is sweeter by weight so slightly less is needed, and it contains trace compounds sugar lacks — but at any realistic intake those are nutritionally negligible. Choose honey because it tastes of something, not because it is better for you.