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Concept
Sugar substitute
Summary
A sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweetness like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners, making it a zero-calorie (non-nutritive) or low-calorie sweetener. Artificial sweeteners may be derived through manufacturing of plant extracts or processed by chemical synthesis. Sugar substitute products are commercially available in various forms, such as small pills, powders, and packets.
Common sugar substitutes include aspartame, monk fruit extract, saccharin, sucralose, stevia, acesulfame potassium (ace-k), and cyclamate. These sweeteners are a fundamental ingredient in diet drinks to sweeten them without adding calories. Additionally, sugar alcohols such as erythritol, xylitol, and sorbitol are derived from sugars.
Approved artificial sweeteners have not been shown to cause cancer. Reviews and dietetic professionals have concluded that moderate use of non-nutritive sweeteners as a safe replacement for sugars can help limit energy intake and assist with managing blood glucose and weight.
A sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweetness like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners, making it a zero-calorie (non-nutritive) or low-calorie sweetener. Sugar substitute products are commercially available in various forms, such as small pills, powders, and packets
Artificial sweeteners may be derived through manufacturing of plant extracts or processed by chemical synthesis.
High-intensity sweeteners – one type of sugar substitute – are compounds with many times the sweetness of sucrose (common table sugar). As a result, much less sweetener is required and energy contribution is often negligible. The sensation of sweetness caused by these compounds is sometimes notably different from sucrose, so they are often used in complex mixtures that achieve the most intense sweet sensation.
In North America, common sugar substitutes include aspartame, monk fruit extract, saccharin, sucralose, and stevia.
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Sweetness
Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, and sugar alcohols. Some are sweet at very low concentrations, allowing their use as non-caloric sugar substitutes. Such non-sugar sweeteners include saccharin and aspartame. Other compounds, such as miraculin, may alter perception of sweetness itself.
Aspartame
Aspartame is an artificial non-saccharide sweetener 200 times sweeter than sucrose and is commonly used as a sugar substitute in foods and beverages. It is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide with brand names NutraSweet, Equal, and Canderel. Aspartame was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1974, and then again in 1981, after approval was revoked in 1980. Aspartame is one of the most studied food additives in the human food supply.
Sorbitol
Sorbitol (ˈsɔː(r)bᵻtɒl), less commonly known as glucitol (ˈgluːsᵻtɒl), is a sugar alcohol with a sweet taste which the human body metabolizes slowly. It can be obtained by reduction of glucose, which changes the converted aldehyde group (−CHO) to a primary alcohol group (−CH2OH). Most sorbitol is made from potato starch, but it is also found in nature, for example in apples, pears, peaches, and prunes. It is converted to fructose by sorbitol-6-phosphate 2-dehydrogenase.