What are Different Types of Sweeteners?

A sweetener is a substance which is used to sweeten foods or drink, especially ones other than conventional sugar.

Sweeteners can be broken down into 4 separate categories. We want you to know the difference between them and make your choices according to what you & your doctor feel is best for your body and metabolism.

Natural Sweeteners

These are all extracted or created from plants. All of these types of sugars have roughly the same amount of calories and sucrose is technically one of them since it comes from sugar cane or beets.

Some people consider that healthier alternatives can be agave, maple syrup, molasses and honey. There are pros and cons to their usage, however.

These sweeteners contain potent antioxidants but also can contain up to 90% fructose. Fructose is low on the Glycemic Index (approximately at 25, while table sugar is 100), however its perils lie in the way it interacts with our bodies. The toxicity of fructose depends on your body - for example, if you are overweight, insulin resistant, well- fed and getting both fructose and glucose together (like many people in modern societies are) it gets converted to fat at a very high rate, approximately 30% of your intake will be directly converted (see article in The Guardian). Added fructose has been found to be a leading cause of Type 2 Diabetes.

Thus, it is wise to consume fructose in small quantities as many consider it more harmful than sucrose (or table sugar) for overall morbidity and even fertility levels.When abused, natural sweeteners have the capability of being just as unhealthy, if not moreso, than traditional sugar.

Sugar Alcohols

Sugar alcohols are sweeteners which have reduced-calories and are manufactured from sugar or extracted from a plant. They usually taste less sweet than sugar and can be extracted or synthesized from various fruits and vegetables. They are generally used as sweeteners in chocolates, candies and desserts for their texture. These are an attractive alternative for using in baked goods because they help keep food moist, prevent browning when heated and can often have a cooling sensation when tasted (ie. gym or xylitol mints).

Despite their name, sugar alcohols do not contain any alcohol (or ethanol), which is found in alcoholic beverages.  Examples of sugar alcohols include Maltitol (most commonly used), Xylitol (often found in gums and breath-mints), Sorbitol and Erythritol.

These are not necessarily calorie-free but they are metabolized much slower in the body than sucrose. Their Glycemic Index level is lower than sugar because the body cannot completely absorb them so much of the sugar gets excreted out. Due to this effect, some individuals may experience a laxative effect when consuming too large of a quantity. Erythritol does not tend to cause gastric side effects and is the lowest on the Glycemic Index.

Novel Sweeteners

These are new sweeteners (such as Stevia) which can either be extracted naturally or as a manufactured byproduct. Stevia is the most common and is isolated from the stevia plant. Stevia is 200 times sweeter than sugar and may have a bitter after-taste. It is for this reason that food manufacturers often have to get creative in ways that they mask this flavor. Some blends such as Truvia are known for using sugar alcohol blends to remove this after-taste.

Tagatose and Trehalose are other examples of novel sweeteners because of their chemical structure. Tagatose is a low-carbohydrate sweetener, similar to fructose and it occurs naturally, but it is mainly manufactured from lactose in dairy products (since it is not found in large enough quantities naturally). Trehalose is found naturally in honey and mushrooms.

Artificial Sweeteners

These were synthesized in a lab and they are not properly absorbed by the human body, and therefore they have no calories. They are typically much sweeter than regular sugar because of the way they react with your taste buds and how much stronger of an interaction it is. Good examples are Sucralose (Splenda), Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet) and Saccharin (Sweet'N Low). Usually only a small fraction of these is required to be added to sweeten a beverage or food.

These sugars can be difficult to cook with because they have different properties than natural sugars and are often recommended to diabetics because they have a Glycemix Index value of 0 and therefore do not increase blood sugar levels.

No matter which type of sugars you plan to incorporate into your diet, a good idea is always to run your plans through your doctor or dietitian, specifically if you have diabetes.

