Probably, everyone is interested to know what sugar substitutes are, the benefits and harms of which are unknown to many.
Sweetener is a chemical substance that can give a sweet taste to those products that do not contain natural sugar (fructose and glucose), and also does not include calories. For this reason, products that include sweeteners are called diet foods.
It is believed that the famous chemist Falberg invented sugar substitutes . He found out about their existence by chance. Once, having returned home from his laboratory, Falberg, without washing his hands, sat down to dinner. The piece of bread that he bit off turned out to be sweet. After that, he returned to the laboratory and checked the substances with which he worked. So he realized that synthetic sugar exists in nature.
It is known that a number of sugar substitutes are used in the manufacture of various drinks, chocolate bars and chewing gums.
Since they were born, the debate about how these sugar substitutes work, the benefits and harms of which are being studied to this day, has not yet subsided. It is impossible to say that they only harm our health, since among their large number there are also completely harmless representatives.
To date, the most famous are the following substitutes: saccharin (or E954), xylitol (or E967), aspartame (or E951), cyclamate (or E952). All of them are many times sweeter than sugar.
Everyone knows that there are no calories in artificial sugar. In addition, he rescues patients with diabetes: with the consumption of the usual product in the blood of a diabetic, sugar levels increase sharply, therefore, insulin rises and a person begins to gain weight quickly. But the harm of sweeteners still takes place: those who have consumed a substitute with food do not get the necessary carbohydrates, which inevitably leads to a sharp increase in appetite due to carbon starvation. Thus, the body will require food until the sugar level is normal.
Sweeteners: benefits and harms. It is important for each of us to know that a certain dose of a substitute can cause serious complications (severe poisoning, blindness, intoxication) or even death if the dose is too large. There are cases when, as a result of prolonged intake of such substances, a person begins the process of destruction of the brain. It should be noted that there are natural and synthetic sugar substitutes. Synthetic ones are those that are obtained artificially, which is why they have fewer calories. But they have a side effect - they stimulate the appetite. Therefore, you should carefully think about whether it is worth giving up sweets and replacing sugar with synthetic substitutes. These include aspartame, saccharin, sucracite and many others.
Natural sweeteners, the benefits and harms of which have long been known, as well as the real product, contain calories, but they are much more healthy. These include xylitol, sorbitol, fructose and even honey. Fructose is a common natural sugar substitute; it is found in large quantities in berries, fruits, and some vegetables. It is especially useful for patients with diabetes.
To avoid the use of the above substances, it is important to carefully read the composition of all products, it is indicated on the label. It should be noted that most food manufacturers use sugar substitutes. The harm to consumer health, of course, does not bother them, since they are much cheaper than natural sugar.
Everyone is free to decide for himself what to use. Always remember that regular sugar will not harm your health as much as its substitutes.