Today everywhere we look we see the stamp of “sugar free” “low calorie” or “low sugar” on products at the grocery store or even at our favorite restaurant. We tend to think that if it has little or no sugar then it’s pretty much a free for all. Thinking that just because cookies are low in calories or sugars we can eat them without any consequences, or if bubble gum is sugar free we going to eat all pack in one day and let’s not even mention coffee or tea and how adding sweet and low or other sugar supplements allows you to add just a little bit more than normal for the bitter sweet taste. I was never a fan of artificial sweeteners that’s why I decided to do the research to really understand its existence. In the good old days we knew that there was sugar and it was sweet and we had to be careful not to consume too much of it. Now we have “processed sugar” and think that we can use as much of it as we want. Well, like an old saying says “if it’s too good to be true, it usually is”. Let me take you through what I discovered: There are 2 kinds of artificial sweeteners: Nutritive and Nonnutritive. Nutritive sweeteners are made from food ( fruits , vegetables) and Nonnutritive are human made( chemicals ) . We’d like to believe that nothing would be allowed in our food that wasn't considered 100% safe. Unfortunately, this kind of guarantee is not usually possible. In the United States, sweeteners fall under the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) list. Most popular Nutritive sweeteners the ones we use every day are: Brown sugar, Corn sweetener, Corn syrup, Dextrose, Fructose ,Fruit-juice concentrate Glucose ,High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), Honey ,Invert sugar, Lactose, Maltose ,Malt syrup, Molasses, Raw sugar, Sucrose Syrup. That’s natural sweeteners not so bad for our health. Next comes sugar alcohol: Sorbitol , Mannitol, Xylitol, Erythritol, Isomalt, Lactitiol, Hsh hydrogenated starch hydrolysates, Maltitol. Sugar alcohols naturally occur in many fruits and vegetables, Again just as sugar - sugar alcohols do have calories but instead 4cal/gram it has 2 cal/gram. Sugar alcohols are regulated as either GRAS or food additives. The presence of sugar alcohols in foods does not mean that you can eat unlimited quantities. Since they are not completely absorbed in our body high intakes of foods containing some sugar alcohols can lead to abdominal gas and diarrhea. Nonnutritive sweeteners: The use of nonnutritive sweeteners began with the need for cost reduction and continued on with the need for calorie reduction. It is interesting that artificial sweeteners were actually chemicals being developed for another purpose when the researcher tasted it and found that it was sweet. E.g. ( Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by a scientist trying to make new ulcer drugs and approved by the FDA in 1981 for dry uses in tabletop sweeteners, chewing gum, cold breakfast cereals, gelatins, and puddings). The names of the five FDA-approved nonnutritive sweeteners are saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, and neotame. Each of these is regulated as a food additive. The facts about the safety of these artificial sweeteners are not clear cut. Let me go over for you what each of them does to body: Saccharin -is 'reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen' causes cancer. Aspartame - Headaches, cancer, increase hunger, depression. Sucralose additive- it is most well known for its claim to be made from sugar. It was actually discovered while trying to create a new insecticide. It may have started out as sugar, but the final product is anything but sugar. Sucralose is used alone or found in Splenda and is 600 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar). (Splenda interferes with the absorption of prescription medications). Sucralose does have calories. The alleged symptoms associated with sucralose are gastrointestinal problems (bloating, gas, diarrhea, nausea), K contains the carcinogen methylene chloride. Long-term exposure to methylene chloride can cause headaches, depression, nausea, mental confusion, liver effects, kidney effects, visual disturbances, and cancer in humans. Neotame additive Neotame: is chemically related to aspartame without the phenylalanine dangers for individuals with PKU. It is much sweeter than aspartame with a potency of approximately 7,000 to 13,000 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar) One of the most disturbing claims against artificial sweeteners is that they can cause weight gain. The majority of the people who use these products often do so in order to save calories to lose or maintain weight. We are told that this is why we need to consume them and it would be upsetting to find out that they have actually been a part of the problem and not the solution. At this time, the research is showing both possibilities. After learning all of that we should think before enjoying our sugar free cookie , if it is really sugar free? R360 xoxoxo
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