A sweetener is a seemingly ideal alternative for sugar. After all, it almost does not contain calories. Every consumer will find something to their liking among different sweeteners, whether they are substances of natural origin or manufactured artificially. There are for baking, cooking hot food and cold dishes or drinks.
However, more and more often one can find references to the fact that sweeteners are very harmful and can provoke the most terrible diseases, up to oncological ones. Is it really? Which sweetener is best to choose? How to use it correctly, and how to take care of your health with it?
Harm of sweeteners: truth or rumors?
Ever since the use of sweeteners, they have become the object of numerous disputes and various, sometimes unsubstantiated rumors. For example, their ability to cause cancer and other diseases.
At the same time, people forget that if a substance has been approved, it is likely that it passed many tests and control studies. That is why it is not surprising that sweeteners can be found everywhere - in drinks, yoghurts and chewing gums. They can also be purchased separately in the form of powder or tablets, for example, for baking or to sweeten tea.
It should be remembered that many sweeteners have contraindications to the use. That is, some people can not use this or that particular sweetener, so as not to seriously harm their health.
What are sweeteners
We have the opportunity to choose between two main types of sweeteners.
- Very sweet, much sweeter than sugar, but also caloric - aspartame, acesulfame, thaumatin and stevia.
- Less sweet than sugar, and with less calories - sorbitol and xylitol.
Natural and chemical sweeteners
Ecological and healthy food has recently become very popular. Not every person agrees to fill his stomach with chemistry. The same picture with sweeteners. In this segment of the market a real hit was stevia - a sweetener of vegetable origin.
It can be purchased at health food stores, and in addition, it is versatile for its use - stevia can be used for baking as well as for cold dishes. What is most important in this case is that stevia is more than 300 times sweeter than sugar. And this despite the fact that it is 5 times smaller than its caloric content. Instead of a glass of sugar, add two tablespoons of stevia in the powder to the dough.
Why read the labels on products?
Very often sweeteners replace sugar in products "light".Drinks, cheeses and yoghurts contain, most often, a mixture of several sweeteners. Information that the product contains a sweetener should be placed on the product packaging, with a mandatory note and indication of the names of these substances in the product.
Particular attention should be paid to aspartame. On the label of products containing it, there should be a warning for patients with phenylketonuria, because this sweetener contains a substance harmful to them. In addition, the results of a number of studies have shown its danger to patients with diabetes mellitus, as well as the possible negative impact on brain cells and the ability to disrupt hormonal balance in the body. True, the scale of these studies is still insufficient, so that doctors can make definitive and reliable conclusions about the harm of aspartame. And because it is still allowed to be used in many countries.
Sweeteners should not be given to small children. Pregnant women should also avoid them, because sweeteners can affect the formation of the child's nervous system.
Sweetener and dental health
Bacteria that develop in the oral cavity, feed on sugar, turning it into an acid that destroys enamel and leads to tooth decay. The sweeteners listed above have a huge advantage over sugar, since they do not undergo fermentation, therefore, they do not provoke the appearance of diseases of the oral cavity. Importantly, they are not even added to toothpastes, to improve taste.
Diabetes mellitus
All sweeteners, both artificial and natural, improve the taste of drinks and dishes, and do not raise the blood glucose level, as sugar does. This is important for those who have diabetes. They should add sweeteners to their coffee and tea and can eat products containing these substances without fear. Caution should be exercised only with regard to aspartame.
It is worth remembering that all food additives, including sweeteners, have a consumption limit, so do not exceed the daily dose.