Types of Sweeteners

Societies everywhere share a craving for sweets. Sugar is a big part of almost all foods that we consume, but many people either cannot have sugar due to health concerns, or they do not want a lot of sugar in their diets. To meet the demand for sweeteners, companies have bombarded the consumer public with all kinds of natural and artificial alternatives. Learning about sweetening options is a good idea before making major dietary changes. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Simple Sugars

Sugar comes in several forms. Simple sugars, or monosaccharides, include fructose, glucose and galactose. Two combined simple sugars are called disaccharides and include table sugar, or sucrose.

Saccharin

Saccharin is a sweetener that is up to 700 times sweeter than sugar. It is used in baked goods, jams, drinks and as a table top sweetener. It is available as Sweet-n-Low and Sweet Twin.

Aspartame

The sweetener aspartame was approved for use in 1981 as a table top sweetener and in beverages, baked goods and candy. It is 200 times sweeter than sugar and is available as Equal and Nutrasweet.

Acesulfame-K

Acesulfame-K is similar to aspartame and is available as Sunette, Sweet One and Diabetisweet. It has been approved for use in products like chewing gum, soft drinks and drink mixes.

Sucralose

The artificial sweetener sucralose was approved in 1998 and is the only sweetener derived from real sugar. It is 600 times sweeter than sugar but does not cause tooth decay. Sucralose is available as Splenda.