The first thing one does to reduce weight and calories is to knock of sugar from the diet and turn to sugar substitutes. But cutting down added sugar doesn’t mean you have to ignore one’s sweet tooth.
So when one decides to limit intake of added sugar, one needs to avoid candy, cookies, baked goods, packed foods etc including flavoured yoghurts, granola, energy bars, cereals etc which claim to be healthy.
One needs to look out for added sugar by reading the food labels and besides word ‘sugar’ lookout for sugar aliases such as high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, molasses, corn sugar, fruit juice concentrates and honey etc.
High consumption of sugar and processed foods with a parallel increase in obesity among adults and children has left us thinking! This led to the discovery of low-calorie sweeteners. WHO recommends consumption of free sugars to be less than 10 % of total calories, reducing the risk of diabetes, metabolic syndrome and other lifestyle-related diseases. The American Heart Association ( AHA) and the American Diabetic Association ( ADA) have restricted the use of artificial sweeteners to combat obesity and other lifestyle-related diseases. However, smart use of non-nutritive sweeteners helps in lowering the use of added sugar in daily diets, therefore, reducing the total calories in the diet, resulting in healthier body weight and also reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
The other concern is people replacing artificial sweeteners to other sources, like drinking diet soda and thinking it's ok to eat a burger or a piece of cake. Non-nutritive sweeteners are more potent than the table sugar. The frequent use also over stimulates the sugar receptors and may limit tolerance of more complex tastes. For eg. People using it more frequently may find fruit sugar less appealing in comparison to artificial sugar substitutes. In other words, settling for artificially flavoured foods with less nutritive value.
Speaking on the safety of the low-calorie sweeteners as additives it has to undergo an extensive evaluation to be legally approved. In India, it is regulated by FSSAI, and where authorities come up with recommended acceptable daily intake.
The US FDA has approved aspartame, sucralose, and six other low-calorie sweeteners for use in humans. These sweeteners have been classified under the generally recognized as safe (GRAS) category, showing that there is no conclusive proof to establish negative side-effects of any low-calorie sweeteners.
Moderation is key
In a nutshell, artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes can help with weight management, diabetes but need to be consumed in moderation. Also, read the labels carefully, and not get lured by marketing gimmicks, food marketed as sugar-free is not calorie-free which can lead to weight gain. Processed and packed foods often contain sugar substitutes and don’t offer similar health benefits as consuming whole foods such as fruits and vegetables.
