Artificial Sweeteners (cont.)
Are there any safety concerns with sugar alcohols?
Sugar alcohols are regulated as either GRAS or a food additive. The FDA has
filed GRAS affirmation petitions for isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, HSH, and
erythritol. Sorbitol is on the GRAS list, while mannitol and xylitol are listed
as additives.
The reason that sugar alcohols provide fewer calories than sugar is because
they are not completed absorbed in our body. For this reason, high intakes of
foods containing some sugar alcohols can lead to abdominal gas and diarrhea. Any
foods that contain sorbitol or mannitol must include a warning on their label
that "excess consumption may have a laxative effect." The American Dietetic
Association advises that intakes greater than 50 grams/day of sorbitol or
greater than 20 grams/day of mannitol may cause diarrhea.
The presence of sugar alcohols in foods does not mean that you can eat
unlimited quantities. Sugar alcohols are lower in calories, gram for gram, than
sugar. They are not calorie-free, and if eaten in large enough quantities, the
calories can be comparable to sugar-containing foods. You will need to continue
reading the food labels for the calorie and carbohydrate content regardless of
the claim of being sugar-free, low-sugar, or low-carb.
What are nonnutritive sweeteners?
The use of nonnutritive sweeteners began with the need for cost reduction and
continued on with the need for calorie reduction. Since the 1950s, nonnutritive
sweeteners have become a weight-loss wonder that allowed us to have our sweets
without the calories and cavities. These sweeteners are also referred to as
intense sweeteners, alternative sweeteners, very low-calorie sweeteners, and
artificial sweeteners. The celebration and consumption of nonnutritive
sweeteners came to a halt in the '70s when cancer connections were discovered.
To this day, there is a great deal of controversy surrounding the safety of
nonnutritive sweeteners. For every compelling positive argument in favor of
using these sweeteners, there is an equally compelling negative argument opposing
their use.
The five FDA-approved nonnutritive sweeteners are saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, and neotame. Each of these is regulated as a
food additive. These sweeteners are evaluated based on their safety, sensory
qualities (for example, clean sweet taste, no bitterness, odorless), and stability in
various food environments. They are often combined with other nutritive and/or
nonnutritive sweeteners to provide volume that they lack on their own and a
desired flavor. An Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for each additive has been
established. The ADI is the amount of food additive that can be consumed daily
over a lifetime without appreciable health risk to a person on the basis of all
the known facts at the time of the evaluation.
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