When sugar has a rap sheet like this, alternative sweeteners start to look appealing. For diabetics, most of these substitutes don't cause the dramatic blood sugar spikes associated with the real thing. For weight watchers, zero or dramatically reduced calories are a dieter's boon. 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.
And there's a new hybrid sweetener—tagatose—that is natural and has fewer calories than sugar. As a category, natural sweeteners are a less processed, better-for-you-option than fructose. Like sugar, they produce energy when metabolized by the body. Unlike sugar, they have some nutritional value in the form of trace vitamins and minerals. There's agave from the eponymous plant, honey actually sweeter than sugar, so you don't need as much , molasses, and the syrup family barley, malt, brown rice, cane, corn, golden, maple.
Over the years I've performed enough tests to know that while there are taste and textural differences, most of these more distinctive sweeteners are fine stand-ins for sugar.
Dieters take note: This category of sweeteners is not low-cal. For diabetics, however, many of these sweeteners have a low glycemic index, which means they don't cause the highs and lows that come with sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.
Artificial sweeteners or zero-calorie sweeteners include the big three: Sweet'N Low, Nutrasweet, and Splenda. These synthetically produced food additives offer sweetness without calories—but having no calories means they give your body no energy.
These sweeteners pass through the body undigested. And they're so intensely sweet that they must be diluted with fillers like dextrose or maltodextrin to approximate the sweetness—and bulk—of sugar. Almost all artificial sweeteners have a distinct aftertaste, but regular users find them to be good sugar substitutes in drinks and tend to be passionate about their favorite.
But do these sweeteners bake up well? To test their performance, I made simple yellow cakes from a standard cake formula 1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups self-rising flour, 4 eggs.
As a category, artificial sweeteners did not impress in the oven. They may mimic the taste of sugar in a latte, but they don't perform like sugar in a cake.
There are two issues. Artificial sweeteners lack sugar's bulk. Compared with sugar-sweetened cakes, artificially sweetened ones are dense and squat. You could solve the volume problem by increasing the batter, but that means more flour and butter carbs and calories. Artificial sweeteners don't melt like sugar, so the cake's texture is often dense, dry, and lumpy—more like a biscuit than a cake. Acesulfame potassium or acesulfame K or ace-K is about times sweeter than sugar and has no calories.
Brand names: Sunett, Sweet One very limited retail distribution, available only in small packets. Because Sweet One is not available in my area and comes only in small retail packets, I did not test this brand. Aspartame is also about times sweeter than sugar and is completely broken down by the body into its two component amino acids—aspartic acid and phenylalanine and a small amount of methanol or wood alcohol. It actually contains 4 calories per gram, but since so little is used there are only trace calories per serving.
Aspartame is not safe for those with the rare but serious metabolic disorder phenylketonuria PKU. Those with PKU cannot process the amino acid phenylalanine, and too much of it in the body's system can lead to mental retardation, low IQ, and behavioral problems.
Used for baking: Some sources said yes; others said heat caused it to lose its sweetness. The latter, in fact, is true. Connect on LinkedIn. Stevia can be a smart substitute for sugar if you're looking to cut back on calories. Video of the Day. What Is Stevia?
Stevia vs. Sweetener Calorie Comparison. Which Sweetener Is Healthier? Is Stevia a Safe Alternative to Sugar? The extract is usually sold as a highly concentrated liquid or in single-serve packets, both of which are only needed in very small amounts to sweeten food or drinks. Stevia-based sugar equivalents are also available. These products contain fillers like maltodextrin but have the same volume and sweetening power as sugar, with none of the calories or carbs.
They can be used as a replacement in baking and cooking 3. Keep in mind that many stevia products contain additional ingredients, such as fillers, sugar alcohols , other sweeteners, and natural flavors.
Stevia is essentially calorie- and carb-free. Though stevia leaves contain various vitamins and minerals, most of them are lost when the plant is processed into a sweetener 2. Stevia leaves can be processed into liquid or powdered stevia extract, which is much sweeter than sugar. The extract is virtually calorie- and carb-free and contains only trace amounts of minerals.
