Sugar Substitutes

What are sugar substitutes?

A sugar substitute may be any sweetener used instead of table sugar (sucrose). Sugar substitutes are in many foods and drinks. Some are manmade and some come from natural sources. Some have no calories or fewer calories than sugar. Others have the same calories as sugar, but they may be promoted as a healthier choice.

Sugar substitutes can make it easier to lower the amount of sugar in your diet. However, removing sugar from your diet is just part of the solution to controlling your weight or blood sugar. For example, you also need to be sure to eat fewer calories and get regular exercise.

What are artificial sweeteners?

Artificial sweeteners are manmade sugar substitutes. Their ingredients can come from natural sources, such as plants, but they are changed to provide intense sweetness (many times sweeter than regular sugar) and to have fewer or no calories.

What are the benefits of artificial sweeteners?

Eating a lot of sugar adds extra calories and causes weight gain. Sugar substitutes allow you to have sweets with fewer calories and limit weight gain from sweets.

If you have diabetes, eating sugar can quickly raise your blood sugar. High blood sugar can cause serious problems. For example, it can damage your eyes, kidneys, heart, and nerves. Sugar substitutes allow you to enjoy some sweet-tasting foods and drinks without raising your blood sugar level. Keep in mind, however, that some foods made with sugar substitutes contain other carbohydrates. They can still increase your blood sugar level. Examples of such foods are yogurt and “sugar-free” baked goods. The benefit of the artificially sweetened products is that they have less total carbohydrate.

Which artificial sugar substitutes are safe?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved these sugar substitutes:

• Aspartame (NutraSweet or Equal) is 200 times sweeter than the same amount of sugar. A very small amount of this sweetener can taste as sweet as a much larger amount of sugar. This means that it adds very few calories to food.

  Some studies have suggested that long-term use of aspartame may cause cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, none of the artificial sweeteners approved for use in the US cause cancer or any other serious health conditions. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has concluded that aspartame is safe for most people. People who have a rare genetic condition called PKU (phenylketonuria) should avoid it.

  Aspartame tends to lose sweetness in high heat, so it is rarely used for cooking.

• Saccharine (Sweet 'N Low, Sweet Twin, Sugar Twin, or Necta Sweet) is the oldest sugar substitute. It is 200 to 700 times sweeter than sugar. Saccharine is more stable than aspartame at high temperatures, so it can be used for baking.
• Acesulfame potassium (Sunett or Sweet One) is 200 times sweeter than sugar. It has no calories. It is often combined with other sweeteners. It is used in diet sodas, baked goods, frozen desserts, and candy. It is stable at high temperatures and can be used for baking and cooking. It is very sweet, so only small amounts are needed.
• Sucralose (Splenda) is 600 times sweeter than sugar. Your body cannot absorb this sweetener so it does not add any calories to your diet. It has a long shelf life and is heat stable. It can be used in baking and cooking or as a tabletop sweetener. You can buy products that are half Splenda and half real sugar for better baking results. Splenda is considered safe even when eaten in large amounts.
• Neotame is much sweeter than other no-calorie sweeteners. It is heat stable and is used to sweeten many food products, such as baked goods, soft drinks, chewing gum, and frozen desserts. It is often blended with other no-calorie sweeteners and sugar.

What are other types of sugar substitutes?

Other types of sugar substitutes include stevia and sugar alcohols.

• Stevia sweeteners are made from the stevia bush. Sweeteners made with stevia are 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar. Only very refined preparations, such as Truvia and Pure Via, can be used in food products. These products are very low calorie. They don’t raise blood sugar. Whole leaf stevia has not been approved by FDA.
• Sugar alcohols are a carbohydrate found naturally in fruits and vegetables, or they can be manufactured. Sugar alcohols are not sweeter than sugar and are not considered a noncalorie sweetener. They raise blood sugar about half as much as sugar and have fewer calories than sugar, so they can be an alternative for you if you have diabetes. Sugar alcohols eaten in large amounts may cause bloating and diarrhea.

  Sugar alcohols approved by the FDA include:

  • sorbitol
  • xylitol
  • mannitol
  • isomalt
  • hydrogenated starch hydrolysate

What are natural sweeteners?

Sweeteners called natural sugars and recognized by the FDA as generally safe include:

• maple sugar
• grape juice concentrate
• honey
• agave nectar

These natural sweeteners increase blood sugar the same as table sugar and their nutrient value is much the same. There is no health benefit to consuming them rather than table sugar.