Know Your Sweeteners This Diwali
Every Diwali, I am hounded by a series of queries by weight watchers regarding a good sugar substitute. After a bit of research, these are few facts I like to share with you about artificial sweeteners. You can thus decide, whether they are beneficial for weight loss and which you think is apt for you:
Aspartame
The sweet tooth manufacturing industry was revolutionized 25 years ago. The aspartame was introduced, to replace sugar in foods requiring sweetness. It is 200 times sweeter than sugar and is often used in soft drinks.
Now, is it safe to consume?
Well, it has been under serious scrutiny and mal-campaign for couple of years but hasn’t been off shelved yet. It’s your take whether you should consume aspartame or not, we share a resource with you for your knowledge.
University of Liverpool test-tube study found that when mixed with a common food color ingredient, aspartame actually became toxic to brain cells. According to some health experts, aspartame is used in many diet sodas, and studies have found drinking diet soda may increase your risk of developing diabetes and metabolic syndrome
PKU is a serious, metabolic disorder, affecting 1 in 10,000 individuals and if untreated, it can cause serious brain damage.
Sufferers are normally diagnosed shortly after birth by a routine blood test and need to follow a very strict diet in order to limit their intake of phenylalanine, which is a normal constituent of proteins in food. Since aspartame is also a source of phenylalanine, all food products containing aspartame are clearly labelled to indicate the presence of phenylalanine so that those people who suffer from PKU can avoid consuming these products.
The hypothesis suggested by some experts couple of years ago that the exposition to aspartame could be a possible cause of the increase in the incidence of brain tumours in humans has not, to date, been confirmed by experimental data on animals or by the epidemiological data on humans.
Agave Nectar (Syrup)
This is prepared from a plant source Blue Agave and is considered a vegan option to honey. All though not known health side effects of this nectar but according to Many agave nectars consist of 70 to 80 percent fructose- that's more than what's found in high-fructose corn syrup! If you don't want to give up agave, look for types that contain no more than 30 to 40 percent fructose, recommends Christine Gerbstadt, MD, PhD, RD, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. Agave is also very heavily processed in an extremely energy-intensive manner that's similar to the way corn is converted into high-fructose corn syrup.
Agave nectar's glycemic index and glycemic load are comparable to fructose, which in turn has a much lower glycemic index and glycemic load than table sugar (sucrose). However, consumption of large amounts of fructose can be damaging and can trigger high triglycerides, insulin intolerances and accelerated uric acid formation.
Sucralose
Marketed as Splenda, this sweetener is processed from sugar itself. It is not considered as carbohydrates by the body and does not provide calories from sugar but some reports state that the bulking agents used in Splenda can add around 12 calories per tablespoon of the mixture (although the package does not list these calories). Heat does not affect the sweetener and can be used in baking recipes but it is known to have an after taste when used in excess.
This is one sweetener which does not seem to have raised any controversy or health warnings by FDA.
Honey
A teaspoon of honey is twice as much calorie as sugar but it comes with an antioxidant punch to ward off illnesses. Organic honey is nutrient dense and is low on glycemic index. This means honey in your tea will not spike your insulin’s suddenly and bring them crashing down like a sugar does.
Blackstrap Molasses
Although heavy on the calorie content, blackstrap is rich in iron, potassium, and calcium, making it a healthier choice than nutritionally defunct artificial sweeteners or even regular refined sugar, despite the fact that blackstrap and refined sugar both come from sugar cane.
So, I have shared some facts on sugar substitutes availble to you. It is your call to decide which will be your sweetner!
Tina Khanna
DesiDieter Expert
(Excerpts taken from Yahoo Health)
