Types of Artificial Sweeteners
But which to choose? There are scores of sugar substitutes; most fall into one of four categories: natural sweeteners, artificial sweeteners, dietary supplements, and sugar alcohols.
The FDA has approved five artificial sweeteners: saccharin, acesulfame, aspartame, neotame, and sucralose. It has also approved one natural low-calorie sweetener, stevia.
Examples of artificial sweeteners include: Saccharin (Sweet'N Low®, SugarTwin®) Acesulfame K (Sunett®, Sweet One®) Sucralose (Splenda®)
Artificial sweeteners are typically calorie-free and at least 30 times sweeter than sucrose. There currently are six alternative sweeteners approved for use in the United States: saccharin, acesulfame-K, sucralose, aspartame, neotame, and advantame.
Sucralose (a.k.a. Splenda): Heat stable for baking; you can also replace half the sugar with Splenda or buy a blend of the two. Splenda also makes a brown sugar blend with 50% brown sugar, 50% sucralose.
Here, the best sugar substitutes:
Stevia is probably the healthiest option, followed by xylitol, erythritol, and yacon syrup. Natural sugars like maple syrup, molasses, and honey are less harmful than regular sugar and even have health benefits. Yet, they should still be used sparingly.
Though widely available throughout the world, in 1991 stevia was banned in the U.S. due to early studies that suggested the sweetener may cause cancer. ... In December 2008, the FDA accepted this argument, declared stevia GRAS, and allowed its use in mainstream U.S. food production.
Acesulfame-K — "safe
It's a good artificial sweetener to bake with, because it can retain its sweetness even at high temperatures. And it's 200 times sweeter than sugar. According to the FDA, more than 90 studies suggest that Acesulfame-K is safe for general use.
5 Worst Artificial Sweeteners
A sugar substitute (artificial sweetener) is a food additive that duplicates the effect of sugar in taste, but usually has less food energy. Besides its benefits, animal studies have convincingly proven that artificial sweeteners cause weight gain, brain tumors, bladder cancer and many other health hazards.
Honey is higher in fructose than glucose. Fructose is sweeter than glucose, so you may be able to use a smaller amount of honey in your food or drink without sacrificing sweetness. The trace amounts of vitamins and minerals found in honey may also have added health benefits.
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