Sweeteners compared, without the guesswork.

What it is: A sugar alcohol found naturally in apples, pears and plums. It is made in bulk from corn or wheat starch.

What it does: Sweetens at about 60% the strength of sugar, for fewer calories. It holds moisture so food stays soft.

Where you may see it: Sugar-free gum, mints and sweets, diabetic chocolate, reduced-sugar cakes, jam and cough syrups. Labelled sorbitol, sorbitol syrup or E420.

What it is: A sugar alcohol found naturally in mushrooms, seaweed, olives and pineapple.

What it does: Sweetens and adds bulk without the sharp blood sugar rise that table sugar gives.

Where you may see it: Sugar-free chewing gum, breath mints, boiled sweets, diabetic confectionery and tablet supplements. Labelled mannitol or E421.

What it is: A man-made sweetener, around 200 times sweeter than sugar. It has no calories and passes through the body unchanged.

What it does: Sweetens without sugar and stands up to baking heat. It is often mixed with a second sweetener to hide a bitter taste.

Where you may see it: Diet soft drinks, flavoured water, sugar-free gum and sweets, diet yoghurts, protein shakes and some medicines.

What it is: Built from two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid. So little of it is needed that it adds almost no calories.

What it does: It tastes about 200 times sweeter than sugar. A tiny amount replaces the sugar in a drink or yoghurt.

Where you may see it: Diet and zero-sugar fizzy drinks, sugar-free squash and chewing gum, low-calorie yoghurts and desserts. Labels read aspartame or E951.

What it is: An artificial sweetener, roughly 30 to 50 times sweeter than sugar, with no calories. Banned in the United States.

What it does: Hits the sweet receptors on the tongue without giving the body energy. So it sweetens with no sugar and no calories.

Where you may see it: Diet fizzy drinks, squashes and cordials, tablets and sachets, sugar-free sweets and some jams. Labels say cyclamate or E952.

What it is: A sugar alcohol made from ordinary sugar. It is about half as sweet and only partly digested.

What it does: It sweetens and bulks out sugar-free sweets and chocolate, holding their texture without using sugar.

Where you may see it: Sugar-free sweets, chocolate, chewing gum, cough drops and throat lozenges, ice cream, marzipan and baked goods. Listed as E953.

What it is: A lab-made sweetener about 300 times sweeter than sugar, with no calories. Labelled saccharin or E954.

What it does: It hits the tongue's sweet receptors far harder than sugar. A trace sweetens a whole drink. It is not digested.

Where you may see it: Sweetener tablets and sachets, diet soft drinks, sugar-free squash, low-sugar jams, chewing gum and some toothpaste.

What it is: Made by swapping three parts of the sugar molecule for chlorine. About 600 times sweeter than sugar, with no calories.

What it does: Sweetens food and drink with no sugar. It turns on sweet-taste receptors in the gut, the proposed route to its effects.

Where you may see it: Diet drinks, squash, flavoured water, low-sugar yogurts, protein bars, chewing gum and sugar-free jams. Labelled sucralose or E955.

What it is: A sweet protein from the fruit of a West African plant. Thousands of times sweeter than sugar.

What it does: Triggers sweet taste receptors, and rounds out or lengthens sweetness from other ingredients.

Where you may see it: Chewing gum, sweets, chocolate, sweeteners for the table, food supplements, drinks, puddings and some sauces. Label: thaumatin or E957.

What it is: A sweetener made by chemically altering a compound from bitter orange peel. 1,000 to 1,800 times sweeter than sugar.

What it does: Grips the sweet receptors so hard that a trace sweetens a whole drink. It also masks bitterness in other ingredients.

Where you may see it: Tabletop sweetener blends, diet drinks, flavoured water, low-sugar sweets, chewing gum and some mouthwash. Labels list it as E959.

What it is: A sweetener made from the leaves of the stevia plant, 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar.

What it does: It sets off the tongue's sweet-taste receptors without adding calories. It can replace sugar in low-calorie food.

Where you may see it: Diet and zero-sugar drinks, yoghurts, breakfast cereals and chewing gum. On the label: steviol glycosides, stevia, E960 or E960a.

What it is: A man-made sweetener built on the same frame as aspartame. It is thousands of times sweeter than sugar.

What it does: Grips the sweet receptors so hard that a trace sweetens a whole drink. No calories, no effect on blood sugar.

Where you may see it: Soft drinks, dairy desserts, chewing gum, sweets, baked goods and jams. It is rare on UK shelves. Labels say E961.

What it is: One compound made by joining aspartame and acesulfame K. So one ingredient does the work of two.

What it does: Acesulfame hits the sweetness first, aspartame carries it longer, and together they mask each other's aftertaste.

Where you may see it: Diet fizzy drinks, sugar-free gum, table sweeteners, squash, sweets and low-sugar puddings. The label says E962.

What it is: A syrup made from glucose, mostly maltitol with other sugar alcohols mixed in. It stands in for sugar.

What it does: Sweetens and bulks out food with about three fifths the calories of sugar. It also holds moisture in.

Where you may see it: Sugar-free sweets, chewing gum, diabetic biscuits and cakes, ice cream, jam and throat sweets. Label: polyglycitol syrup or sugar alcohols.

What it is: A sugar alcohol made from corn, wheat or potato starch. It carries about 2.4 calories per gram, against sugar's 4.

What it does: It sweetens food but is only partly absorbed. The rest ferments in your gut, and it still raises blood glucose.

Where you may see it: Sugar-free sweets, chocolate and chewing gum, diabetic biscuits, ice cream and protein bars. Listed as maltitol, maltitol syrup or E965.

What it is: A sugar alcohol made from lactose, the sugar in milk. About half as sweet as sugar.

What it does: Adds sweetness and bulk without the sugar. Most of it slips past the small intestine and is fermented lower down.

Where you may see it: Sugar-free chocolate, sweets, chewing gum, biscuits, ice cream and diabetic ranges. Labels list it as lactitol or E966.

What it is: A sugar alcohol from hardwood or corncob fibre. As sweet as sugar, with about 40% fewer calories.

What it does: Sweetens sugar-free products without feeding the bacteria that rot teeth. It also holds moisture in sweets.

Where you may see it: Sugar-free chewing gum, mints and lozenges, plus diabetic sweets, protein bars and low-carb baking. Listed as xylitol or E967.

What it is: A sugar alcohol made by fermenting glucose with yeast. It has almost no calories and is about 70% as sweet as sugar.

What it does: It sweetens without raising blood sugar or insulin. The body absorbs most of it and passes it out in urine.

Where you may see it: Sugar-free and keto products: protein bars, low-sugar chocolate, gum, stevia blends and some ice creams. Listed as erythritol or E968.

What it is: A man-made sweetener made from aspartame and a vanilla compound. It is about 20,000 times sweeter than sugar.

What it does: Hits the same sweet receptors as sugar without the calories. Only trace amounts are needed.

Where you may see it: Soft drinks, flavoured waters, dairy drinks, jams, sweets, chewing gum, table-top sweeteners, sauces and desserts. Label: advantame or E969.