Sweeteners have been invented for quite some time. However, from the very first day of their appearance on the market, an end has not been put to the question of whether these additives are useful or harmful. For some, this is an opportunity to cook familiar dishes and not feel hurt. This applies to patients with diabetes. Others recall such supplements when they want to lose those extra pounds. Today we want to tell you about which sugar substitute is better from those that can be found on store shelves and pharmacies. Among them there are quite harmless, but some representatives of this family need to stay away.
History of Sweet Pills
As far back as 1878, the chemist made this discovery, conducting routine work in his laboratory. Due to his own negligence, he did not wash his hands after working with chemicals and began to eat. Sweet taste attracted his attention, and when he realized that his source was not food, but his own fingers, he hurried back to the laboratory to check on the guess. Then it was still difficult to say how sulfaminobenzoic acid will affect our health, but the discovery was made, saccharin was invented. He later helped out during the war years when sugar was in short supply. However, progress does not stand still, and today there is more than one saccharin, but several dozen different substitutes are sold in any pharmacy. Our task is to understand which is better. Sweetener can help a lot, but you must be sure that it is completely safe.
Which is better - regular sugar or its analogues?
This is an important question that you should ask your doctor. Which sugar substitute is better and should you use it? Daily consumption of regular sugar does lead to a serious malfunction or metabolic syndrome. That is, the metabolism is disrupted, and the result will be a number of serious diseases. This is our fee for a sweet life and love for refined foods, which include white flour and sugar.
What are sugar analogues
Gradually, we will approach the main topic, of which all their diversity is better. Sweetener is a substance that gives a sweet taste without the use of our usual product, supplied in the form of sand or refined. First of all, you should know that there are two main groups, these are high-calorie and low-calorie analogues. The first group is natural sweeteners. By caloric value they are identical to sugar, but they will have to be added more, because they are much inferior to it in terms of sweetness. The second group is synthetic sweeteners. They practically do not contain calories, which means they are very popular for those who are looking for an alternative to sugar in order to reduce their weight. Their effect on carbohydrate metabolism is negligible.
Natural sweeteners
These are substances that are closest in composition to sucrose. However, family relationships with healthy fruits and berries make them indispensable in order to endow the lives of diabetics. And the most famous among this group can be called fructose. Natural sweeteners are perfectly absorbed and are completely safe, but also high in calories. The only exception is stevia, possessing all the benefits of natural sweeteners, it does not contain calories.
So, fructose. Our body is well acquainted with this substance. From early childhood, when you are not yet familiar with sweets and cakes, moms begin to give you mashed fruits and vegetables. It is they who are its natural sources. In addition, it should be noted that fructose does not so much affect the blood sugar level, which means that its use by diabetics is permissible. Plus, this is one of the few sweeteners that are used to make jams and preserves. A wonderful effect is obtained by adding fructose to baking. However, in large quantities, it increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it is permissible to consume no more than 30-40 g per day.
Stevia tablets
This is a common grass that grows in Brazil. The glycosides of its leaves make this plant very sweet. We can say that it is an ideal sugar substitute, excellent and very healthy. Stevia is almost 25 times sweeter than sugar, so its price is very low. In Brazil, stevia is widely used in tablets as a safe sweetener that contains 0 calories.
If you plan to go on a diet, but can not refuse sweets, then this is your best assistant. Stevia is non-toxic. Most often, it is well tolerated and has good taste. Some note a slight bitter taste, but you quickly get used to it. It retains its properties when heated, that is, it can be added to soups and cereals, compotes and tea. The use of sweeteners is also that stevia is a source of vitamins. Its use is recommended for those whose diet contains few fresh fruits and vegetables, which have a poor diet. Up to 40 g of stevia can be consumed per day.
