Michelle Jaelin, a Registered Dietitian based in Toronto, helped us to understand the science behind these products and how they are best used in a healthy diet.

Some sweeteners are described as natural. What does that mean?

Jaelin: “Sweeteners that are described as natural are derived from a plant source. However, similar to artificial sweeteners, natural sweeteners have gone through processing and refining in order to become the sweetener you put into your coffee or use for baking.”

Is a sweetener the same thing as “sugar”? If not, what is the difference?

Jaelin: “Although both have a sweet taste, sweetener is not the same thing as sugar. The “table sugar” commonly used in food is sucrose, a disaccharide of glucose and fructose. Derived from sugar cane or sugar beets, sugar is a carbohydrate, essential for energy. 1 teaspoon of sugar has about 4 gram of carbohydrate.

“A sweetener is an ingredient added to food to provide a sweet taste similar to sugar, but with less food energy. Sweeteners are manufactured from a variety of natural (ie. plant), food sources (ie. sucralose is derived from sugar) and chemically created in labs. 1 teaspoon of sweetener (depending on the sweetener) usually has approximately 1 gram or less of carbohydrate.”

How do natural sweeteners compare with artificial sweeteners? Are they healthier or less healthy?

Jaelin: “This is the tricky part, because manufacturers can label their sweeteners as “natural” despite the fact that they have been processed and refined to taste sweet. For example, stevia is considered a natural sweetener because it is derived from the stevia plant, grown in South America.

“Artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame and saccharin (sold under brand names SugarTwin and Sweet’N Low) all have been chemically processed. They are sometimes called intense sweeteners because they are many times sweeter than sugar.

“Currently, there is not one type of sweetener that is healthier or less healthy than the other. The FDA approves the following six high-intensity sweeteners as food additives in the United States: saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), sucralose, neotame, and advantame.

“According to the FDA, sweeteners are considered safe to consume, as long as one does not consume more than the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of the sweetener.”

How can a food additive have a sweet taste but no calories?

Jaelin: “The chemical structure of the sweetener is made so that it tastes sweet but has no calories. More information on sweetener chemistry can be found here.”

What factors should a person consider when choosing a sweetener?

Jaelin: “If you are choosing a sweetener, consider how much you will use and consume, and think about the taste. Some sweeteners have a bitter aftertaste. For example, chemical compounds found in the stevia plant interact with both the sweet and bitter receptors, leading to its signature bitter aftertaste experienced by many.

“If you are sensitive to bitter tastes, consider trying a different sweetener.

“If you have diabetes, obesity or a rare genetic disorder known as Phenylketonuria (PKU) or any other medical conditions, be sure to speak to your doctor or registered dietitian before trying any sweeteners.”

Is there anything that you should watch out for with natural sweeteners?

Jaelin: “Because sweeteners are 100-300x sweeter than sugar, they should be consumed in small amounts, whether natural or not or with other exaggerated claims.”

What are good guidelines to keep in mind for sweeteners and sugar in your diet?

Jaelin: “If you are trying to decrease your intake of sugar, sweeteners should not completely replace sugar. 100-300x sweeter than sugar, they can alter your sensitivity to sweetness, making you crave more sweet foods.

“Although sweeteners can be helpful for people with diabetes, in preventing tooth decay and for decreasing total amount of calories and carbohydrate intake from sugar, they should be consumed in moderation and should not exceed the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for sweetener.”

Natural sweeteners are derived from various plant sources and can deliver a sweet taste with few or no calories. But they are not more or less healthy than other sweeteners and should be consumed in moderation.

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Specifically, the study, published in the journal Nature, suggests low-calorie sweeteners have an adverse effect on blood sugar levels, possibly because they alter the ecosystem of gut bacteria. The researchers found that low-calorie sweeteners increased the risk of glucose intolerance, which can lead to diabetes.

We wanted to know more about what these research findings may mean for consumers, so we asked Carolyn O’Neil, MS, RD to help us digest the details of the research.

What can you tell us about this new research?

O’Neil:

The study was primarily conducted in mice along with a small sample of humans – seven, to be exact. And many nutrition experts say the study doesn’t provide evidence that these results in mice can be applied directly to human health. Additionally, the small sample of human subjects means the results can’t be applied to broad populations of people.

Have there been other studies on this subject? If so, did they reach the same conclusions?

O’Neil:

A great deal of existing research shows low-calorie sweeteners do not adversely impact glucose or insulin levels. And investigators of more than 40 studies in people, including a recent meta-analysis of clinical trials and other available evidence, concluded that the use of low-calorie sweeteners does not lead to either an increased risk of obesity or diabetes.

The study’s researchers said their findings are “preliminary and shouldn’t be taken as a recommendation on whether people should reconsider using artificial sweeteners.” So what should people do with these findings?

O’Neil:

Leading health organizations, including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association, as well as numerous scientific studies, agree that low-calorie sweeteners can be used to help manage calorie intake, which, in turn, can be helpful for both weight management and diabetes management.

Low-calorie sweeteners can be used to help manage calorie intake
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In the old cowboy Westerns, you could always tell the good guy from the bad guy by his white button-down shirt. Recently, a similar guideline has been applied to many of the foods that we once enjoyed. This time though, the new “bad guy” in town, an alleged less-nutritious option, now wears white: white bread, white pasta and white sugar. In reality, it takes more than a glance at a food’s color to determine whether something is inherently healthier.

Be sure to use any type of sugar sparingly!

