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Many choices exist for the 'Sweet Life'
Published 10/2/2007 in News : Columns By Terrance Vestal
With increasing focus on rising obesity rates, many consumers are looking for ways to control their calorie intake.¬ Yet, few find it easy to abandon their desire for an occasional sweet food or beverage. For many, the use of sugar substitutes can provide the sweet flavors they enjoy while allowing a reduction in calories as well.
There are five artificial sweeteners approved for use in the United States.¬ These sweeteners can reduce the amount of calories in products like soft drinks, candies, pudding, gelatin and more.¬ Several also are available for use as "tabletop sweeteners," which consumers can add directly to foods like coffee, tea, fruits or breakfast cereal.
The low-calorie sweeteners currently approved for use in the United States include:
Acesulfame Potassium
Acesulfame potassium -- or acesulfame K as it is abbreviated on food labels -- is calorie -free and about 200 times sweeter than sugar.¬ It is highly stable and has been approved for use in a wide variety of foods, beverages and baked products.¬ Acesulfame potassium is not broken down by the body and is eliminated without providing any calories.
Aspartame
Aspartame is a very low-calorie sweetener and is about 200 times sweeter than sugar.¬ It is made by joining two amino acids, compounds found naturally in common foods like meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables. Although aspartame contains only a small amount of the amino acid phenylalanine, the labels of foods and beverages containing aspartame must include a statement for persons with a rare hereditary disease known as phenylketonuria (PKU) who must control their intake.
Saccharin
Saccharin is calorie-free and is about 300 times sweeter than sugar.¬ Because saccharin is stable when heated, it is suitable for use in foods and beverages and for cooking and baking.¬ Decades ago there were questions about whether saccharin could cause bladder cancer, based on animal studies.¬ Numerous follow-up studies with animals and humans have shown no overall association between saccharin consumption and cancer incidence.¬ Recently after extensive review of the scientific data on the topic, the federal government removed saccharin from a list of potential cancer-causing additives.
Sucralose
Sucralose is calorie-free and is about 600 times sweeter than sugar.¬ It is made from sugar through a patented, multi-step process. Sucralose is highly stable and can be used in foods and beverages, and cooking and baking. It is not broken down by the body and is eliminated without providing any calories.
Neotame
The newest of the artificial sweeteners, neotame received FDA approval for use in foods and beverages in July 2002.¬ Neotame is 7,000 to 13,000 times as sweet as sugar depending on its food application.¬ It can be used alone or blended with other sweeteners. In addition, because it is not metabolized to phenylalanine, no special labeling is required.¬ Extensive research has been conducted on neotame to establish its safety as a sweetening ingredient.¬ The FDA reviewed the findings from more than 100 scientific studies before approving neotame for use in the United States.
Reduced calorie sweeteners -- sugar alcohols
Food manufacturers may use another group of ingredients called polyols (or sugar alcohols) to reduce the number of calories in food products.¬ These reduced-calorie sweeteners are metabolized more slowly or incompletely by the body and provide fewer calories. They vary in sweetness from about half as sweet as sugar to equally sweet as sugar.¬ Sugar alcohols give mild sweetness as well as the bulk and texture of sugar in foods. Familiar names include sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol and isomalt.
Stevia is a non-caloric natural-source alternative to artificially produced sugar substitutes.¬ It is about 250 times sweeter than table sugar.¬ The US Food and Drug Administration allows the sale of stevia only as a nutritional supplement.¬ The FDA has refused to allow stevia to be sold as a sweetener in manufactured and processed food products because several animal studies have linked the use of stevia to potential health problems. Although the studies are few, there are enough for the FDA to consider it "an unapproved food additive that is unsafe" and to not approve it for use as a commercial sweetener. Since stevia is marketed as an unregulated nutritional supplement, many unsubstantiated claims may be made about it- consumers should be cautious in its use. A recent national consumer survey shows that more than 163 million Americans consume reduced-calorie or sugar-free foods and beverages.¬ We are fortunate to have so many choices today, because without these sugar substitutes, life would simply not be as sweet.
For more information about these products or other nutrition questions, please feel free to contact the Finney County Extension Office at 272-3670.
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