IN THIS CHAPTER
Reviewing similarities and differences of various sugars
Understanding sugar alcohols
Getting the straight facts on sugar substitutes
Years ago if you were diagnosed with diabetes, you were typically told to stop eating sugar entirely. If you were seen with a cookie in your hand, the diet police would come out of the woodwork and scold you. To this day, a lot of shaming and judgment still happens when someone with diabetes has a treat. Most often others are well-intentioned when they ask, “Should you be eating that?” But they aren’t necessarily well-informed about diabetes or its treatment, or about your particular situation.
Of course it makes total sense to control sugar intake if you have diabetes. It also makes just as much sense to control sugar intake if you don’t have diabetes. Getting 15 grams of carb from a small apple provides vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, whereas getting 15 grams of carb from 4 ounces of soda just dumps sugar into your body with no nutritional benefit. Sugar-sweetened beverages should be avoided. Sugar is very concentrated in carbs and calories, and void of nutrients. Sugar intake should be limited, but there is room to fit in a treat now and then in the context of an otherwise healthy, balanced diet. Having a pudding cup with 15 grams of carb is certainly tolerated better than the corner piece from the birthday cake — you know the one I’m talking about … it has frosting on both sides and the big frosting flowers on top. That dessert may not go over so well with your diabetes.
Here’s what the American Diabetes Association (ADA) says about consuming sugar if you have diabetes: “You can substitute small amounts of sugar for other carbohydrate-containing foods into your meal plan and still keep your blood-glucose levels on track. Consumption should be minimized to avoid displacing nutrient-dense food choices.” In addition, the American Heart Association (AHA) suggests that women limit their overall sugar consumption to less than 100 calories per day, which turns out to be about 6 teaspoons of sugar. For men the limit is 150 sugar calories per day, or no more than 9 teaspoons of sugar. For perspective, a 12-ounce sugar-sweetened soda has about 10 teaspoons of added sugar, which exceeds the budget. (Find out more about this subject in the later sidebar “Sugar consumption in the United States .”)
Good nutrition is fundamental to all of us. For diabetes, the focus should be understanding how to manage all forms of carbohydrate. That means eating reasonable portion sizes, and for many individuals it means learning to count carbs. Equally important is having a firm grasp on how different carbs affect blood-glucose levels. Did you know that eating 10 grams of carb from chocolate-covered almonds versus 10 grams of carb from jelly beans does not have the same impact on blood-glucose levels? That’s because fat delays digestion, and chocolate and nuts are both high in fat. The sugar from the chocolate enters the bloodstream slowly. On the other hand, the sugar from the jelly beans digests quickly, which causes a sharper rise in blood-glucose levels.
Is one better than the other? It depends on the circumstances. If you’re experiencing low blood glucose (hypoglycemia), you want to eat the jelly beans because they will raise your blood-glucose level quickly. You shouldn’t use chocolate or nuts to treat lows. On the flip side, if you just want a sweet snack, a few chocolate-covered nuts won’t spike your blood glucose as much as the same amount of carb coming from jelly beans or any other pure-sugar candy. In any case, dessert calories add up fast, so portion control is important.
This chapter gives you the lowdown on sugar, sugar alcohols, and sugar substitutes. For more information on the variables that affect blood-glucose responses, see Chapter 10 . For details on treating hypoglycemia, see Chapter 15 .
Comparing Sugars: The Sugar Showdown
Sugar, honey, and syrups all have a similar impact on blood-glucose levels. Sugar is undoubtedly concentrated in carbs, so relatively small amounts have the potential to boost blood-glucose levels considerably. If you have been abstaining from sugar, don’t let the pendulum swing too far in the other direction — don’t overindulge just because the dietary advice has relaxed enough to acknowledge that people with diabetes can include modest amounts of sugar. There is a time and a place for either inclusion or avoidance. If you’re getting exercise, you may find that you tolerate that piece of candy better than if you were glued to your chair in front of the computer.
Clearly, if your blood-glucose levels are running above target, that isn’t the time to have any sweets. Your blood-glucose monitor will let you know how well (or not) you tolerate a small serving of dessert. Beware of restaurant desserts in any case, though, as some pack in well over 100 grams of carb in a slice of cake, a serving of flan, or an ice cream brownie sundae.
The following sections describe the most common types of sugars, as well as natural fructose and agave nectar.
