Sweeteners
by Ms H
Most of us like sweets
however, too much of these appetising stuff can lead to problems such as tooth
decay, obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Here is the list
of the most common sources of sugar found on food labels: brown sugar, corn
sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, fruit-juice
concentrate, glucose, high-fructose corn
syrup (HFCS), honey, invert sugar, lactose,
maltose, malt
syrup, molasses, raw sugar, sucrose and
syrup.
Sugar provides 4 kcal / g energy when it is consumed.
However, sweeteners called sugar alcohols or polyols contain 2 kcal/g energy. Foods that contain sugar alcohols can be labelled sugar-free
because they replace full-calorie sugar sweeteners. They have been used for decades to
sweeten chewing gum, candy, fruit spreads, toothpaste, cough syrup, and other
products. There are easy and cheap ways to make sugar alcohols from corn, wood,
and other plant materials, along with their sugar-like taste.
List of polyols: sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol,
erythritol, isomalt, lactitol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates and
maltitol. The reason that sugar alcohols
provide fewer calories than sugar is because they are not completely absorbed
in your body. For this reason, high intakes of foods containing some sugar
alcohols can lead to abdominal gas and diarrhea. For your heath you should
control the amount of foods containing sugar alcohols.
Stevia is a non-caloric
sweetener made from the leaves of a shrub that grows in South and Central
America, so it is a natural low-caloric sweetener.
Stevia is about 300 times sweeter than sugar.
Artificial sweeteners are far sweeter than regular sugar:
aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, neotame, advantame and acesulfame-K. One concern about
artificial sweeteners is that they affect the body’s ability to evaluate how
many calories are being consumed. Some studies show that sugar and artificial
sweeteners affect the brain in different ways. The human brain responds to sweetness with signals to eat
more, leading to rise your energy intake and can contribute to the risk of
obesity.
Sweeteners
are really useful alternatives for people with diabetes. They also prevent
tooth decay and control blood sugar level.
Sweeteners
may be safe, but are they truly healthy?
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