What Are the Different Kinds of Sugar Substitutes?

Sugar substitutes are foodstuffs that mimic the sweetening properties of sugar without the added calories. It's a way of having your cake and eating it, too, so to speak. Some are natural and some are man-made, but all have their pros and cons.

Saccharin

• Saccharin was the first artificial sweetener introduced into the marketplace, making its debut in the 1950s as an artificial sweetener routinely added to products such as toothpaste, and dietary foods and drinks. Saccharin's tendency to have a bitter aftertaste was curbed by blending it with other sweeteners. Saccharin has been plagued through the years with a reputation to cause cancer, most notably bladder cancer, but so far it has not been implicated in any cancer cases involving humans.

Aspartame

• The discovery of aspartame was completely an accident. Wile trying to develop an anti-ulcer medication, the sweet powder was spilled onto the hand of the aspiring inventor. The rest is history. Aspartame has been used as a sugar substitute in a myriad of dietary products such as beverages, ice creams, gelatins and such as this compound is many times sweeter than sugar and reduces the overall caloric content of the product. Since aspartame is not plagued by the same bitter aftertaste as saccharin, it is used in many more food products than saccharin. Some of the same concerns regarding cancer have been raised against aspartame as have been raised against saccharin, though aspartame has been implicated in brain cancers instead of bladder cancers. There has been no definitive link established between the consumption of aspartame and the development of cancer.

Sucralose

• Sucralose is a sugar substitute that is actually made from sugar. Unlike saccharin and aspartame, sucralose is stable when heated, making it ideal for baking and frying. Sucralose has not been directly implicated as a cancer causing substance, though concerns have been raised due to the fact that sucralose belongs to a group of compounds where several substances have been shown to cause cancer. Sucralose is different than most other sugar substitutes in that it is not stored by the body, nor is it metabolized. Sucralose is excreted is much the same form as it was when consumed, thus reducing the chance of experiencing any adverse health effects by the consumer.

Other Sweeteners

• A few other artificial sweeteners that are currently under review for approval in the U.S. are xylitol and stevia, which are both being used in Europe with much success.

Lead Acetate

• Lead acetate was a sugar substitute made from lead that was used by the ancient Romans. Frequent users of the substance would often die of lead poisoning, leading to its eventual ban.