Non-caloric sweeteners, sugar substitutes

The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends a maximum daily intake of 50gr of sugars, which is equivalent to ingesting 18kg of sugar per year,but the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reveals that 24kg per year is actually consumed on average..

This concern about overconsupply in society has made the food industry take advantage of a new business niche with substitutes for white sugar, non-caloric sweeteners.

Misleading advertising on food labels

• Light labeling: Products labeled as light are not healthy at all,foods are removed from fat so that it fattens less, but also reduce the flavor, so they replace it with additions such as salt, sugars, sweeteners and flavor enhancers or all at once.
• 0% sugars: That it does not carry sugar does not mean that it is healthier, to compensate for the sugar preservative they add refined processed flours, low quality oils such as palm and large amounts of sweeteners.
• No added sugars: Most of these products are removed from white sugar, but to get the sweet taste of the product, they replace it with synthetic sweeteners in most cases, very toxic to health.

Why use non-caloric sweeteners?

• ENCs allow people suffering from obesity, diabetes, to consume beverages and other sweet-tasting foods without risk of absorbing calories.

Artificial NCSs activate sweet taste receptors but much less concentrated than sugar, very little is needed so calories are minimal.

The danger is that people with weight problems can consume more processed and sweetened foods for the simple fact of thinking that they do not gain weight and increase their weight.

• The advantage of these substitutes is that they do not damage both teeth and sugar since they do not interact with the bacteria that damage tooth enamel.
• Thanks to the use of NCS, diabetics can have access to many processed foods, since they do not raise the level of glucose in the blood.
• Patients with reactive hypoglycemia, a disease that produces excess insulin being a risk to their health, just as diabetics also benefit from sweeteners that do not increase the level of glucose in the blood.
• Some of these substitutes come naturally from fruits or plants and become a healthy alternative to sucrose if you don't fall into the mistake of consuming excessively.

Types of sweeteners

Sweeteners are divided into:

Intensive, low in calories

Extensive or polyols

What are low calorie sweeteners?

The non-caloric sweetener is an alternative in the diet of people with diabetes, they can enjoy the sweet taste without increasing blood glucose levels.

Non-caloric sweetener is a food sweetener that has virtually no energy value.

Therefore very small amounts are needed to sweeten foods and beverages, however today almost all foods contain these sweeteners and therefore it is very easy in the sum of the products consumed daily to exceed the Acceptable Daily Intake.

The ADI is the tool that ensures the safe use of food additives.

What are extensive sweeteners or polyols?

They are obtained from some fruits and vegetables, but also industrially, they are slightly less sweet than sugar.

Thanks to the lack of elevation of blood glucose, they offer an alternative for diabetics, although the daily intake of 20 gr/kg should not be exceeded to avoid consequences such as diarrhea, cramps or flatulence.

That is why the products to which these additives are added in their labeling should be warned that their excessive use could have a laxative effect.

Apart from being used to sweeten it is also used as an emulsifier, stabilizer, wetting agent, thickener or texture agent.

What does E mean in food additives?

All food additives used in food have an E (European) number which means they have been approved and are allowed in the European Union, some of these additives are banned in other countries.

The list and number of E numbers are classified into different categories, for example the numbers ranging from E100 to E181 are additives, those ranging from E300 to E340 are antioxidants, flavor enhancers range from E600 to E650 and brighteners from E900 to E910.

The European regulation on the use of E numbers establishes to which foods the different food additives can be added and maximum allowed content.

Food additives authorised in the EU have been thoroughly tested by EFSA, however, several of them are under the spotlight when considering that they affect health such as Aspartame.

Are sweeteners dangerous?

Are sugar substitutes dangerous?

According to a professor at the Israeli University named Ariel Kushmaro, he showed that the consumption of artificial sweeteners counteracts intestinal function, since they invade the bacteria of the intestines responsible for ensuring good regulation in the absorption of nutrients from digestion.

There are also studies by researcher at Nanynang University of Technology in Singapore named Ben Gurion who examined 10 dietary supplements containing sweetener to show they are bad for the intestines and published it in the journal Molecules..

Although many additives pass controls and tests so that they can be used, it is often impossible to discover all the problems that arise when consuming them and only when secondary results are generated from mild to severe as developing a cancer, the use of the additive is reviewed.

Scientific research warned that the use of sweeteners can lead to secondary outcomes such as bloating, headache, abdominal pain and even depressive feelings.

Animal tests show that those who are fed products made with artificial sweeteners gain weight, because the sweet taste does not increase blood glucose, causing hypoglycemia feeling the need to eat more.

The results of a randomized trial that was conducted in 2017 indicated that consuming artificial sweeteners increases body weight, metabolic syndrome may appear or generate type 2 diabetes..

Absorption and metabolism of sweeteners without calories.

Additives are analyzed separately, but it is common for foods or beverages to contain several types of additives, or for several foods to be consumed with multiple additives.

Additives react differently in groups and separately, which can have unforeseen side effects.

Non-caloric sweetening ENCs cannot all be treated equally as if they were the same.

Each is metabolized, absorbed and excreted from the body differently.

In all these cases the elimination of waste from our body is fast.

Sweeteners during pregnancy and lactation.

Considerations related to pregnancy and lactation:

Saccharin and cyclamate can cross the placenta and transfer to human fetal tissues.

The use of saccharin in preconception and gestation periods is not recommended.