How we check every number
Every number on zerosugar comes from a published source: the product’s nutrition label, a restaurant chain’s own nutrition information, or, for a few plain ingredients in a restaurant order (like cream or cheese), the USDA’s food database. Each item gets a second, separate check. If the two checks disagree on a number, it waits for a person to read the label. If the second check cannot find the numbers anywhere else, the item is published from the first source alone, which the page links. We never publish a number we cannot source.
What is on zerosugar today
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326 cravings, each with one best zero-sugar swap.
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402 products, each with its label numbers and a link to where they came from.
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967 low-sugar orders at 58 restaurant chains, built from each chain’s published nutrition information.
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1 recipe, with every total added up from the ingredients’ labels.
Step 1: find the label
For a product, we start with the brand’s own product page. If it has no Nutrition Facts, we use a major US store listing that shows the panel (Target, Walmart, Kroger or Amazon). For a restaurant order, we use the chain’s published nutrition information. When the chain doesn’t publish a number for a plain add-in, like a splash of cream or a slice of cheese, we use the USDA’s food database and link it. The exact page is saved with the item, and every product page links to it.
Step 2: check it again, separately
A second check looks for the numbers on a different website, without seeing the first set. Sugar has to agree within 1g, total carbs within 2g, and the serving size has to match. If they do not agree, or both checks used the same website, the item is held until a person has read the label. Some items, many restaurant ones among them, have only one official source; when the second check cannot find the numbers anywhere else, the item is published from the first source alone, and the page links it. The research and the second check are done with AI research tools; the rules below run as code.
Step 3: the rules every item must pass
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The best swap for a craving has at most 1g of sugar per label serving. Other swaps have at most 2g.
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For foods with their own natural sugar (fruit, applesauce, canned pumpkin, beans, tomato sauce, plain dairy), the swap has 0g added sugar and fewer total carbs than the original. Its sugar is shown, not hidden.
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For pasta, bread and rice, the swap has at most 60% of the original’s total carbs and at most 2g of sugar, and it still cooks like the original.
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A restaurant order has at most 4g of sugar.
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The numbers have to add up: fiber and sugar alcohols can’t be more than the total carbs, and an order’s total is the sum of its parts.
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No number, no swap. A product with an unknown sugar or carb figure is never shown as a swap.
Total carbs on everything
Zero sugar is not zero carbs. Every product shows its total carbs from the label, next to its sugar. Where a label serving differs between the original and the swap, we say so and show each label’s own serving.
Orders and recipes are added up, and we say so
Some restaurant orders are built from the chain’s numbers for each ingredient, because no single line on the menu matches the order. Those pages say “Carbs added up from each ingredient” and show each line with its source. A recipe’s totals are worked out from each ingredient’s label, never read off one label, and the recipe page shows the table and the arithmetic. A recipe is only listed after it has been made in a real kitchen.
An example
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups → Reese's Zero Sugar Miniatures Peanut Butter Cups
See both labels, side by side
Labels change
Brands change recipes. Each swap page shows the date we checked its label. If the package in your hand says something different, trust the package, and tell us at hello@zerosugar.app so we can fix the page.
Videos and credit
Creator videos play in the platform’s own player (YouTube, TikTok or Instagram) and are credited to the creator. We never copy or re-upload them. A creator can ask us to change the credit or remove a video at hello@zerosugar.app.
How zerosugar earns
zerosugar is free and works without an account. Some store links are affiliate links, so we may earn a commission when you buy, at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, zerosugar earns from qualifying purchases. A commission never changes a number or which swap is picked.
Questions
Does zerosugar show net carbs?
Every product shows its total carbs from the label. You can choose to see net carbs as well, but never net carbs alone. The win we count is sugar saved.
What does “zero sugar” mean on zerosugar?
For most cravings, the best swap has at most 1g of sugar per label serving, and usually 0g. For foods that carry their own natural sugar, like fruit, applesauce, canned pumpkin, beans, tomato sauce and plain dairy, the swap has no added sugar and fewer total carbs than the original instead. Restaurant orders have at most 4g of sugar. Zero sugar is not zero carbs, so each one shows its total carbs too.
Do store links change which swap is picked?
No. A swap is picked on its label and on how close it is to the real thing. Only then do we look for where to buy it. Some store links are affiliate links: as an Amazon Associate, zerosugar earns from qualifying purchases.