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Types of Sugar-free Foods

Sugar-free foods are popular with dieters and necessary for diabetics. Many products are available to make sugar-free foods, both natural and artificial. These products vary in strength, sweetness and acceptance by dietary experts. The vast majority of nutritional and dietary professionals are in agreement on the usefulness of both artificial and natural sugar substitutes as a means of maintaining a healthy level of sugar intake and of maintaining good dental health.

  1. Sugar Alcohols

    • Sugar alcohols, or polyols, are neither sugar nor alcohol. The name is derived from the resemblance of their chemical structure to both sugar and alcohol. There are several polyols derived from sources such as berries, corn and plants. Many processed foods such as cookies, candies and frozen desserts labeled as sugar-free contain polyols. These contain about half to a third of the amount of calories found in sugar.

    Artificial Sweetners

    • Aspartame and sucralose are artificial sweeteners. Aspartame has undergone a lot of scrutiny from the FDA, but a 2007 review concluded that it is safe. It is marketed as Equal, NutraSweet and Canderel, all of which are found in many sugar-free food products such as pudding, yogurt, jams and jellies and ice cream, although it is not recommended for baking. Sucralose, marketed as Splenda, SucraPlus or Nevella, is 600 times sweeter than sugar, so only a small amount is needed. Sucralose can be used in baking and is found in sugar-free foods such as cereals, yogurts and baked goods. A third type of artificial sweetener, saccharin, was banned in 1977, but was taken off the carcinogenic list in 2000, as reported by the National Toxicology Program. It is used in Sweet 'N Low, but is no longer used in other foods because of its strong metallic aftertaste.

    Foods With No Sugar

    • Some foods naturally contain no sugar. These include oatmeal, poultry, seafood, beef, pork, oils, butter and margarine. Processing both meat and fish adds some form of sugar in most cases, so reading labels is important. Eggs are sugar-free, as are both coffee and tea.

    Natural Sweeteners

    • Stevia is a natural sweetener derived from a South American herb that has been used by Paraguan Indians for centuries. It is many times sweeter than sugar. According to the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency, stevia is banned in the European Union, as well as any products made from it, due to uncertainty of the toxicity of the extract. In the United States, stevia in the form of rebaudioside A, the sweetest extract of the herb, was approved as a food additive by the FDA in December 2008. It is marketed by Purevia and Truvia as sweeteners to add to foods in place of sugar. In addition, Zevia and Coke now sell diet sodas sweetened with stevia.

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