Low-Calorie Sweeteners

In today's health-conscious world, many people are looking for ways to reduce their sugar intake. One solution is to use low-calorie sweeteners(LCS) . These sweeteners have fewer calories than traditional sugar and can help you cut back on your sugar consumption without sacrificing taste. Low-calorie sweeteners are sweeteners that contain few to no calories but have a higher intensity of sweetness per gram than sweeteners with calories—like table sugar, fruit juice concentrates, and corn syrups. Other names for LCS are non-nutritive sweeteners, artificial sweeteners, sugar substitutes, and high-intensity sweeteners.

LCS are found in many beverages and foods like frozen desserts, yogurt, candies, baked goods, chewing gum, breakfast cereals, gelatins, and puddings. Foods and beverages containing LCS sometimes carry the label “sugar-free” or “diet.” Some LCS can be used as general purpose sweeteners.

Because LCS are many times sweeter than table sugar, they can be used in smaller amounts to achieve the same level of sweetness as sugar. People may use LCS in place of sugar to consume fewer calories or less sugar or to better control their blood glucose if they have diabetes or prediabetes.

There are six LCS approved as food additives by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). [1] Numerous studies have been conducted on each type to identify possible toxic effects. They are all sweeter than table sugar (sucrose) but contain few or no calories. They include: Food stweetener Aspartame, Sugar Substitute Sweetener Acesulfame-K,food sweeteners Sucralose, Saccharin.etc.

Two other LCS are permitted for specific conditions of use in the food supply through the FDA’s GRAS (“Generally Recognized as Safe”) notification program:

Certain Steviol Glycosides, which come from the South American Stevia plant, Stevia rebaudiana.

Monk Fruit, also known as luo han guo or Siraitia grosvenorii Swingle fruit extract (SGFE), comes from a plant native to Southern China. Monk fruit is 100-250 times sweeter than sugar.

Sugar Alcohols

Food Additives Sugar alcohols, or polyols, are not classified as LCS but have slightly less calories than table sugar. The sweetness of sugar alcohols varies from 25-100% as sweet as sugar. They do not promote tooth decay or cause sharp rises in blood glucose. Examples are sorbitol, xylitol, lactitol, mannitol, erythritol, and maltitol. They are found in sugar-free candies, cookies, ice cream, beverages, and chewing gums. They are also used in toothpastes and medicines like cough syrups.