Sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners

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Nutrition, Health & Wellness

Sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners Sugar (sucrose) substitutes usually have less calories than sucrose and duplicate its effects in sweet taste. These food additives can be from natural source or synthetic.
These man made synthetic sweetening products are usually termed as artificial sweeteners. Some of the sucrose substitutes are called as high-intensity sweeteners whose sweetness is many times that of sugar. These high-intensity sweeteners are required in smaller quantities for the sweetening effect than sucrose and contribute very less to energy.

However the sensation of sweetness given by these artificial products may differ from sugar and give different mouth-feel. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United states, regulates their use as food additives. Six intensively-sweet sugar substitutes have been approved by the FDA for use as food additives. They are aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, neotame, saccharin, and stevia. Raw sugar(image by: Editor at Large)
The cost of these sweeteners in much less than that of sucrose and also smaller quantities are required for addition. With the tag of "diet" or "light" product, the food and beverage industry is presently promoting products with artificial sweeteners giving then greater profits. Aspartame and sucralose are the most popular artificial sweeteners in the United States sugar substitutes market.