|  | Diet Nutrition | Nutrition

Use of Nutritive & Nonnutritive Sweeteners

Ingredients that give foods the pleasant sensation of sweetness fall into two categories: nutritive, which contain calories, and non-nutritive, which do not contain calories. Over-use of nutritive sweeteners is associated with tooth decay, blood sugar imbalances and excessive caloric intake. Studies regarding the impact of non-nutritive sweeteners yield conflicting information, but the American Dietetic Association deems moderate intake of approved non-nutritive sweeteners to be safe.

  1. Nutritive Sugars

    • Nutritive sugars are sweeteners that add caloric content to the foods that contain them. These include beet and cane sugar, honey, maple syrup, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and molasses. Most ordinary household baking sweeteners--granular white sugar, powdered or confectioners sugar, brown sugar--are forms of beet or cane sugar and are nutritive sweeteners. Nutritive sugars vary in caloric content, inclusion of other nutrients and precise form of sugar compound. These chemical differences mean that they are absorbed differently in the body, leading to different effects on timing and extent of blood-sugar impact.

    U.S. Approved Non-nutritive Sweeteners

    • The U.S. Food and Drug Administration presently approves five non-nutritive sweeteners for sale to consumers and use in food products. These are: Saccharin, sold as Sweet-n-Low, and other brands; Aspartame, sold as Nutrasweet, Equal, and others; Acesulfame-K, sold as Sunett, Sweet and Safe, and others; Sucralose, sold as Splenda; and Neotame, which is not presently commercially marketed.

    Use of Non-nutritive Sweeteners

    • Consumers primarily use packets of nonnutritive sweeteners in drinks like coffee or tea, or in instant drink mixes. Prepared-food manufacturers incorporate non-nutritive sweeteners into their lower-calorie or sugar-free food products. Substituting non-nutritive sweeteners for nutritive sweeteners in home cooking presents significant challenges, as they lack the bulk and liquid or binding properties of nutritive sweeters, and most non-nutritive sweeteners change properties on heating. Use of non-nutritive sweeteners usually involves adjustment of numerous other ingredients in the recipe.

    History of Non-nutritive Sweeteners

    • Saccharine was the first commercially marketed non-nutritive sweetener, invented in 1879. Despite challenges regarding its safety, it has remained on the U.S. market consistently since that time, although it is banned in some other countries. Aspartame was discovered in 1965 but did not receive FDA approval until 1981 due to conflicting studies regarding health risks. Sucralose was invented in London in the 1970s and approved by the FDA in 1998. Cyclamates, invented in the 1930s, are sold commercially in Canada and other countries, but banned in the U.S. due to studies linking it to cancer causation.

    Lower Calorie Natural Sweeteners

    • Most non-nutritive sweeteners are synthetic. However, stevia--an herb native to Paraguay, usually sold dried and powdered--is an all-natural, non-nutritive sweetener that is 300 times sweeter than cane or beet sugar. The FDA has approved only one form of stevia for commercial sale due to concerns raised in laboratory studies. Other nutritive, but lower-calorie natural sweeteners include date sugar and agave nectar. Some home cooks substitute sweet-tasting fruits, either pulped or dried and chopped fine, for sugar in recipes to create a lower-calorie healthful alternative.

    Effects of Nutritive Sugar

    • Moderate use of nutritive sugars provides the consumer with quick caloric energy. Human's inherent favorable response to a sensation of sweetness probably originated from a time in human development when the primary dietary issue was how to get enough calories, rather than concern about cutting calories. The calorie-dense properties of sweet foods was a benefit to early humans, but excessive consumption of nutritive sugars today leads to tooth decay as well as obesity and its many related negative health effects like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

    Effects of Non-nutritive Sweeteners

    • According to the Glycemic Research Institute and other studies, "non-nutritive sweeteners promote hunger unless they are formulated with specific Low-Caloric, Non-Cephalic caloric ingredients." In other words, most non-nutritive sweeteners trigger sensations of hunger, causing many consumers to over-eat. The beneficial, lower-calorie effect of non-nutritive sweeteners may then be canceled out by the consumption of additional quantities of food. A 2009 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that use of non-nutritive sweeteners did not aid in weight loss, and may well contribute to obesity.

Nutrition - Related Articles