Sugar Substitutes & Artificial Sweeteners

You see them on every restaurant table, in every coffee shop: little containers filled with pink, blue, yellow, green and white packets of sweeteners. Pass the container around the table and everyone takes their favorite: the one they use at home, the one that flavors their favorite soft drink, the one allowed on their diet, the one they think tastes the best. Artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes are just that -- an alternative, and usually a low-calorie substitution for sugar. To most people, they taste very similar, but a lot of differences exist in artificial sweeteners.

Saccharin

• Discovered in the late 1800s, many food manufacturers used saccharin during World War I and II to replace sugar, a rationed commodity. It carried a warning label at one time, declaring it a potential carcinogen. In 2000, the FDA removed the warnings and pronounced this coal tar product safe, but pregnant women are still advised to avoid saccharin.

Sucralose

• Made from sugar with a structure that has been scientifically altered, sucralose is safe for diabetics, pregnant women and everyone else, according to the FDA. Of all artificial sweeteners, sucralose remains the most stable when heated during cooking or baking.

Aspartame

• Made of two amino acids, aspartame is safe for anyone except those suffering from phenylketonuria, an inability to metabolize one of the amino acids, phenylalanine. Not recommended for baking, aspartame loses its sweetness when heated.

The Rest of the "Packets"

• The sweetener stevia is made from the leaves of a member of the chrysanthemum family. Sold in vitamin stores for many years, it was only approved by the FDA in 2008. Acesulfame K, another artificial sweetener made from an acetoacetic acid and potassium. It is often used in conjunction with aspartame to mask aspartame's bitter after taste.