Dieters and diabetics often turn to artificial sweeteners as a lower-calorie alternative to cane sugar. Four of the most common artificial sweeteners in use today are acesulfame potassium, aspartame, saccharin and sucralose.
Acesulfame Potassium
Acesulfame potassium contains zero calories, according to its official website. However, this sweetener is rarely used by itself, but instead is blended with sugar or a second artificial sweetener for a more natural taste. The resulting mixture may not be calorie-free, but it still contains fewer calories than sugar.
Aspartame
Aspartame is a low-calorie sweetener, but it is not calorie-free. In fact, aspartame and table sugar both contain 4 calories per gram. However, because aspartame is around 200 times sweeter than sugar, you won't need much of it to sweeten your food. You should avoid aspartame if you have been diagnosed with phenylketonuria, or PKU. This rare disease prevents the body from metabolizing phenylalanine, an amino acid found in aspartame.
Saccharin
Saccharin is between 200 and 700 times sweeter than sugar, according to Texas A&M University's Family and Consumer Sciences department. Saccharin cannot be metabolized by the body, so it is essentially calorie-free.
Sucralose
According to the official website "All About Sucralose," sucralose is about 600 times sweeter than sugar. It is made from table sugar that is chemically modified, so that it cannot be metabolized by the body. Like saccharin, sucralose is calorie-free.
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