If you have any concerns about how much alternate sweetener you are consuming, make sure to check the FDA's website because they have established acceptable daily intake (ADI) for each artificial sweetener - the amount is roughly 1/100th of the amount that would cause adverse health effects.

The Health Benefits of Tea

Adding to the abundant reasons you can see above in the quick and easy guide designed, here area a few more reasons you should enjoy tea as often as possible!

Tea has antioxidants

These eliminate "free radicals" in our bodies and help keep us young and protect our cells from damage. Tea also appears to be responsible for helping your immune cells reach their target quicker, thus boosting your immune response.

Tea has less caffeine than coffee 

If you're careful to consume herbal teas, you can be guaranteed that they do not have caffeine and traditional tea has approximately half of the caffeine found in coffee.

Lowered risk of Heart Attack & Stroke

Evidence suggests drinking more than 3-4 cups of coffee a day can lower your risk of a heart attack by 35% and lower cholesterol levels overall.

Bone loss prevention 

Recent studies suggest that specifically green tea may help prevent osteoporosis

Keeps teeth clean & bright

Tea doesn't contain any enamel corroding substances, so if you want to keep your pearly whites the way they are, it can protect against bacterial growth by changing the pH in your mouth.

Keeping digestion healthy

While mint tea is known to regulate bowel movements and help push food along the digestive tract, those that may suffer from IBD (irritable bowel disease) should consider consuming chamomile tea to soothe their intestines. If you experience nausea, try ginger tea.

You can boost its flavor naturally 

Consider adding some ginger, nutmeg, cocoa or cinnamon to your tea to make it your own without adding any extra calories or unhealthy sugars.

What Sugar to Cut and Why?

It's important to realize that the "going Sugar-Free" is nowhere near as difficult as it sounds. Sugars are prevalent in many fruits, vegetables, and naturally occurs in our diets. 

What nobody tells us is that our bodies have the added capability of transforming fats and proteins into sugars (one such example is gluconeogenesis). The human body has several mechanisms used to maintain blood sugar levels and avoid harmfully low levels (hypoglycemia).

Sugar is a carbohydrate and recommended dietary guidelines tell us that they should make up 10-20% of our daily intake. Many of us are consuming upwards of 266% of the recommended intake (according to the American Heart Association), which inevitably makes us unhealthy. 

If you're not trying to lose weight, you may realize that an added benefit to cutting out all that extra sugar can really affect a positive change in your waistline. Bonus, right?

Foods to Avoid

Soft drinks: Sugar-sweetened beverages are the biggest source of added sugar intake
Fruit juices: Fruit juices actually contain the same amount of sugar as soft drinks!
Candies and sweets: You should drastically limit your consumption of sweets (eliminate it entirely if you can). We know this is hard, that's why you can eat Sugar-Free substitutes to satisfy your cravings. Trust us, if you find good gourmet, alternative options, this makes it very easy!
Baked goods: Cookies, cakes, etc. These tend to be very high in sugar and refined carbohydrates - (again, there are substitutions)
Canned fruits in syrup & jams: Fresh fruits are always the wiser choice and offer more nutritional value
Low-Fat or Diet Foods: Be wary of these because foods which have fat removed from them are often very high in sugar - the sugar is added to substitute flavor
Dried fruits: Tend to have very concentrated, high levels of sugars
Processed foods: Typically these are preserved with copious amounts of sugar and salt.
Alcohols: Often cocktails and mixed drinks as well as pina coladas are full of sugar and beers are high in carbohydrates
Fruits: Some fruits are just as high in sugar as candy, specifically grapes, sweet apples, melons and pineapple should be consumed in moderation

Drink water instead of soda or juices and try to avoid adding sugar to your coffee or tea. Instead of sugar in recipes, you can use sugar alternatives and substitutes (we will delve into these in detail in another post). Typically, ones to choose should be low on the Glycemic Index (causing a very small change in blood sugar after consumption or have no effect whatsoever).

We found the below useful infographic to give you an idea of how much added sugar is in commonplace food staples.