Stevia leaves have been used for medicinal purposes for many centuries, and the extract has been linked to decreased blood sugar and blood fat levels in animal studies. The sweetener may also aid weight loss. Stevia may also help you stay full on fewer calories 5. In a study in 31 adults, those who ate a calorie snack made with stevia ate the same amount of food at the next meal as those who ate a calorie snack made with sugar 6.
They also reported similar fullness levels, meaning the stevia group had an overall lower calorie intake while feeling the same satisfaction 6. Additionally, in a mouse study, exposure to the steviol glycoside rebaudioside A caused an increase in several appetite-suppressing hormones 7.
The sweetener may also help you manage your blood sugar. In animal studies, stevia has been shown to improve sensitivity to insulin, the hormone that lowers blood sugar by allowing it into cells to be used for energy 9 , Though stevia may offer benefits, it has downsides as well.
Stevia blends often contain added fillers like maltodextrin, which has been linked to dysregulation of healthy gut bacteria Stevia itself may also harm your gut bacteria.
Some researchers believe that intense sweeteners may increase cravings for sweet foods 16 , Stevia as with all plants contains a number of antioxidants which help your body fight off the damage caused by free radicals and limiting free radical aging. This puts stevia assuming it is safe way ahead of other sweeteners which contain no such beneficial antioxidants.
What most consumers want to know is whether stevia is safe. Because of the FDA's stance on Truvia and other stevia products, it is likely as safe as any of the sugar substitutes out there. However, just because a substance appears safe in the short term doesn't mean adverse reactions might not reveal themselves in the long term. There are some areas of specific concern on which studies may provide some insight.
Of course, you could argue that stevia is less safe because of the cancer finding in the past, but you could also argue that the "naturalness" of stevia combined with the centuries of use around the world make it safer. Various scientists have evaluated the safety of steviol glycosides, and have concluded that they're safe for both adults and children. However, a review of studies in noted that while stevia-derived sweeteners were gaining wider use, there have been no studies on its long-term effects on cancer or diabetes risks.
One study of steviol glycosides fed to rats in huge amounts far more than you'd use in your coffee showed that the substance reduced sperm counts and caused other changes in their reproductive systems, which could impact their fertility. Because it's deemed "generally recognized as safe" by the FDA, there is no restriction on using Truvia during pregnancy.
However, women who are breastfeeding may want to exercise caution. Stevia hasn't been extensively tested as to whether it ends up in breast milk and so the LactMed database supported by the National Library of Medicine says, "Although risk to the breastfed infant appears to be low, an alternate artificial sweetener with more data available may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant.
Clinicians have never reported an allergic reaction to stevia. Lastly, it's important to avoid consuming large quantities of some reb-A-based sweeteners as they may cause some mild side effects and have the potential to cause more serious long-term issues. While reb-A itself is unlikely to cause problems, some products contain more than just the stevia derivative.
For example, Truvia is only 0. The rest of the product is made of erythritol , a natural sugar alcohol. Erythritol is added to the Reb-A sweetener to eliminate the potency of the licorice aftertaste. Large amounts of sugar alcohols are known to cause digestive issues such as gas, bloating, and diarrhea. Cooking and baking with stevia-based products may require some trial and error. If you buy the sweetener in the baking aisle of the grocery store, the brand that you choose may have instructions on the package to guide you.
For example, some sweeteners will suggest that you replace sugar with their product at a ratio one cup of sweetener for every cup of sugar required in the recipe. Most sources suggest that you do not use more sweetener than sugar as it will make your recipe too sweet.
Using stevia in baked goods can be a challenge at times, again, depending on the specific product that you choose. Stevia doesn't provide the same soft texture as sugar. It also can't caramelize or enhance the browning process. When in doubt, consult the package instructions or visit the manufacturer's website when cooking with stevia-based products.
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