Transparent calculator · Drinks 1.0
Added Sugar & Drinks Tally
Add drink-label values across servings while keeping total sugar, known added sugar and calories distinct.
Purpose
What this tool is for
Use this to total what labels actually report without an invented health score or an added-sugar guess.
Audience
Who it is for
Adults comparing packaged drinks, café nutrition data or recipe values that they can enter directly.
Input glossary
What each field means
| Input | Unit or choice | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Drink | name | A label for your editable list; it does not affect the calculation. |
| Servings | count | Multiplies the per-serving values. |
| Total sugar | g/serving | Includes all sugar reported on the label. |
| Added sugar | g/serving, optional | Leave blank when the label does not identify it; the tool will report an unknown. |
| Calories | kcal/serving, optional | Blank values make the calorie total explicitly partial. |
Method · Drinks 1.0
The formula or decision logic
Each per-serving value is multiplied by servings, then summed.
Known added sugar is compared with the US 50 g Daily Value only when entered.
Total sugar × 4 kcal/g is shown as energy represented by sugar—not as the drink’s total energy.
References support the method or context; they do not validate an individual result. See the sources.
Worked example
Example, not a recommendation: soda plus a latte
- Two soda servings each provide 20 g total/added sugar and 90 kcal. One latte provides 12 g total sugar, 5 g added sugar and 120 kcal.
- Total sugar: 2 × 20 + 12 = 52 g. Known added sugar: 2 × 20 + 5 = 45 g.
- Known calories: 2 × 90 + 120 = 300 kcal. Energy represented by total sugar: 52 × 4 = 208 kcal.
Interactive calculator
Build your drinks tally
Nothing you enter is sent to our server. Calculation happens in this browser.
Limitations
What the result cannot tell you
- Café recipes and serving sizes vary.
- Blank added-sugar values remain unknown rather than being estimated.
- WHO “free sugar” and US “added sugar” are related but not interchangeable definitions.
- The tool does not convert grams into a behavioural score.
Questions specific to this tool
Frequently asked questions
Why distinguish total and added sugar?
Total sugar includes naturally occurring sugar. Added sugar is a labelled subset in the US and may be unavailable in other label systems.
What should I enter for an EU label?
Enter the “of which sugars” value as total sugar and leave added sugar blank unless the manufacturer separately provides it.
Are sugar-derived calories the drink’s total calories?
No. Protein, fat, alcohol and other carbohydrate can contribute energy too. The result is labelled separately.
Why is the calorie total marked partial?
At least one entry has no calorie value. The tool refuses to imply that the missing value is zero.
Does the percentage tell me whether a drink is unhealthy?
No. It compares known added sugar with one reference value; it does not assess your diet or health.
Primary and official references
Sources
Added Sugars on the Nutrition Facts Label
US Food and Drug Administration · Current
Supports: Added-sugar definition and 50 g Daily ValueFoundation Foods documentation
US Department of Agriculture · Current
Supports: General carbohydrate energy factor contextFound a numerical or source issue? Send a correction with the page URL.