Sweeteners: Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth

The University of Georgia

Cooperative Extension Service

Why Do We Use Sugar?

• Sweet taste– The desire for sweet

taste increases with age in many people

Why Do We Use Sugar?

• Preserve jams and jellies

• Volume and texture in baked goods and ice-cream

• Fermentation in breads

Types of Sweeteners

• Nutritive sweeteners

– Contain calories

• Nonnutritive sweeteners (high intensity sweetener)

– Contain little or no calories

Nutritive Sweeteners

Sugars:• Glucose• Sucrose• Fructose• Lactose• Maltose

• Honey• Corn syrup• High fructose corn

syrup• Brown sugar

• All are equivalent in calories: about 4 calories per gram or about 16 calories per teaspoon

Nutritive Sweeteners

• Sorbitol• Mannitol• Maltitol• Erythritol• Xylitol• Lactitol

• Isomalt• Hydrogenated starch

hydrolysates (combination of polyols)

Sugar alcohols or polyols

Sugar alcohols/Polyols

• Used in many “sugar-free,” “low-carb,” and reduced calorie products– gum, candy, desserts, ice-cream, cough drops

and syrup

• Absorbed more slowly than “sugar”

Sugar Alcohols/Polyols

Advantages• Do not promote tooth

decay• May have less effect

on blood sugar in people with diabetes

• Most have fewer calories than sugar (about 2 calories per gram compared to 4)

Disadvantages• May have laxative

effect (gas, bloating, diarrhea)

• May be in foods that are not that low in calories or fat

Nonnutritive Sweeteners (high-intensity)

• Acesulfame potassium – Sunette, Sweet-One

• Aspartame – Equal, NutraSweet

• Neotame• Saccharin

– Sweet ‘n Low, etc• Sucralose

– Splenda

Approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

High-Intensity Sweeteners

Advantages• Little or no calories• No effect on blood

sugar in diabetes

Disadvantages• Some have unpleasant

aftertaste• Cannot replace sugar

entirely in baked products

Read the Label!

• Foods with high intensity sweeteners may be combined with other ingredients

• Check the Nutrition Facts label for calories, carbohydrate, and fat

When Can You Use a High-Intensity Sweetener?

• Beverages• Cooking and baking

when sugar is not needed for volume, texture, structure– Fruit cobblers and

pies– Sauces– Puddings

What Foods Work Better With Sugar?

• Cakes

• Cookies

• Yeast breads

Sugar’s Role in Baked Goods

Sugar provides to baked goods:

• browning

• tenderness

• structure

• volume

• texture

Why Reduce Sugar Intake?

• Contains calories, but no nutritional value

• Medical conditions:– Overweight/obesity– Diabetes– High triglycerides

How Can You Cut Back on Sugar?

• Reduce added sugar by up to ½• Replace some or all of the sugar

with a high-intensity sweetener– Check guidelines for specific

sweeteners for use in recipes• Use canned fruit packed in

juice

How Can You Cut Back on Sugar?

• Replace high-sugar beverages with sugar-free beverages

Size Calories

Super-size 410

Large 320

Medium 220

Points to Remember• High-sugar foods and beverages are usually

high in calories and low in nutritional value

• Cut back on sugar by using less added sugar or substituting high-intensity sweeteners

• Many “sugar-free” foods are not “calorie-free”

• Baked products often require some sugar for acceptable quality