Sweeteners, including artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes, are substances which can be added to food in place of sugar or sucrose. Some sweeteners are marketed to dieters or those looking to maintain a healthy weight because they contain fewer calories by weight than white sugar. However, experts have expressed concern about the safety of certain sweeteners, and it has not been proven that sweeteners necessarily aid weight loss. Consult your doctor before beginning any new diet.
Types
As at January 2011, there are several sweeteners approved for use in human food: aspartame, stevia, saccharin, sucralose, fructose, glucose, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, sorbitol, mannitol, neotame and acesulfame potassium. All are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under the category of food additives. Aspartame, saccharin and sucralose have been in use since the late 20th century; stevia and agave nectar are newer.
Identification
The different FDA-approved artificial sweeteners are marketed under different major brand names. You can identify the sweetener from its listing in the food's ingredients --- as required by the FDA --- or from one of the major common brand names. Acesulfame potassium is sold under the names Sunett and Sweet One; aspartame is sold as NutraSweet and Equal; saccharin is sold as Sweet'N Low and SugarTwin; sucralose is sold as Splenda. Manufacturers of other sweeteners are seeking FDA approval for their products as of January 2011.
Benefits
Replacing some or most of the sugar in your diet can drastically reduce the number of calories you consume in a day. If you are dieting for weight loss, consuming fewer calories overall will typically help you to create a calorie deficit and therefore lose weight. For example, with artificial sweeteners if is possible to make calorie-free or very low-calorie drinks. If you were to drink six 12-ounce cans of Coca-Cola Classic in a day, you would consume 840 calories from this sugared soda Six cans of artificially sweetened Diet Coke contain virtually zero calories.
Dangers
As of January 2011, controversy is ongoing regarding the possible negative health effects of sweeteners. Writing in the June 2010 issue of the "Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine," researcher Qing Yang indicates that increased use of artificially sweetened foodstuffs and beverages may actually correlate with an overall gain in weight. A study published in the "British Medical Journal," meanwhile, indicates that the sweetener sorbitol can cause a dangerous level of weight loss, due to its laxative effect.
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