Sweeteners are low calorie or calorie-free substances used in place of sugar to give a sweet taste. They're commonly found in products such as Diet Coke and other diet fizzy drinks, squash, desserts, ready-meals, processed foods, chewing gum, and toothpaste.

Some common sweeteners you may have come across include Stevia, Aspartame, Sucralose, or sugar alcohols like Xylitol or Erythritol.

We suggest avoiding sweeteners (such as those found in diet fizzy drinks) as while they don't provide any additional calories, they can reinforce your cravings for sweet foods. This makes it more difficult for your body to adapt to having fewer sweet foods on a regular basis.

Instead, we recommend you aim to drink at least 2 litres of water every day. To add flavour, try slicing up some lemon, lime, or orange wedges to soak in the water, or choose sparkling water. Alternatively, you can try our flavoured water recipes here.

You can find out more about which drinks count towards your daily fluid intake here.