Nutrition Science and Everyday Application - beta v 0.1

240 ALICE CALLAHAN, PHD, HEATHER LEONARD, MED, RDN, AND TAMBERLY POWELL, MS, RDN
Sweetener
Acesulfame Potassium (Ace-K)
Brand Names
Sweet One®
Sunett®
Sweetness
(relative to sucrose)
200x
Advantame 20,000x
Aspartame
Nutrasweet®
Equal®
Sugar Twin®
200x
Neotame Newtame® 7,000-13,000
Saccharin
Sweet’N Low®
Sweet and Low®
Sweet Twin®
Necta Sweet®
200-700x
Sucralose Splenda® 600x
Luo Han Guo or
monk fruit extracts
Stevia
Nectresse®
Monk Fruit in the Raw®
PureLo®
Truvia®
PureVia®
Enliten®
100-250 x
200-400 x
Table 4.5. Sugar substitutes approved by the FDA for use in the United States with their brand
names and sweetness relative to sucrose. 3
Unlike regular sugar, the sweeteners listed in the table above are not associated with
dental caries, and they generally don’t raise blood glucose. 1
Sugar alcohols are another type of sugar substitute. They include sorbitol, mannitol, lactitol,
erythritol, and xylitol. They are chemically similar to monosaccharides but different enough
that they aren’t processed in the body to the same extent. However, they are at least partially
metabolized and contain about 2 kcal/gram (compared with 4 kcal/gram for sucrose). (An
exception is erythritol, which contains just 0.2 kcal/g.) Unlike the sweeteners listed in the
table above, they are not “high-intensity” but instead are generally less sweet than sucrose.
Because they are not fully digested, consuming large amounts of them can cause bloating,
gas, and diarrhea. 1
Sugar alcohols are often used in sugar-free chewing gums and breath mints and can
carry a health claim that they don’t promote tooth decay, because mouth bacteria can’t
easily metabolize them. Xylitol in particular has been studied for its ability to decrease the
incidence of tooth decay. However, these studies generally use large doses. For example, a
person might have to chew xylitol gum five times per day to see a benefit. The American
Academy of Pediatric Dentistry supports the use of xylitol but says the evidence for benefit
is not clear and that amounts required may not be practical in real life. 4
CAN SUGAR SUBSTITUTES HELP WITH WEIGHT LOSS?
When people choose diet soda or a sugar-free dessert, they’re probably assuming that it’s
a healthier choice and perhaps that it could help them lose weight. However, studies show
this isn’t necessarily the case.
In the short-term, if someone who drinks a lot of sugar-sweetened beverages switches to