THE CASE OF THE COOKIE IN THE LUNCHBOX
Many years ago a child who was being followed in our pediatric diabetes clinic was politely confronted by an adult who worked for the school district. The offense was having a cookie in her lunchbox. The adult assumed that the parents were not properly taking care of their child who had type 1 diabetes, so she called child protective services to report the parents. The cookie had 10 grams of carbohydrate. However, also in the lunchbox were a turkey sandwich on whole-grain bread, which had 30 grams of carb; milk with 15 grams of carb; and carrots with 5 grams of carb. What the school employee didn’t seem to realize was that the parents had counted the carbs in the lunch, and the insulin dose was going to be appropriately matched to that amount of carb. The lunch contained a total of 60 grams of carb, which was completely appropriate. For reference, many school lunch programs serve lunches with 60–75 grams of carb per meal because that amount is standard for a child in middle school.
We de-escalated the situation by explaining that all of the carb foods in the child’s lunch would be digested and turned into glucose, and that the insulin dose would transport that glucose into the child’s cells to be used for fuel. Imagine the distress the child felt and the frustration the parents endured to defend their right to include a small cookie in the context of a balanced diet.
To be singled out as the only child who is denied a cookie can lead to undue psychological distress. A cookie is not pure sugar. Cookies have starch (flour), protein (eggs), and fat (butter, nuts) along with the sugar, so the cookie actually takes a while to digest and can easily be managed with insulin.
Introducing the heavyweights: Sugar, honey, syrup, and other notables
Most of the sugars in the following sections have a similar impact on blood-glucose levels. Sugar, honey, syrups, and other caloric sweeteners are concentrated in both calories and carbs. Use them sparingly. A single tablespoon of sugar packs in as many grams of carb as an entire cup of cantaloupe or raspberries. Most sugars have about 4–5 grams of carbohydrate per teaspoon, 12–15 grams of carb per tablespoon, and 48–60 grams of carb per quarter cup. One cup of white sugar has 200 grams of carbohydrate.
Review labels on the containers of any sugars and syrups and check the exact carb count. Beware: These can all raise blood-glucose levels sharply, so limit the amount used. I address other calorie-containing sweeteners later in this chapter because sugar alcohols, fructose, and agave nectar have some key differences that separate them from the sugars in the following sections.
White sugar
White sugar (sucrose) is what is typically found in the sugar bowl, cube, or packet. Sugar crystals are available in varying textures, from fine to ultrafine. Bakers often prefer the finer, smaller particles. Powdered sugar, also called confectioners’ sugar, is ground and sifted and has a little cornstarch added to prevent caking. There are also coarser, larger sugar crystals that are used to sprinkle on top of cookies, for example.
White table sugar comes from either sugarcane or sugar beets. The sugars are extracted, boiled, and concentrated. The brown color in raw sugar is from the natural molasses in the sugar. The molasses can be separated from the sugar crystals in a process that involves spinning the sugar in a centrifuge and washing the sugar crystals to remove the molasses. The Sugar Association explains that the sugar obtained from beets and sugarcane is “neither chemically altered nor bleached to achieve its naturally white color.”
Molasses
Molasses is made from sugarcane and sugar beet syrup. After extracting the white sugar crystals, molasses is the viscous liquid that remains. It contains minerals such as iron, magnesium, and potassium, as well as trace vitamins.
Brown sugar
Brown sugar retains some of the natural molasses, which imparts color and flavor. There are several varieties in the brown sugar category, and they differ in the level of processing or in the amount of molasses retained. Besides the familiar light brown and dark brown varieties, there is also turbinado sugar, which is a partially refined, light brown sugar with larger crystals, and Muscovado or Barbados sugar, which is less refined and retains a higher amount of molasses so it’s stickier.
Coconut palm sugar
This sweetener is gaining popularity. It is made from the sap of the coconut palm tree. It has a golden color and withstands high heat. The carb count is the same as white sugar.
Liquid sugar
Liquid sugar is simply white granulated sugar that has been dissolved in water. Another liquid sugar is called invert sugar. Invert sugar is formed by splitting sucrose into its two component sugars: glucose and fructose. (Check out Chapter 3 for more about the chemical structure of sugars.)
Honey
Bees produce honey from plant nectar. Honey contains a blend of fructose, glucose, and water. Honey has trace amounts of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Honey’s flavor depends on the source of nectar gathered by the bees. The fructose in honey imparts a sweeter taste than white sugar.
Rice syrup
Rice syrup is made from rice starch that has been enzymatically split. The syrup is composed of single-, double-, and triple-glucose molecules.
