Sugar Substitute Use in the United States

Many Americans look to sugar substitutes as way to cut calories from their daily intake. Dieters and diabetics commonly employ sugar substitutes in their search for healthier lifestyles. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a variety of artificial and natural sugar substitutes as safe for human consumption.

Artificial Sugar Subsititutes

• Many artificial sweeteners have significantly higher sweetness ratings than natural sugar. As a result, a little goes a long way, and adding them to foods and drinks can add few to no calories. As of 2010, the only "non-nutritive" sweeteners available in the United States are acesulfame K, neotame, aspartame, saccharin, rebaudisoside A and sucralose. In 2004, sucralose outsold even natural sugar in the United States.

Natural Sugar Substitutes

• Natural sugar substitutes include common grocery store items such as maple syrup and honey. Plant-derived sugar substitutes include agave nectar, the syrup of a cactus-like plant, and stevia, an extract made from the leaves of the stevia plant.

Safety Concerns

• In 1969, the FDA retracted its approval for the artificial sweetener cyclamate after 18 years on the market. Research scientists doing tests on chicken embryos and rats linked the additive to cancer. Since then, several other artificial sweeteners have come under scrutiny. Aspartame, saccharin and sucralose all have been subject to controversy, but extensive testing has found them safe when consumed in moderation, as of 2010.