Synthetic Sweeteners
This group includes a large number of different additives. These are saccharin and cyclamate, aspartame, sucrasite. These are dummies that deceive the taste buds and are not absorbed by the body. However, our body quickly recognizes fraud. A sweet taste is a signal that carbohydrates are coming. However, they are not, and therefore after a while you will have a strong appetite. Moreover, after cheating in the form of a “dietary” Cola, any carbohydrates that enter the body within 24 hours will cause a strong feeling of hunger. However, let's talk about everything in order. So whether the sweetener is harmful or, compared with regular sugar, it occupies a more advantageous position, we will find out further.
Aspartame
Most often we can meet him as part of various lemonades. It is the most popular sweetener today. There are no studies that would indicate its harm, but any doctor will say that it is better to minimize its consumption. In European countries, they are treated with great caution and are forbidden to add it to the nutrition of children under 14 years of age. It is not recommended for aspartame and adolescents, but it is very difficult to exclude this substitute from the diet. But almost all soft drinks with a minimum of calories are made with the addition of this sweetener. At high temperatures, aspartame is destroyed, so check the composition of the product before using it in cooking. This applies primarily to jams that we add to baking. Of the pluses, there can be noted the absence of an unpleasant aftertaste, as well as a sweetness 200 times higher than that which sucrose has. Is a sweetener called aspartame harmful? Of course, it is difficult to call it useful, but in reasonable quantities it can be eaten.
Xylitol
It is most often added to chewing gums, which appear under the logo "sugar free". Get it from the stumps of corn and husks of cotton seeds. Calorie and sweetness are equal to ordinary sugar, so you won’t get much benefit from its use if your goal is weight loss. True, unlike simple sugar, it very favorably affects the condition of the teeth and prevents the development of caries. It is not popular on the market and is quite rare in the form of a food supplement, that is, a sweetener.
Saccharin
This is the very first substitute, which was discovered by a well-known chemist from that time. Sweetener pills quickly became known and gained high popularity. They have an amazing quality, sugar inferior to them in sweetness by 450 times. It should be noted that in acceptable doses, it is normally tolerated by our body. The maximum daily dosage is 5 mg per 1 kg of weight. A regular increase in this dose can cause various malfunctions in the body. It should be noted that the chances of receiving a significant dose of this substance every day are quite large. It is widely used in the manufacture of ice cream and creams, gelatin desserts and other confectionery products. Look in the supplement E 954, under this name hides saccharin. When making jam or stewed fruit, keep in mind that this substitute is not a preservative.
Cyclamates
This is the second largest group of synthetic sugar substitutes. Experts do not recommend using them for pregnant women, as well as children under 4 years old. However, this does not mean that everyone else can use it without restrictions. The permissible dosage is 11 mg per 1 kg of weight. Cyclamate and saccharin are the optimal duo that gives the perfect sweet taste. It is this formula that underlies almost all the popular sweeteners in our country. These are Zukli, Milford, and a number of other popular names. All of them are suitable for dietary nutrition, but this group (like saccharin) is constantly accused by doctors of carcinogenicity.
Milford is the sweetener for you
It is a sweetener based on cyclamate and sodium saccharin. That is, before you is a complex nutritional supplement, which contains lactose. The drug is produced in Germany, which already has confidence. It is registered in the Russian Federation; there are studies confirming its safety. Milford is a sweetener that is available in the form of tablets and also in the form of drops. It is very convenient to use, 1 tablet can replace 1 teaspoon of regular sugar. And the caloric content of 100 g of the drug is only 20 kcal. This sweetener is very widely used in the production of low-calorie compotes, preserves and jams. The use of this product during pregnancy is not recommended. It is also necessary to note a fairly strong choleretic effect, therefore, regular use in food may be unsafe in the presence of gallstone disease.
Sucralose - Safe Be Sweets
We have reached a sugar substitute such as sucralose. The harm or benefit of her body, let's disassemble together. In fact, this is the only synthetic sugar about which doctors and nutritionists respond quite normally. Experts say that pregnant women and young children can safely eat it. The limitation, however, is - no more than 5 mg per 1 kg of weight. However, in industry, Sucralose is almost never used. We have already determined the harm or benefit from it, according to the statements of nutritionists, it is absolutely safe. It seems to be to determine the popularity of this sweetener. However, it is quite expensive, which means that more affordable analogues intercept the palm.