Corn syrup
Corn is processed to make cornstarch and then further processed to break the cornstarch down into individual glucose sugars. Corn syrup is sometimes called glucose syrup.
High-fructose corn syrup
The glucose in corn syrup can be treated with enzymes to convert some of the glucose to fructose. The most common form of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose.
Maple syrup
Maple syrup comes from the sap of sugar maple trees. It contains mostly natural sucrose and water. There are small traces of glucose, minerals, and some B-vitamins.
Other sugars
On ingredients lists, names that end in -ose indicate sugar, such as maltose, dextrose, glucose, fructose, levulose, and sucrose. Maltodextrin is similar to sugar; it’s a short chain of glucose molecules, which can be made from corn, rice, or potatoes.
Pointing out the qualities of natural fructose and agave nectar
Fructose is the natural sugar that is found in fruits. Vegetables also have fructose, and amounts vary, with the root vegetables having more than the other vegetables. Crystalline fructose is the powdered form that has been extracted from the plants and is packaged and sold as a sweetener.
In chemistry, fructose is a single sugar molecule. Glucose is also a single sugar molecule. Both glucose and fructose have the same chemical make-up, which is 6 carbons, 12 hydrogens, and 6 oxygens. The glucose molecule is a hexosebecause it has a six-sided form, whereas fructose is known as a pentose because it has a five-sided form. See Figure 12-1 .
© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
FIGURE 12-1: Glucose and fructose molecules.
Glucose is the preferred fuel source for cells and tissues, and the only fuel source for the brain. The hexose form is readily available for the cells to use for fuel. Fructose is not processed and used in the same way as glucose. The pentose form is not quite cell ready. The fructose from a meal shuttles to the liver to await further instructions. The liver can do one of three main things with it:
· The liver can turn the fructose into glucose and then hold on to it and store it as glycogen.
· The liver can turn fructose into glucose and send it back out into the bloodstream for more immediate use.
· The liver can convert excess fructose to fat. (By the way, anything with calories can be converted to fat if you eat more calories than your body needs.)
For more information on how glucose is used and stored in the body, see Chapter 4 .
Excessive intakes of high-fructose corn syrup, large intakes of crystalline fructose, or too much agave nectar can raise blood-triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are a type of fat (lipid) that circulates in your blood. Excess calories can be converted to triglycerides, which can be stored in fat cells or may accumulate in your bloodstream. People with diabetes already have a higher risk of heart disease, and high triglyceride levels further increase that risk. See Chapter 16 for more on heart-healthy eating.
Agave nectar is derived from the blue agave plant (the same plant used to make tequila). Agave is mostly fructose. That means agave nectar also goes to the liver first, and then the liver decides what to do with it. The bottom line is that both fructose and agave nectar have a less immediate blood-glucose-raising effect. Agave and fructose have about 4–5 grams of carbohydrate per teaspoon, 12–15 grams of carb per tablespoon, and 48–60 grams of carb per quarter cup. They are said to have a lower glycemic index than regular sugars and syrups. The glycemic index measures the impact of the sweetener on blood-glucose levels. Agave nectar is one and a half times sweeter tasting than sugar, so you may be satisfied with a much smaller amount to sweeten your tea. (Flip to Chapter 10 for more information on the glycemic index.)
A toaster waffle has about 15 grams of carbohydrate. If you eat two of them, that’s 30 grams of carb. But watch out if you’re thinking of dousing them in syrup. Just ¼ cup of regular pancake or maple syrup would add nearly 45–60 grams of carb. Instead of the syrup, try one of the following:
· Use a tablespoon of agave nectar. Agave nectar also comes in maple flavor. Before going out and buying “sugar-free” syrups, read about sugar alcohols in the next section.
· Spread ½ cup of unsweetened applesauce over your waffles. That adds only 15 grams of carb.
· Try fruited yogurt on waffles. Read labels on the yogurt containers to choose those with fewer carbs.
· Berries and whipped topping are another option. A couple of tablespoons of whipped topping add a couple grams of carb, and ½ cup of strawberries has about 8 grams of carb.
· Really limit the carbs by spreading peanut butter between the two waffles for a breakfast on the go. One tablespoon of peanut butter has only about 2–3 grams of carbohydrate (after subtracting the grams of fiber). The fat in the peanut butter also slows down the digestion of the waffle, which can blunt the post-meal blood-glucose rise.
