The good, the bad and the unacceptable.
Maybe you think you don’t use sugar substitutes.
Maybe you steer clear of diet sodas and “lite” foods to avoid chemicals like aspartame.
Or are they the toxic, junk-food additives their detractors believe them to be?
Here’s our take on your biggest sugar substitute questions, based on the latest research.
(See “The Scoop,” below.)
And with the science changing all the time, it’s worth using any of them sparingly.
The Scoop:Some 200 times sweeter than sugar, a little aspartame goes a long way.
(The FDA disagrees.)
Often blended with other sugar substitutes to overcome its sometimes bitter aftertaste.
Proponents cite 30-plus years of use in the U.S. and Europe, with no reports of serious health effects.
Also used in fountain versions of diet sodas (to improve stability of sweet taste).
The Scoop:Saccharin has a pronounced bitter aftertaste some hate and others crave.
Still, CSPI urges avoidance, claiming cancer risk can’t be fully ruled out.
The Scoop:Derived from sugar, sucralose has a “cleaner” sugar taste, according to fans.
And it’s calorie-free because our bodies don’t break it down.
A 45-pound kid could hit their ADI with just two 12-ounce sodas.
Neotame
Names:Newtame
Where You’ll Find It:Not yet in wide commercial use.
(Its extreme sweetness tends to linger, making it a challenge for food manufacturers.)
CSPI considers it a safe choice, since the amounts used will likely be microscopic.
Also sold online as a sugar alternative.
The Scoop: TheFDA approvedthe use of allulose as a sugar alternative in October 2020.
It contains 0.4 calories per gram, which is one-tenth the calories of traditional sugar.
Often blended with other sugar substitutes.
The Scoop:Sugar alcohols are calorie-free carbohydrates that are chemically identical to those found naturally in some fruits.
Erythritol measures similarly to sugar and has a real-sugar texture.
And it’s the least likely of all the sugar alcohols to cause stomach upset.
Xylitol can haveahemlaxative effects at higher doses, like most sugar alcohols.
Answers to Common Questions About Sugar Substitutes
Can Sugar Substitutes Help You Lose Weight?
Yesbut only a little.
Overweight people also tend to choose more diet foods in general to prevent further gain.
“But they’re never going to be a magic bullet,” says Popkin.
Do Alternative Sweeteners Amp Up Your Taste for Sweet?
Not any more than sugar does.
And concerns about them creating a super-sweet tooth don’t hold up to scientific scrutiny.
Do They Screw Up Your Microbiome?
So making an effort to cut down on sugar (real and fake) is a smart idea.
We’re not saying life can’t be sweet.
