The market has been flooded with sugar substitutes over the past few decades as healthy living came to the forefront. With everyone nowadays looking for a “natural” alternative, the terminology surrounding sweetener products has become somewhat open to interpretation. But artificial sweeteners are one case where “artificial” is not necessarily a bad thing.

What are artificial sweeteners?

Artificial sweeteners are a type of sugar substitute – it is a sweetener used instead of regular sugar to make food or drinks more appetising or appealing. Examples of artificial sweeteners are acesulfame potassium or acesulfame K, aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, cyclamate, neotame and alitame.

Do they have any kilojoules?

Artificial sweeteners offer the sweetness of regular table sugar but with much less kilojoules. Most have no kilojoules at all and artificial sweeteners are therefore considered non-nutritive or kilojoule-free.

This also means they have no effect on blood glucose levels, a property which makes them ideal for use by diabetics and people on kilojoule-restrictive diets.

It is important to note that although the sweetener itself does not have any kilojoules, some foods that contain the sweeteners can affect blood glucose levels because of the proteins or carbohydrates in them; sugar-free does not mean carbohydrate-free.

How does the sweetness of artificial sweeteners compare to that of sugar?

Artificial sweeteners are also known as intense sweeteners, as they can be from 30 up to 8 000 times sweeter than sugar. Although they are synthetic, artificial sweeteners are derived from substances that occur naturally, such as herbs and even sugar in the case of sucralose.

Are artificial sweeteners safe to use?

There has been a lot of debate about the safety of artificial sweeteners, some even suggesting that some of these substances can lead to cancer. Although many studies and clinical trials have been done, there is no evidence so far to suggest that any of these claims are true.

 

Sources
www.diabetesaustralia.com.au
www.health24.com
www.mayoclinic.com
www.webmd.com