Examining Sugar Alcohols
Many candies, cookies, ice creams, puddings, and syrups claim to be “sugar free.” That doesn’t mean they are carbohydrate free or calorie free. The label claim on the front of the package doesn’t necessarily tell the whole story.
Sugar is defined by its chemical structure (which I discuss in Chapter 3 ). If you alter that chemical structure, even just a little bit, then it isn’t sugar anymore. Many products that claim to be sugar free are sweetened with a substance known as sugar alcohol (or polyol). Despite the name, sugar alcohol does not have any sugar, and it does not have any alcohol. Sugar alcohol is a modified form of carbohydrate. Hydrogen is added to various forms of carbohydrate and chemical bonds are shifted, and then voilá — you have a new form of carbohydrate known as sugar alcohol.
Because technically the sugar has been altered, the product can be labeled as being “sugar free.” The resulting sweetener is renamed “sugar alcohol.” When you view the Nutrition Facts on food labels (see Chapter 7 for more about reading labels), the total carbohydrate count doesn’t change much, if at all. It may say “0” grams of sugar, but look below that to find the grams of sugar alcohol. Either way, the total carbohydrate is what you need to focus on.
Many so called “sugar-free” sweets are still high in carbs, fats, and calories. In fact, the counts are often comparable to their regular sugar–containing counterparts. Beware: Some people experience gas, cramping, or loose stools because sugar alcohol can be difficult to digest and absorb. The portion that remains undigested is fermented by bacteria in the large intestine. Unfortunately, that can result in problems such as gas, cramping, bloating, and perhaps diarrhea. Sugar-free gum has only a small amount of sugar alcohol, so digestive complaints are rare. If you eat too much sugar-free candy or ice cream, you may end up regretting it. Tolerance is variable and dose dependent. Some people have no adverse symptoms at all.
Not all types of sugar alcohol are the same. Some are better tolerated than others. Products sweetened with mannitol or sorbitol are required to carry a label warning stating that some users may experience a laxative effect.The other sugar alcohols don’t need to carry such a warning.
Sugar alcohol can be created from single units of sugar, double units of sugar, or chains of sugars:
· Single sugars (monosaccharides) such as glucose and fructose are modified to make sorbitol and mannitol respectively.
· Double sugars (disaccharides) are also used to produce sugar alcohol. For example, the lactose from milk can be turned into lactitol.
· Starch fragments (polysaccharides) are modified to create hydrogenated starch hydrolysates.
Table 12-1 shows examples of sugar alcohols.
TABLE 12-1 Examples of Sugar Alcohol
|
Made from Monosaccharides |
Made from Disaccharides |
Made from Polysaccharides |
|
Sorbitol |
Maltitol |
Maltitol syrup |
|
Mannitol |
Isomalt |
Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH) |
|
Erythritol |
Lactitol |
|
|
Xylitol |
While entirely safe for humans, xylitol is toxic to our canine and feline friends, so make sure your dogs and cats don’t eat any products sweetened with xylitol. This particular sweetener stimulates the release of insulin in pets, which can lead to hypoglycemia, seizures, liver problems, or death. This doesn’t happen to humans, so you’re not at risk. Pet owners must be made aware, though.
Why do food scientists go through all of this trouble to create sugar alcohol out of sugars and starches? Well, there are a few benefits. For one thing, sugar alcohol doesn’t promote cavities. Secondly, there may be a reduced effect on blood-glucose levels when using sugar alcohol rather than other caloric sweeteners. Because sugar alcohol is not well digested, fewer calories are absorbed (but with that comes the risk of gas and diarrhea). Sugar alcohol adds texture, bulk, a desirable “mouthfeel,” and retention of moisture to the products that incorporate it. Nonnutritive sweeteners do not offer those properties. The sugar substitutes are covered in the next section.
If you count carbs and base your insulin dose on the grams of carbohydrate you eat, then you may consider a modified approach when eating a product made with sugar alcohol. Because sugar alcohol is not fully digestible, take insulin for only half the amount of sugar alcohol in the product. You can also deduct the grams of fiber from the total carbohydrate because fiber doesn’t digest. Discuss the concept with your healthcare providers before changing the way you calculate your insulin dose. See Figure 12-2 for tips on deciphering digestible carbohydrate when reading Nutrition Facts food labels on items that contain sugar alcohol.
© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
FIGURE 12-2: Calculating digestible carb when you eat a product with sugar alcohol.
