Bitter, sweet truths

The sugar alcohol used in 8216;sugar-free8217; gums are nutritive sweeteners

As half-baked information on sugar and sweeteners is made accessible without any perspective, opinions are formed, often leading to faulty inferences. While sweeteners have been used for several years now, their safety is still being questioned. As a result, some consume it with apprehension and some give it up altogether.

Sweeteners are classified into nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners. Nutritive sweeteners are those that impart sweetness to food and are absorbed by the body to yield energy. These include natural sweeteners like honey fructose and glucose and maple syrup sucrose; refined sweeteners like your table sugar sucrose extracted from sugar beets or sugarcane and sugar alcohols.
Non-nutritive sweeteners are the ones that are not absorbed by the body. Most of these are usually sweeter than nutritive sweeteners and have low calories.

Saccharin tastes about 300 times sweeter than sucrose. In the 1970s, research indicated that very large doses of saccharin were associated with bladder cancer in laboratory animals. As a result, in 1977 the US Food and Drug Administration proposed banning saccharin from use in foods. But in 2000, after several studies came to the conclusion that saccharin was safe, the ban was repealed.

Aspartame marketed as 8220;Equal8221; is a combination of two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid. It is 200 times sweeter than table sugar and adds almost no calories to the diet. It does not promote tooth decay. More than 90 countries allow aspartame in products such as beverages, gelatin desserts, gums and fruit spreads, despite claims that aspartame could cause high blood levels of phelylalanine. Although some people report memory loss, headaches, dizziness, seizures, nausea, or allergic reactions with aspartame use, there has been no substantial evidence to show that aspartame is unsafe for children or adults. It is only in India that it is not recommended for children, simply because the guidelines suggest that children need extra calories for growth and therefore, sugar substitutes are not desirable for growth. However, a sugar substitute could be a useful tool in weight management or obese and diabetic children.

Acesulfame K, marketed under the brand name Sunette, is about 200 times sweeter than table sugar. It provides no energy, because the body cannot digest it. Food manufactures use it in chewing gums, powdered beverages, mixes, non-dairy creamers, gelatins, and puddings.

Sucralose, sold under the trade name Splenda, it is about 600 times sweeter than sugar. Sucrolose is used in a wide variety of products including baked goods, beverages, gelatin desserts and frozen dairy desserts. It also can be used as a 8220;table-top sweetener8221;. Other sweeteners include stevia steveoside, d-tagatose, trehalose and neotame.

How sweet is sugar free?
The sugar alcohol used in 8216;sugar-free8217; chewing gums are also nutritive sweeteners but the body does not digest or absorb them completely, so they provide about half or less than half the calories compared to the other sugars.

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Sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol and maltitol are the most commonly found sweeteners used in sugar-free products such as gums, chocolates and mints. They are not as sweet as sugar and are good for dental health as they prevent tooth decay. When sugar alcohols are used as the sweeteners the product may claim to be 8220;sugar free8221; but it is not calorie-free.
The writer is a former senior nutritionist at Escorts. She heads the Centre of Dietary Counselling and also runs a health food store. She feels that for complete well-being, one should integrate physical, mental and spiritual health. According to her: 8220;To be healthy should be the ultimate goal for all.8221;