"Natural" sugar: What does it mean?
Natural sugar goes far beyond traditional table sugar. The raw variety contains sugar, coconut sugar, agave nectar, honey, and the oft-demonized high-fructose corn syrup. Due to their natural properties, honey and molasses are often used in place of table sugar, but their glycemic index is exactly the same as sugar.
Agave nectar is sometimes touted as a healthier alternative to table sugar because of its lower glycemic load (which basically means it raises blood sugar levels more slowly), but according to gastroenterologists and obesity medicine experts Dr. Nitin Kumar. It also has a high fructose content, which means it has similar properties to high-fructose corn syrup; they both convert sugar into fat more easily than table sugar. So, regardless of whether the sugar has a fancy name or not, they are more or less the same. Aside from high fructose corn syrup, it should still be avoided like the plague.
So how much sugar is “right”?
The American Heart Association recommends a daily limit of 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugars for women and 9 teaspoons (36 grams) of added sugars per day for men.
Artificial Sweeteners: What's the Difference?
When it comes to artificial sweeteners, things get complicated because there are many different types of FDA-approved artificial sweeteners:
saccharin
Also known as Sweet'N Low, saccharin is controversial; a 1978 study found a link between saccharin and bladder cancer in rats, so saccharin is considered unsafe. But subsequent studies found no clear correlation between saccharin and cancer in humans because we process saccharin differently than mice. Go figure it out. Recent research shows it can even help inhibit cancer cell growth...wait, what? Although the National Cancer Institute says it's safe to eat, the sweetener, which is 300 times sweeter than cane sugar, has fallen out of favor since the whole debacle in the late 1970s. We'd say this is your worst option.
aspartame
It is the most common ingredient in sugar-free processed foods such as diet soda. It is also sold in small packages under the brands Equal and NutraSweet and is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Unlike other sweeteners that usually just pass through your body, aspartame is metabolized into compounds found in natural foods. It is considered safe in small amounts, except for people with phenylketonuria, a genetic disorder. We'd say this is your next worst choice.
Sucralose
Also known as Splenda, it passes easily through the body and does not accumulate fat in the body. It's 600 times sweeter than sugar, so a little goes a long way. It's a bad choice, but not that harmful so far.
Stevia
About 300 times sweeter than sugar, it is hailed as the newest and healthiest artificial sweetener because it comes from the stevia plant. Plants, must be good! It has zero calories, and Dr. Kumar says it can lower post-meal blood sugar and insulin levels compared to sugar. But overall, the hype is probably more about marketing than scientific fact. While rebaudioside A (also known as stevia extract) has been generally considered safe by the FDA, pure stevia has not yet received the same seal of approval. Overall, artificial sweeteners are generally on the same playing field. The best of these four options.
"The FDA has deemed some artificial sweeteners (saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, stevia extract) as 'generally recognized as safe' in terms of the long-term health effects of their use. ” explained Dr. Kumar. "Because they usually pass through you without being digested (except for aspartame), and because they have been studied extensively in the laboratory, they are considered safe for long-term use (with the exception of phenylketonuria) patient’s aspartame).”
"Safe" is one thing, but most people turn to artificial sweeteners as a way to reduce calorie consumption. This is where things get a little tricky. The jury is still out on whether sugar-free sweeteners cause people to eat fewer calories overall. Although they appear to be that way (diet sodas have no calories!), some studies claim artificial sweeteners can increase appetite. But most of the research on it is conflicting, so doctors can't really be sure about either condition.
Sugar alcohols: The next sugar frontier?
Sugar alcohols have been a popular alternative to sugar for decades. They look and taste like sugar, but have fewer calories and fewer negative health effects. In fact, many studies show that sugar alcohols can actually improve health .
What are sugar alcohols?
Sugar alcohols (or “polyols”) are a type of sweet carbohydrate. As the name suggests, they are like a mixture of sugar and alcohol molecules. Despite the "alcohol" part of the name, they don't contain any ethanol, the compound that makes you drunk. Sugar alcohols are safe for alcoholics. A variety of sugar alcohols occur naturally in fruits and vegetables. However, most are industrially produced and processed from other sugars, such as glucose from cornstarch. Sugar alcohols look like white crystals, just like sugar.
Unlike artificial low-calorie sweeteners, sugar alcohols do contain calories, just less than regular sugar. The most popular are these (in order of best choice):
Erythritol
Erythritol is another sugar alcohol thought to have a great taste. It is processed by fermenting glucose from corn starch. Its sweetness is 70% of sugar, but its calories are only 5% of sugar. Along with the low-calorie sweetener stevia, erythritol is the main ingredient in the popular sweetener blend Truvia. Erythritol does not have digestive side effects like most other sugar alcohols because it does not reach the large intestine in large amounts. Instead, most is absorbed into the blood and excreted unchanged in the urine. If you're trying to cut calories and maintain stable blood sugar, this is your best option.
xylitol
Xylitol is the most common and well-studied sugar alcohol. It has a distinctive minty flavor and is a common ingredient in oral care products such as sugar-free gum, mints, and toothpaste. It's about as sweet as regular sugar but contains 40% fewer calories. Xylitol is well tolerated, except for some digestive symptoms when consumed in large amounts. Unless you have some digestive symptoms, this is a good choice.
Sorbitol
Sorbitol is said to have a smooth mouthfeel and cooling taste. Its sweetness is 60% of sugar and its calories are about 60% of sugar. It's a common ingredient in sugar-free foods and drinks, including jelly spreads and gummies. It has minimal effects on blood sugar and insulin, but may cause severe digestive upset. A bad choice.
Maltitol
Maltitol is processed from the sugar maltose and has a taste and texture very similar to regular sugar. Its sweetness is 90% that of sugar, but its calories are only half that of sugar. While products containing maltitol can claim to be "sugar-free," it is easily absorbed by the body and can indeed cause blood sugar to spike. If you have diabetes, be skeptical of "low-carb" products sweetened with maltitol, and be sure to monitor your blood sugar carefully. Not a good choice at all.
Other sugar alcohols commonly found in some foods include mannitol, isomalt, lactitol, and hydrogenated starch hydrolyzate.
sugar drip
To eliminate added sugars, you first need to find them, which is no easy task. For one thing, sugar goes by many different names. Common ones include agave, brown sugar, cane juice, cane sugar, coconut palm sugar, evaporated cane juice, fruit juice concentrate (such as apple juice concentrate or pear juice concentrate), honey, brown rice syrup, maple syrup and high-fructose corn syrup. As we mentioned with "natural" or regular "table" sugars, they are all the same to your body and just as dangerous.
So which one is better?
Conventional wisdom still holds; when it comes to artificial sweeteners and natural sugars, moderation is key. For people trying to lose weight, artificial sweeteners like Swerve, Lakanto or even pure erythritol may be your best choice.
