The immense popularity of sugar substitutes, especially among people either "watching their weight" or that believe that they are eating "healthy", is staggering, given the true facts concerning sugar and its substitutes.
First, sugar is not the devil incarnate that some groups would have one believe. In fact at 4 calories per gram (about 14 calories per teaspoon), sugar is far less fattening than the 9 calories per gram found in fat. One must keep in mind that eating a lot, especially combined with a sedentary lifestyle, causes not just obesity, but those baby steps on the road from slim and trim all the way up to the big "O". If you follow the basic mantra of eat in moderation and exercise more, you will stay slim. A regular soda instead of the diet variety will not make a noticeable difference in the grant scheme of things.
On the contrary, studies show that significant numbers of people consuming artificially sweetened food and drink, will consume excess calories, and fat, as feeling confident of the low calorie content of their meals and snacks, they eat much more than they otherwise would, totally losing sight of the calorie and fat content of the rest of the food. Unconsciously, this happens, maybe to an even greater degree, as by consuming tasty, but nutrient-free sweeteners, the body, craving nutrition, influences the brain to consume more and more of what's available.
There are many myths associated with sugar consumption, the belief in which causes people to regularly and excessively ingest far more unhealthful and dangerous substitutes.
There have been 5 artificial sweeteners approved for use by the FDA. Various studies have found dangers present in the frequent use of each of these:
- Acesulfame K, usually marketed as Sweet One® or Sunnette®, is 200 times sweeter than sugar, but with no calories, it can be found in Jell-O®, nondairy creamers, Coca-Cola Zero®, some baked goods, frozen desserts, candies, cough drops, and breath mints. Acesulfame K is considered to be a potential carcinogen.
- Aspartame has been marketed for 3 decades under popular brand names such as Equal® and NutraSweet®, and is found in sodas, chewing gum, dairy products, several medicines, and many beverages and dessert items including Diet Coke®, Caffeine Free Diet Coke®, Diet Pepsi®, Diet Snapple®, Sugar Free Kool Aid®, Breyers Light Ice Cream®, and General Foods Sugar-Free International Coffees®. Side effects of Aspartame consumption include headaches, seizures, and mood swings.
- Neotame, which can be 7,000-13,000 times sweeter than sugar, is a general-purpose sweetener, with zero calories, and is used in baked goods, soft drinks, chewing gum, icing, frozen desserts, jellies, jams, gelatins, puddings, processed fruit and fruit juices, toppings, and syrups. Structurally, it is very much like Aspartame.
- Saccarin is the sweetener in Sweet ‘n Low® tablets, powder, and drops, Tab®, and Diet Coke® from fountains (as opposed to a canned or bottled soda, and event in cough medicine and tooth paste. In the 1970s it was thought to cause cancer, but now is generally considered safe, though it has an unpleasant aftertaste that is both bitter and metallic.
- Sucraloes, made from table sugar, is marketed as Splenda®, the most popular sweetener sold in the United States, and is 600 times sweeter than sugar. Containing no calories, it can be found in the latest versions of Diet Coke® and Pepsi One®, and many other diet sodas, and is now used extensively in baked goods. Its taste is not as metallic as that of Aspartame. Some people have reported migraine headaches after consuming Sucralose.
If you really do want to avoid granulated white sugar, there are many natural alternatives that can easily be found:
- Agave, from the agave cactus plant, is more intensely sweet than white sugar. It may be appropriate for use by diabetics.
- Barley Malt Syrup is a product of sprouted barley that has been roasted and reduced down to a syrup. It has a malt-like taste that goes well with baked squash, barbecue, and sweet and sour sauces, and add to milk, for a "sugar-free" malt.
- Brown Rice Syrup, made from a reduced brown rice culture, it has only half the sweetness of white sugar,and a mild flavor, amenable to use in cooking, baking, marinades, and beverages.
- Date Sugar is a whole-food sweetener,, made from dried, pulverized dates, and sometimes oat flour or oil, to help it flow freely. Date sugar is high in iron, potassium, and vitamins, and its elevated fiber content slows absorption. If care is used, as it burns easily, it can be delicious used in baked goods.
- Fruit Juice Concentrates are fruit juices that have been cooked down to a syrup. Use organic concentrates, as non organic varieties might well contain extraordinarily high amounts of pesticide residues.
- Honey is the most popular alternative to white sugar. Sweeter than white sugar, less is needed to achieve the same result, and is excellent for cooking, baking, and beverages, though it is not advised for children under 2, due to the possibility of infant botulism.
- Maple Syrup comes from the boiled sap of sugar maple trees. Organic maple syrup avoids formaldehyde residues and other chemicals used to keep tap holes open in non-organic groves. Crystallized maple sugar has additional uses, primarily as candy and on pastry.
- Molasses is a byproduct resulting from refining sugar cane.
- Stevia is harvested from a perennial shrub bearing leaves that are 30 times sweeter than white sugar. It has no calories and is suitable for diabetics. Available in many forms - powdered, liquid, concentrate, tea, tablets - it has licensed not as a sweetener, but as a dietary supplement by the FDA.
- Sugar Cane Juice is made by mechanically crushing the whole cane to extract the juice.
- Rapadura is an organic, unrefined crystal formulated from sugar cane.
- Mucovado sugar is the residue left after the molasses is evaporated and drained off.
- Turbinado is refined like white sugar, except for the last extraction of molasses, and it thus has a golden color.
- Demerara sugar is Turbinado sugar with bigger, crunchy crystals.
- Xylitol tastes similar to cane sugar, but is produced from corncobs. It is low in calories and may be suitable for diabetics.
So think long and hard about that sugar substitute, and consider some of the many natural alternatives, before pouring that little packet of chemicals into your coffee.
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