One thing to consider, especially if sugar alcohol gives you abdominal discomfort, is that you can choose to buy the regular version of the product, which in the example in Figure 12-2 happens to be cookies. If it turns out that the regular sugar–containing version has 20 grams of carb, then you would simply take the dose needed to cover the 20 grams of carb.
Opting for Alternatives: The Sugar Substitutes
Sugar substitutes are referred to as nonnutritive sweeteners because they don’t contain calories or nutrients. They are sometimes called artificial sweeteners, but you may be surprised to find out that several of them are actually made out of natural substances and not chemicals. For example, aspartame isn’t a chemical; it’s made out of two amino acids, which are simply building blocks of proteins. Sucralose is made out of natural sugarcane, and stevia is made out of the leaves of a plant.
Nonnutritive sweeteners are added to foods to provide sweetness without adding calories, so they are popular alternatives for people trying to cut calories. Another benefit: They do not raise blood-glucose levels because they are not carbohydrates.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates all food ingredients, including low-calorie sweeteners. The sweeteners on the market today — which I cover in the following sections — have passed rigorous safety assessments. Only very minute amounts are needed for sweetening, because the nonnutritive sweeteners are several hundred to several thousand times sweeter than sugar.
The FDA sets an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for low-calorie sweeteners. The ADI is the amount of the sweetener that can be safely consumed daily, and over the course of a lifetime, without health risks. For added insurance, the ADI is set at one hundredth of the amount that has been determined to be safe. Current intake for nonnutritive sweetener on the market is far below the established ADI. The FDA has approved these sweeteners for the general population, including pregnant women and children.
SUGAR CONSUMPTION IN THE UNITED STATES
The massive consumption of sugary soft drinks, typically sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup or sugar, parallels the rise in obesity in the United States. Whether the association is causal or coincidental is a source of constant debate. No one can deny Americans consume too much added sugar. It’s ubiquitous in processed foods. The United States is the world’s largest consumer of sweeteners, especially high-fructose corn syrup. Health experts agree that it is time to put the brakes on sugar consumption.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend reducing calories from added sugars. The American Heart Association guidelines suggest that women limit sugar consumption to less than 6 teaspoons per day from all added sugar sources. That translates to keeping sugar intake to less than 100 calories. For men the suggestion is to limit added sugars to fewer than 9 teaspoons per day, or less than 150 calories.
According to NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey), Americans average 20 teaspoons of sugar each day. Other sources cite 32 teaspoons per day. You may wonder how that could be possible! One reason is that sugar is one of the main food additives in processed foods. It shows up in breakfast cereals, sweets and treats, salad dressings, spaghetti sauce, and ketchup, just to scratch the surface. Sweetened beverages are a main contributor of sugar. A 20-ounce soda has about 15 teaspoons of sugar. Specialty coffee drinks are similar.
Diet soft drinks are calorie free and carb free, on the other hand — no sugar whatsoever. They are sweetened with sugar substitutes. Just because diet sodas are approved for use, though, doesn’t mean you should drink them in place of water or nutrient-rich milk. For more eye-opening info on the sugar content of beverages, see Chapter 7 .
Digging into the differences of the substitutes on the market
Over the years many sugar substitutes have been studied and approved for use. Commonly used sugar substitutes are shown in Table 12-2 .
TABLE 12-2 Nonnutritive Sweeteners
|
Sweetener (Brand Names) |
Year Approved |
Retains Sweetness when Heated |
|
Acesulfame potassium, ace-K (Sunett, Sweet One) |
1988 |
Yes |
|
Advantame (no brand name yet) |
2014 |
Yes |
|
Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet) |
1981 |
No |
|
Saccharin (Sweet’N Low) |
Prior to 1958 |
Yes |
|
Stevia (Pure Via, Truvia) |
2008 |
Yes |
|
Sucralose (Splenda) |
1999 |
Yes |
Not shown in the table are cyclamates because they are not approved for use in the United States; however, cyclamates are still used in other countries. Also not shown is Neotame, which is a sweetener that gained approval in 2002 but is not currently used by manufacturers in the United States.
The majority of the sweeteners in Table 12-2 are between 200 and 300 times as sweet as white sugar. Splenda is 600 times sweeter. The newest kid on the block is Advantame, which is an impressive 20,000 times sweeter than sugar, so only minute amounts are needed to impart sweetness.
