What You Should Know About Sweeteners

Sweetener instead of sugar – sounds good at first. Because sweeteners have almost no calories. Nevertheless, they are not always the better alternative.

What are sweeteners?

Sweetener is the collective term for all substances that taste very sweet and replace conventional sugar. Although they are many times sweeter than sugar, they contain hardly any calories. Sweeteners are not only found in foods such as sugar-free drinks or jam, but also in toothpaste, chewing gum and medicines.

In food law, they must be declared as additives. You can tell by the E numbers on the packaging. There are also sugar substitutes. They are also called sugar alcohols.

What sweeteners are there and how are they made?

Eleven sweeteners are permitted in Germany. Most are made in the lab. They are, among other things, the result of chemical reactions or are obtained from plants.

Very well known is saccharin, which was discovered by accident in 1887 during a chemical experiment. It is mainly found in diet drinks and fruit – and in canned fish. The classics also include aspartame and aspartame-acesulfame salt. They are found in many foods, such as desserts, sweets or snacks.

Both are readily soluble in water, as is Advantame. This relatively new sweetener is very similar in taste to sugar. It has a particularly high sweetening power, in contrast to cyclamate, which has the lowest sweetening power but is particularly heat-resistant. Cyclamate is often an ingredient in sugar-free jams and dietary supplements.

These products also often use sucralose, which has also not been on the market for long. This sweetener, which is chemically closely related to table sugar, is approximately 600 times sweeter than sugar.

Neohesperidin DC is added to soft drinks, among other things, as a flavor enhancer, as is neotame, which is very similar in structure to aspartame.

Two natural-based sweeteners are stevia and thaumatin. Stevia is made from the dried leaves of the plant of the same name.

Thaumatin is composed of various proteins and is obtained from the seeds of the West African tomcat fruit, which is extracted for this purpose. It is about 2500 sweeter than sugar, has a flavor enhancing effect, and tastes a bit like liquorice.

How much sweetener can you take?

There is an ADI value for each of the sweeteners that are permitted in Germany. Translated, this means Acceptable Daily Intake, i.e. acceptable daily intake. An ADI value of 40 mg/kg/day means that with a weight of 70 kilos, a daily amount of 2.8 grams a day is harmless.

The ADI values ​​of the individual sweeteners:

Acesulfame: 9 mg/kg/day

Aspartame: 40 mg/kg/day

Aspartame acesulfame salt: 20 mg/kg/day

Advantame: 5 mg/kg/day

Cyclamate: 7 mg/kg/day

Neohesperidin DC: 5 mg/kg/day

Neotame: 2 mg/kg/day

Saccharin: 5 mg/kg/day

Stevia glycosides “Stevia”: 4 mg/kg/day

Sucralose: 15 mg/kg/day

Thaumatin: mg/kg/day not established.

How do sweeteners affect weight?

At first you might think that sweeteners would help a lot with weight loss. In contrast to sugar, they either have no calories at all or far fewer. That is why they are particularly interesting for those who have to watch their sugar consumption.

However, sweeteners are not a panacea for people who want to lose weight. It is true that you can lose a few kilos in the short term. Experts doubt whether the weight can be maintained in the long term. Because that only works if you change your eating habits fundamentally, also because diet foods are an alibi for many and they then consume the calories elsewhere.

In another study, the researchers concluded that people in the group where the sweetener was consumed actually gained weight. But that doesn’t have to be proof that the sweetener is necessarily responsible. Because other unhealthy eating habits can also play a role.

Do sweeteners harm diabetics?

There is evidence that sweeteners can increase insulin levels. However, this increase is so small that it has no negative consequences. But there is another possible effect that can harm people with diabetes in particular.

Because foods with sweeteners often taste sweeter than those with sugar.

For many, the desire for ever sweeter foods is growing. Despite the sweetener, they do not necessarily have to be low in calories because they can also contain other ingredients.

Do sweeteners cause diabetes?

Another study looked at the link between diabetes and sweeteners when consumed in conjunction with carbohydrates. Scientists have observed that subjects in such cases had a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity. One group got a drink with sucralose and normal sugar, the other a drink with sucralose and maltodextrin, i.e. a carbohydrate. With this mixture, the sugar metabolism changed, with the result that the body no longer reacted so much to insulin.

This mechanism may also be the reason why there are no clear study results on the effects of sweeteners.

However, the study was only about the sweetener sucralose and the investigation only lasted two weeks. The exact mechanisms have not yet been explored.

Food cravings? No evidence

It is also unclear whether the consumption of sweeteners can result in food cravings. The idea behind this is that the sweet taste on the tongue promises sugar, but does not deliver on the promise and the desire for sweets is therefore increased.

There is also evidence that sweeteners affect the intestinal flora. You can say that for sure, at least for mice. After giving them sweeteners, the researchers found more bacteria in them, which had an unfavorable effect on blood sugar levels. However, whether these findings can be extrapolated to humans is controversial.

Do artificial sweeteners increase the risk of cancer?

The Cancer Information Service clearly gives the all-clear. Although there have always been studies that have made a connection, it has not been conclusively proven that sweeteners increase the risk of cancer.

Can sweeteners give you diarrhea?

This is a myth that stubbornly persists. It is fed by a warning that is often found on the packaging of foods that contain sweeteners. However, it is not the sweeteners that are responsible for the diarrhea, but the sugar substitutes that are also found in many foods.

The body breaks them down slowly and does not need insulin. However, they bind water in the large intestine and make the stool liquid. Possible consequences: diarrhea and flatulence.

Do sweeteners protect against tooth decay?

Unlike sugar, sweeteners do not form lactic acid when broken down in the mouth. But it eats into your teeth and is responsible for tooth decay. However, sweeteners do not really play an important role when it comes to preventing tooth decay. The best protection is good oral hygiene.