Sugar can be a complicated nutrient to navigate. Are we supposed to be eating it or not? And if we are allowed, what kind is best? Does aspartame really cause cancer?
Today I’m offering a dietitian’s take on everything you need to know about sweeteners.
In a time where information moves at the speed of light, I’m breaking this down into 5 sweet truths.
First, let’s break sweeteners down into categories.
1. Non-nutritive sweeteners:
- These sweeteners have calories but become 0 calorie because they are so sweet, barely any is needed to provide sweetness compared to sugar. This would include: Acesulfame K, Aspartame (Ace-K and aspartame are in Equal), Monk Fruit, Saccharin (Sweet N Low), Stevia, Sucralose (Splenda). This contains artificial and natural sweeteners.
2. Low-calorie sweeteners:
- These have less calories than sugar. This would include allulose, sugar alcohols (common ones are erythrocytes, glycine, polydextrose
3. Alternative sweeteners:
- Anything that’s not sucrose (aka white sugar). This would include agave, maple syrup, date syrup, coconut sugar, glycerol, honey, molasses.
TRUTH #1: Links between sugar, non-nutritive sweeteners, artificial sweeteners and health conditions do exist.
That does not mean, however, that sweeteners cause certain health conditions. If you’ve been reading my emails for a while or following on social media, you will know that health is multi-faceted. There is no single food that leads to a single condition. It’s the role a single food, ingredient, additive, etc. plays in contributing to health over time.
TRUTH #2: However, you could consume sugar, non-nutritive sweeteners, and/or artificial sweeteners and not experience any adverse health effects at all.
So yes, sugars and sweeteners are linked to certain conditions but all that means is that your risk for those conditions might be increased. There are plenty of people out there consuming high sugar diets, drinking lots of diet soda, or getting Splenda in their coffee every day and are just fine.
TRUTH #3: There is no sugar that’s “better” for you than another.
Many healthy baking recipes will sub maple syrup, honey or coconut sugar, calling it out as ‘unrefined’ as opposed to white sugar which is ‘refined’ or processed. Also, some forms of sugar (coconut, maple syrup, molasses) do contain trace amounts of nutrients or have a lower glycemic index than regular sugar. But the differences are not significant enough to make the leap to call them healthy alternatives.
TRUTH #4: Guidelines exist for sweetener consumption.
It’s not realistic to think you should never consume any kind of sweetener. I don’t know a single person that’s done a 30-day sugar-free challenge and made it to day 31. There are guidelines that might be helpful to compare your intake to if you are worried about overconsumption. Here are some examples:
- Aspartame: 50 mg/kg body weight (3,500 mg if you weigh 155 lb). For reference, a 12 oz. Can of Diet Coke contains 180 mg.
- Sucralose: 5mg/kg body weight (350 mg if you weigh 155 lb). For reference, a Splenda packet contains 12 mg of Sucralose.
- Saccharin: 15 mg/kg body weight (1,055 mg if you weigh 155 lb). For reference, a Sweet N Low packet contains 36 mg of saccharin.
- Stevia: 4 mg/kg body weight (280 mg if you weigh 155 lb). For reference, a Stevia packet is about 40 mg stevia.
- Sugar alcohols: 10-15 mg.day. For reference, a Quest Cookies & Cream bar contains 2 grams.
- Added sugar: I recommend 5% or less of total calories consumed. If you consume 2,000 calories per day, then you would aim for 100 calories or 25 grams or less per day. For example, a 12 oz can of regular coke contains 39 g of added sugar. A container of Chobani Vanilla yogurt contains 9 g added sugar.
TRUTH #5: If you consume less sugar overall, you probably will enjoy food more.
Highly palatable things like sugar and salt can blunt our tastebuds, making other foods taste less sweet or salty even if they are plenty sweet or salty. Especially if you consume artificial sweeteners regularly, which are much sweeter than sugar (Aspartame is 200x sweeter, Sucralose is 600x sweeter, Saccharin can be 700x sweeter) you will get used to that and have trouble finding joy in other foods because they will appear less satisfying to your tastebuds.
So, sugar is not good or bad. Artificial sweeteners are not good or bad. They just are. As a consumer, it’s in your best interest to know the facts, ditch the fear, and make a decision that feels right for your body and your goals!