Exploring sugar-substitute safety records
Sugar substitutes are an ongoing topic of hot debate. Reams of reputable research reports assure their safety, yet some consumers remain distrustful. The media is a mixed bag. Some information is accurate, while other information is alarmist and not necessarily based on science. Be sure to stick to information from established, reputable institutions. The research is vast. You can find excellent details regarding the safety and use of nonnutritive sweeteners online. If you have any sensitivities, such as headaches, that you associate with consuming one or more of the sugar substitutes, then avoid use per your discretion. Discuss concerns with your healthcare provider.
Use your browser to search for a scientific statement from the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association. It’s called “Nonnutritive Sweeteners: Current Use and Health Perspectives.” It was published in the journal Diabetes Care and can be read in its entirety online. Here are a few more links for information on sweeteners. When you’re on the website, use the search box to find info on sugar substitutes:
· International Food Information Council Foundation: www.foodinsight.org . Search for “facts about low-calorie sweeteners.”
· National Cancer Institute: www.cancer.gov . Search for “artificial sweeteners and cancer.”
· Mayo Clinic: www.mayoclinic.org . Search for “artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes.”
· Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: www.eatright.org . Search for “artificial sweeteners.”
With so much information available, why are consumers distrustful? The reason likely goes back a few decades. Saccharin, which is the sweetener used in Sweet’N Low, carried a warning on its label for nearly 30 years. The label cautioned about potential cancer risk. The warning came off of the label as subsequent studies supported safe use for human consumption. There was also a sweetener called Cyclamate that the FDA banned in 1969.
SACCHARIN: A SWEETENER WITH A SURLY PAST
Saccharin is the granddaddy of artificial sweeteners, and its history begins in the 1870s, when it was first discovered. Its widespread use pre-dates the existence of the FDA, the agency that regulates food safety and labeling. Saccharin enjoyed its place on the GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) list for decades until another sweetener, Cyclamate, raised eyebrows as being potentially carcinogenic.
Under pressure to verify safety, saccharin was evaluated. Safety studies linked saccharin to bladder cancer in rats. The rats were given very high doses of saccharin. For perspective, and adjusted for body weight, a human would need to consume 800 cans of saccharin-sweetened soda to ingest an equivalent amount. Due to the study results, in the 1970s saccharin was removed from the GRAS list and was required to carry a warning label on all packages.
Subsequent scientific studies examined the mechanism by which the rats developed bladder cancer, and it was found that the risk applied only to rats and not to humans. The reason rats developed the tumors had to do with unique qualities regarding their urine, which humans do not share. In 2000, the warnings regarding saccharin use were discontinued. Nevertheless, the public saw those warnings on packaging for nearly 30 years, which likely contributes to the apprehension regarding sweetener use to this day.
Using substitutes in cooking and baking
Sugar substitutes do not impart all of the same qualities to baked goods that sugar provides. Not all of them retain their sweetness when heated at high temperatures, as shown in Table 12-2 . Real sugar adds bulk to baked goods and is responsible for browning. Sugar also keeps products moister.
Many of the sugar substitutes marketed also offer blends. The artificial sweetener is blended with regular white sugar or brown sugar. These blends allow you to retain some of the desirable properties imparted by sugar but with reduced calories and reduced carbs. Follow the instructions on the package for use.
If you were to use just a nonnutritive sweetener without any real sugar when baking, here are some things to be aware of:
· Your baked recipes won’t rise as much.
· The finished product will be lighter in color.
· Less moisture is retained, so your baked goods may be drier.
· Texture may be different, especially in cookies.
· Baking time may be altered, often reduced, so keep an eye on your oven.
Most, but not all, of the artificial sweeteners can be used in baking. Results vary, so if you’re going to experiment, you may want to start by cutting the amount of sugar in the recipe in half and using one of the nonnutritive sweeteners for the remainder of the sweetness needed. Read the packages so you know how much to add.
While aspartame is not recommended in baking, it can be used when making puddings or cranberry sauce after heating is complete. In other words, cook the cranberries with the desired seasonings, but do not add the aspartame until you remove the pan from the stove. Sweeten to taste and refrigerate. You can use any of the artificial sweeteners in this fashion.
You may have noticed a warning on products containing aspartame. The warning announces that the product contains phenylalanine. Just to clarify, phenylalanine is an amino acid, a protein building block that occurs naturally in all protein foods. People with a rare disease called PKU must avoid it, but they must avoid regular protein foods as well. Their disease is managed with special formulas and a very strict diet. Babies born in the United States are tested for PKU as part of routine newborn screenings, so it is identified in infancy.