Sugar substitutes typically offer a lower calorie option to sugar. There are a wide variety of sugar substitutes on the market, and some sweeteners may have the same amount of calories per serving as regular white sugar.
Types
Sugar substitutes include artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols and natural sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners refer to such synthetic substances as acesulfame potassium, aspartame, saccharin and sucralose. Sugar alcohols include erythritol, maltitol, sorbitol and xylitol. Date sugar, honey, maple sugar, maple syrup, agave nectar and molasses are all natural sweeteners.
Calories
Artificial sweeteners contain zero to 5 calories per teaspoon; sugar alcohols have about 6 to 12; and natural sweeteners have 16 to 22.
Real Sugar
Real sugar, both processed and raw, has about 15 or 16 calories per teaspoon.
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