Diabetes – Artificial sweeteners.
January 31, 2008 by Greg
Filed under Diabetes Information
We consume sugar everyday – table sugar added to coffee and milk or others like soft drinks, fruit juices, corn syrup, cakes, sweets, candy etc. All these foods will add unnecessary calories through sugars.
So few decades back people were using Artificial sweeteners’ in their diets. These are substances that add sweetness to the food but no added calories. After few years of usage, these sweeteners are
connected to cancer development. Now there are only few artificial sweeteners that are approved by FDA.
FDA approved sweeteners:
* Saccharin
* Acesulfame potassium
* Aspartame
* Sucralose
Saccharin – Oldest sweetener in the history of artificial sweeteners. It is almost 300 times sweeter than sugar. But it has a metallic taste so it is combined with other sweeteners. It is stable and blend well in
food preparations. Blamed of the cause of urinary bladder cancer in animals.
Acesulfame potassium – It is almost 200 times sweeter than sugar. It can be used in baking and cooking as it is stable. It doesn’t implicated in any types of cancer.
Aspartame – It is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Contains two amino acids called aspartic acid and phenylalanine. It gradually loses sweetness when exposed to high temperatures. So best used in beverages, drinks and as tabletop sweetener
Sucralose – Made from regular sugar. It has no known side effects. It is stable and can be used in baking and cooking.
Main advantage of these artificial sweeteners are -
* They don’t increase blood sugar as they are free of any carbohydrate, protein or fat. (But other food constituents can affect blood sugar)
* Increase the palatability. Its hard to control the interest for sugar. Adding these sweeteners increase the palatability of food.
* They can be used in very small quantities. They are much more sweeter than the same amount of the regular sugar. So less quantity and less money.
Disadvantages are -
* It was said artifical sweeteners cause cancers like urinary bladder in animals. But confirmed evidence is lacking in humans.
Important to remember -
* Though artificial sweeteners contribute no calories to food, other constituents of the food provide calories. So if a person eats ten cookies made from artificial sweeteners, he is getting calories from
butter, flour. So watch out before eating!
* Before buying food from stores always have a look on the labels what type of sweeteners are used.
* There are certain limits set by the FDA like how much of artificial sweeteners to consume per day or per kg body weight. Ask your dietician for a chart and strictly follow those quantities.
[tags]artificial sweeteners,diabetes[/tags]
