The Sweet Truth About Sugar Substitutes
First it was calories, then it was fat, now America's growing dietary concern is sugar. In fact, sugar content has moved from being consumers' No. 5 nutritional concern to the No. 2 concern today-second only to fat content in their diets according to a recent trend report.
The recent surge of low-carbohydrate, low-sugar diets such as Atkins and South Beach Diet, has more people reaching for the blue, pink and yellow sugar substitute packets more frequently. Those who are not using sugar substitutes may still be influenced by ongoing myths and misconceptions about sweeteners, despite decades of research. The fact is, the top three sugar substitutes-Equal® sweetener, Sweet'N Low® sugar substitute and Splenda® sweetener-all are safe and FDA approved. In addition, all three can be safely used as part of any of the popular low-carb, low-sugar diets.
"I counsel hundreds of patients every year and find people still believe there are health risks associated with using sugar substitutes. It's simply not true," said Mary Donkersloot, registered dietitian and author of The Simply Gourmet Diabetes Cookbook. "What concerns me is this lack of understanding may keep people from using sugar substitutes to help reduce sugar in their diet or address serious health conditions such as diabetes or obesity."
Donkersloot explains the sweetening ingredient in Equal is aspartame. "Aspartame is made by combining food components found in foods eaten every day. It is safe and FDA approved. The FDA has studied aspartame for the last 23 years, and has never had any safety concerns," Donkersloot said.
Donkersloot adds that while Splenda also is safe and FDA approved, she warns that because the box reads, "made from sugar, tastes like sugar," many of her patients think that Splenda is natural and safer than other sugar substitutes.
"Splenda is not sugar, and it is not natural," Donkersloot said. "The sweetening ingredient in Splenda is sucralose, which is made using a multi-step chemical process that substitutes chlorine on the final sweetener molecule." Donkersloot adds that the addition of chlorine, not sugar, is what makes sucralose indigestible to the body.
"Saccharin, the sweetening ingredient used in Sweet 'N Low, is made by combining two chemical groups-a phenyl group and another group composed of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and sulfur," said Donkersloot. "Sweet 'N Low has been widely used for many years and is safe and FDA approved."
Donkersloot advises that Americans really have choices when it comes to using a sugar substitute, and that selection should be based on taste preference and product facts.
"All three leading sugar substitutes are safe, FDA approved and can be used in recipes. In fact, Equal Spoonful can be used cup for cup just like sugar in most recipes that call for sugar as a sweetener," Donkersloot said. "Consider using them to reduce calories and carbohydrates in your diet this holiday season. Whether it's a pumpkin pie or a coffee latte, replacing sugar with a sugar substitute can be great practice as part of a healthier lifestyle-it's all about balance."
Mary Donkersloot, R.D., is founder and director of Personal Nutritional Management (PNM) in Beverly Hills, one of California's leading consulting firms on healthy lifestyle changes. She treats clients with diabetes, weight control and eating disorders as well as fitness and nutrition issues. She is the author of the How to Quit Smoking and Not Gain Weight Cookbook and Fast Food Diet: Quick and Healthy Eating at Home and On the Go. As the nutrition consultant for numerous national food corporations and restaurants, she has appeared on a variety of local and national television programs and is a representative for Wrigley Health Care and Merisant.
Courtesy of NAPSnet.
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Stephini Candella is a Nutritionist, and attended the University of Texas for a B.S. in Nutrition and Didactics. She was a manager for a small gourmet restaurant, and has spent over 15 years cooking as a hobby for health. She has extensive knowledge of food science, micro-nutrition, history of the classic foods from across cultures, modern commercial and home cooking processes, disease restricted diet meal planning (cardiovascular, GAPS, diabetes), and popular diet trend (Paleo, Keto, Vegan) diets. Stephini most enjoys meal planning that focuses on simplicity and cost-effectiveness, and she strongly believes these are the foundations for delicious and healthy meals—the basis for a happy life. She is addicted to reading food labels, and uncovering the nutritional benefits of traditional cooking techniques of the classical foods across cultures. If you let her, she will talk your ear off over her fascination for how traditional fermentation cultivates the metabolic byproduct of certain bacteria into nutritional gold for human health. Stephini is also a CRLA (Certified Reading and Writing English Tutor) and has professionally tutored college students as well as K-12 students for an accumulated 15 years expanding to private school curriculum development and teaching in STEM and STEAM. She has been a professional researcher for multiple private and non-profit companies and organizations including the University of Texas Food and Housing Division. There, she researched and wrote recommendations for the University’s campus wide composting and food waste reduction initiatives, design and management of campus wide food waste studies, and the procurement of technologies best suited for large scale composting and food waste reduction. As a former Red Cross shelter manager, she has worked with her National Guard, and the US Army and Marines in search and rescue, procuring, and deploying multiple shelters serving thousands of evacuees. She has overseen the management of over 25 shelters in the state emergency operation center, and was held responsible for procurement of meals, medical supplies, and basic necessities. She also assisted in local county natural disaster rescues, providing insurance evaluations and recommendations for approving families affected by natural disasters to receive financial aid, housing, and food assistance. In addition, she volunteered for her local food pantry and domestic violence shelter where she prepared food. These discovered passions for emergency aid volunteer work led her to pursue national and state EMS licensures. She has traveled from Houston to New York to Seattle on a Leadership Scholarship, listening to world renowned scholars on the values of great leadership. Her favorite being the opportunity to sit and connect with the grandsons of Gandhi, listening to their first hand childhood experiences growing up alongside their grandfather organizing and executing his activism. Presently, Stephini conducts research and assistance on customer relationship management campaigns for 30 year veteran executives and business owners as an operations manager for a small, boutique executive assistance CRM firm. She has retired into a quiet, family-centric life, and can be found living between her home and college towns where she is raising her children. There, she is imparting her love for DIY learning and food on to them in the hopes that self-directed creativity and production will bring to them the same sense of holistic wellness that she’s experienced for herself.
