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There are two types of sweeteners: caloric (nutritive) and noncaloric (non
enciclopedia de salud
ilustrada nutritive). The caloric sweeteners provide 4 Calories per gram; and the
health in a heartbeat noncaloric varieties provide zero.

Function:
Caloric sweeteners provide the sweet flavor and bulk to the food to which
they have been added. They also provide freshness and contribute to the
product quality. Caloric sweeteners act as a preservative in jams and jellies,
and a flavor enhancer for processed meats. They provide fermentation for
breads and pickles, bulk to ice creams, and body to carbonated beverages.
Some caloric sweeteners are made by processing the sugar compounds
and some occur naturally.

Noncaloric sweeteners are used in place of caloric sweeteners in some

cases. They do not provide calories, but they do provide the sweet taste. All
noncaloric sweeteners are chemically processed.

Food Sources:
CALORIC SWEETENERS

Processed:

Confectioner's sugar (also known as powdered sugar) is finely ground

sucrose.
Corn sweeteners are sugars obtained from corn (for example, corn
syrup). Corn syrup is used frequently in carbonated beverages, baked
goods, and some canned products. It is a liquid that is a combination
of maltose, glucose, and dextrose.
Dextrose is glucose combined with water.
Invert sugar is a sugar that is made by dividing sucrose into its two
parts: glucose and fructose. Sweeter than sucrose and used in a
liquid form, invert sugar helps in maintaining the sweetness of
confections and baked items.
Sucrose includes raw sugar, granulated sugar, brown sugar,
confectioner's sugar, and turbinado sugar. It is made up of glucose
and fructose. It is made by concentrating sugar beet juice and or
sugar cane.
Turbinado sugar is made by refining sugar and making it more pure.

Non-processed:

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Sweeteners http://www.shands.org/health/information/article/002444.htm

Raw sugar is granulated, solid, or coarse, and is brown in color. It is

obtained by the evaporation of the moisture from the juice of the
sugar cane.
Brown sugar is made from the sugar crystals obtained from molasses
syrup.
Fructose is the naturally occurring sugar in all fruits. It is also called
levulose or fruit sugar.
Glucose is found in fruits but in limited amounts; it is also a syrup
made from corn starch.
Honey is a combination of fructose, glucose, and water, produced by
bees.
Lactose (milk sugar) is the carbohydrate that is in milk. It is made up of
glucose and galactose.
Maltose (malt sugar) is produced during the process of fermentation. It
is found in beer and in breads.
Mannitol is a by-product of alcohol production but does not contain
any alcohol. It does have a laxative effect when consumed in large
quantities. It is used in dietetic food products.
Maple sugar is obtained from the sap of maple trees. It is made up of
sucrose, fructose, and glucose.
Molasses is obtained from the residue of sugar cane processing.
Sorbitol is used in many dietetic food products. It is produced from
glucose and it is also found naturally in certain berries and fruits. It is
absorbed by the body at a much slower rate than sugar.

NONCALORIC SWEETENERS

Aspartame is a combination of phenylalanine and aspartic acid, which

are two amino acids. It is also known by its commercial names of
Equal, which is available as a packaged sweetener, and as
NutraSweet when it is used in food or beverage products. It is 180 to
220 times sweeter than sugar.
Acesulfame K is an artificial sweetener, also known as Sunett. It is
heat stable and can be used in cooking and baking. It is also
available as a tabletop sweetener, marketed under the name Sweet
One. It is FDA-approved and is used in combination with other
sweeteners such as saccharin in carbonated low-calorie beverages
and other products.
Saccharin is 300 times sweeter than sugar. It is the first artificial
sweetener. It is used in several dietetic food and beverage products.
Cyclamates are 30 times sweeter than sugar. They are banned in the
United States because in 1970 they were shown to have caused
bladder cancer in animals.

References: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) National

Toxicology Program (NTP) 9th Report on Carcinogens, May 2000

Side Effects:
Sugar provides calories and no other nutrients. There is a concern that
sugar or caloric sweeteners can cause tooth decay. A high intake of sugar
does not cause diabetes, but if a person is diagnosed with diabetes the
amount of simple sugar eaten daily often needs to be reduced.

People have reported side effects from ingesting of Aspartame, but the
effect have not been proven with scientific studies.

Note: When speaking of nutrition, 1 Calorie = 1,000 calories or 1 kcal.

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Recommendations:
Sugar is on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) list of safe foods. It
contains 16 Calories per teaspoon and can be used in moderation. All of
the various types of sugars described earlier can be used in moderation.

Aspartame has been FDA approved. The moderate safe levels

recommended include, for example, 18 packets of Equal, or three 12 ounce
of diet soda per day for a 130-pound person. For people with the genetic
disorder phenylketonuria (PKU), aspartame is not recommended as they are
unable to metabolize it.

In the National Toxicology Program (NTP) 9th Report on Carcinogens, May

2000, Saccharin was removed from the list of carcinogenic substances.

Ace-sulfame K is also FDA approved.

The FDA provides the ADI (accepted daily intake guide), which is the
amount of sweetener that can be used by a human over a lifetime and still
be considered safe by a factor of at least a hundred fold. This is about
1/100 of an amount shown to have no toxic effects in animals. The ADI is
reported as an amount per kilogram of body weight, which provides a large
quantity of the sweetener.

Review Date: 1/30/2002

Reviewed By: Poune Saberi, M.D., M.P.H., Department of Family Practice and Community Medicine,
University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare
Network.

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