High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) vs. Other Sweeteners

Dr. John White, MD, Founder and President of WHITE Technical Research, and one of the leading experts in fructose and HFCS says science tells us that there is little difference between HFCS and any other caloric sweetener. It adds calories in the same way that sugar, honey, fruit juice concentrate or agave nectar do. In fact, they all contribute to the same number of calories per gram. Sugar comes from sugar cane or sugar beets; HFCS comes from corn; fruit juice concentrate comes from various types of fruits; and agave nectar comes from the agave cactus.

Consumers tend to view sugar as a pristine sweetener that falls in crystalline form out of a sugar cane or sugar beets and right into the sugar bowl, as white shiny crystals, but “normal sugar” – or sucrose – is not as pristine as people think.

Nutritive vs. non-nutritive sweeteners

Connie Diekman, M.Ed., RD, CSSD, LD, past president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and current Director of University Nutrition, Washington University, says stevia powder provides a lower calorie option for those who want the sweet taste without the calories of sugar. Stevia is one of several non-nutritive sweeteners that are acceptable options for those watching calories or those who need to monitor blood sugar.

Stevia is one of several non-nutritive sweeteners that are acceptable options for those watching calories or those monitoring blood sugar
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Nutritive sweeteners occur naturally in foods or may be added in food processing or by consumers before consumption. Higher intake of added sugars is associated with higher energy intake and lower diet quality, which can increase the risk for obesity, prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. On average, adults in the United States consume 14.6% of energy from added sugars. Sugar alcohols (also referred to as polyols) add sweetness with less energy and may reduce risk for tooth decay. Foods containing polyols and/or no added sugars can, within food labeling guidelines, be labeled as sugar-free.

Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration as food additives, and they are generally recognized as safe. The Food and Drug Administration approval process includes determination of probable intake, cumulative effect from all uses, and toxicology studies in animals. Seven NNS are approved for use in the United States: acesulfame K, aspartame, luo han guo fruit extract, neotame, saccharin, stevia, and sucralose.

We covered this topic during the True? Or Not? Your Food Questions, Expert Answers webinar. Check out the webinar slides here.

Do you have a question about sugar? Submit a question!

_{“Sugar cane (Saccharum Officarum)” by Franco Folini is licensed under CC BY SA 2.0.}

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What we’ve learned, through talking with an esteemed expert on the subject, is that HFCS has gotten a bad rap and has been unfairly targeted. To set the record straight, we spoke with Dr. John White, M.D., Founder and President of WHITE Technical Research, and one of the leading experts in fructose and HFCS – the result of nearly 30 years of research on sweeteners. Read on for a biggest takeaways from our discussion.

HFCS is a natural product

Consumers tend to view sugar as a pristine sweetener that falls in crystalline form out of a sugar cane or sugar beets and right into the sugar bowl, as white shiny crystals. Alternately, many perceive that HFCS is highly processed. The truth lies somewhere in between. HFCS is not as processed as people think, nor is “normal sugar” – or sucrose – as pristine as people think. Both of these are derived from botanical sources. Sugar comes from sugar cane or sugar beets; HFCS comes from corn; fruit juice concentrate comes from various types of fruits; and agave nectar comes from the agave cactus. The FDA issued a letter a couple years ago, stating that HFCS is a natural product. They looked at the manufacturing process that’s used, and recognized that the process and steps really didn’t differ much from the processing that takes place with normal sugar. This allows HFCS to be classified under the FDA’s definition for natural.

HFCS is a sweetening ingredient with calories just like other sweeteners

Science tells us that there is little difference between HFCS and any other caloric sweetener. It adds calories in the same way that sugar, honey, fruit juice concentrate or agave nectar adds calories. In fact, they all contribute to the same number of calories per gram.

The other thing that can be looked at is how the body views these sweeteners. For example, let’s imagine we take two groups of women and give them a strict diet to follow, where we supplement the diet with either soft drinks that were sweetened with sucrose or with HFCS. In this scenario, we’ll assume that both groups of women are getting about 25 percent of their calories through the soft drink.

The result? In short, there is no evidence that shows there are any differences between the HFCS and the cane sugar diets in how they affect the body. What you will find through either diet is that the number of contributors to metabolism (which are important in judging obesity), are very similar. In fact, they are almost identical.

It’s all in the calories, so moderation is the key

The old saying, “moderation in all things” should be our measuring stick for good nutrition. It applies to many things in life, including sweeteners. Sweeteners are not inherently bad. In fact, sweeteners make some foods that aren’t the most palatable, taste great! For example:

• The little amount of sweetening in milk helps children see it as a favorable and flavorful option – a great thing because of the calcium and vitamin D it supplies, which may not be found in other beverages.
• For granola, cereal and other high-fiber products, a small amount of sweetener goes a long way in making them palatable. Since these are healthy to incorporate in a balanced diet, it’s a nice way to increase the likelihood they’ll be consumed – and the pleasure in eating them!

Without sweeteners, food would not have the same pleasurable eating qualities that it does with it. We just need to remember that they add calories – just as fat does, just as protein does, just as alcohol does. We all need to be mindful and be sure when consuming sweeteners, we’re doing so in moderation.

HFCS and sucrose are metabolically equivalent

There is consensus in the scientific community, among people who know sweeteners and know the nutrition, that HFCS and sucrose are metabolically equivalent and that all sweeteners should be consumed in moderation.

• The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics published a hot topics paper
• The Center for Science in the Public Interest claims its true
• The American Medical Association examined this topic

Do you have questions or concerns about High Fructose Corn Syrup? Let us know by leaving your feedback below or submitting a question!

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