Sweets covers chocolate (dark, milk, white), candy, ice cream, cookies, cake, pie, donuts, marshmallow, pudding, and sweeteners (honey, maple syrup, molasses, agave, white sugar, brown sugar). The score range here is wide: dark chocolate above 70% cocoa can reach 60, while mainstream candy bars score below 20.
The USDA DGA recommends keeping added sugars below 10% of total daily calories — roughly 50g for a 2,000-calorie diet. That is about the amount in one candy bar, a can of soda, or a single bowl of sweetened cereal. Sweets are not meant to be a daily staple but can be integrated into a balanced pattern in small amounts.
Dark chocolate (70%+) and pure sweeteners like honey and maple syrup score meaningfully higher than processed candy because they are NOVA 1-2 and carry some micronutrients. Ice cream and milk chocolate score in the middle. Candy bars, cookies, frosted pastries, and Pop Tarts score near the bottom because of compounded added sugar, saturated fat, and NOVA 4 classification.
Score distribution
Top 20 sweets
ranked by FoodScore (0–100)- 0174BrownieGood
- 0271Donut GlazedGood
- 0364Maple Syrup PureGood
- 0460MarshmallowGood
- 0560Powdered SugarGood
- 0660Sugar White GranulatedGood
- 0758Enlightened Mint Chocolate Chip Light Ice CreamDecent
- 0855Belvita Breakfast Biscuits Cinnamon Brown SugarDecent
- 0954Belvita Breakfast Biscuits BlueberryDecent
- 1054NABISCO BELVITA Belvita Breakfast Biscuits Golden OatDecent
- 1152Enlightened Cookies & Cream Light Ice CreamDecent
- 1250UNITED STATES BAKERY Magnum Double Chocolate Ice Cream BarDecent
- 1344Halo Top Birthday Cake Ice CreamPoor
- 1444So Delicious Dairy Free Almond Milk Vanilla BeanPoor
- 1543MOO & OINK Nada Moo Cookies & Crème Frozen DessertPoor
- 1640Nerds OriginalPoor
- 1737NABISCO NUTTER BUTTER Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Sandwich CookiesPoor
- 1836Milky WayPoor
- 1935Nilla Wafers OriginalPoor
- 2033SnickersPoor