"Fit Parade"
This is a real hit today, which is only gaining popularity. The main feature is the absence of a specific flavor, which is famous for stevia. The Fit Parade was created specifically for those who follow a strict diet and cannot afford to consume sugar. As part of polyol erythritol and rosehips, as well as intense sweeteners, these are sucralose and stevioside. Calorie content - only 19 kcal per 100 g of product, this alone speaks for the fact that it is worth taking the "Fit Parade". Reviews of endocrinologists confirm that this is a new generation natural sweetener that is free from the drawbacks of most of its predecessors. Like stevia, it is a completely natural product that has a great sweet taste. It does not contain GMOs and is absolutely harmless to health.
What does the Fit Parade sweetener contain? Reviews of nutritionists say that plus everything, this is a real sweet pharmacy that contains vitamins and macronutrients, inulin and pectin, fiber and amino acids. That is, a glass of sweet tea will not only be harmless, but also beneficial to your health. Its main components are stevioside, erythritol, Jerusalem artichoke extract and sucralose. We already talked about stevia extract, about sucralose too. Jerusalem artichoke is a source of pectin and fiber. Erythritol is a polyhydric sugar alcohol that is part of many fruits and vegetables. Moreover, it is almost not absorbed by the body, which determines its low calorie content. Thus, the Fit sweetener is an innovative sweetener of the highest quality. If you care about your health, then try using it together with sugar. It is heat resistant, which means it can be added to baking. It can be used in food by diabetics for whom sugar is contraindicated. It is widely used by the beautiful half of humanity during tedious diets, when you really want sweets.
Novasweet from NovaProduct AG
Since 2000 , this huge concern has been producing quality diabetic products. Moreover, the products are widely known not only in Russia, but throughout the world. The basis of the drug Novasweet (sugar substitute) fructose and sorbitol. The pros and cons of fructose, we have already described, let's now talk about sorbitol. It is a natural sweetener found in apricots and apples, as well as in mountain ash. That is, it is a polyhydric sugar alcohol, but simple sugar is three times sweeter than sorbitol. In turn, this sweetener has its pros and cons. Sorbitol helps the body reduce the consumption of vitamins and improve the microflora of the digestive tract. This is an excellent choleretic agent. However, it sorbitol 50 times calorie sugar, it is not suitable for those who follow their figure. If consumed in large quantities, it can cause nausea and upset stomach.
Who is using this sweetener? Reviews suggest that these are usually people with diabetes. The main advantage of the product is that Novasweet is made exclusively from natural ingredients. That is, the composition contains vitamins of the group C, E, P, minerals. Fructose and sorbitol are those substances that our body regularly receives from fruits and vegetables, that is, they are not foreign and do not cause metabolic problems. For a patient with diabetes, safety is one of the main selection criteria.
No GMOs are added to this sweetener, which can be harmful to the health of patients. The use of this substitute can slow down the process of processing sugar in the blood and thereby control the level of glucose. Numerous reviews suggest that this particular sweetener is the best choice for diabetics. It has no side effects and does not harm the body. But such a sweetener is not suitable for weight loss, since it is too high in calories, it is much easier to simply reduce the consumption of regular sugar.
Thus, we presented the main sugar-substitute tablets that exist on the market today. After analyzing their pros and cons, you can choose for yourself the one that suits you best. All of them underwent studies that confirmed their safety. Depending on the set goals, they can be used both on an ongoing basis and as a sugar substitute for the duration of a short-term diet. However, some should be consumed in limited quantities, which must be taken into account. Do not forget to pre-discuss your choice with a dietitian to be sure that you are making the right choice. Be healthy.