How Do Artificial Sweeteners Work and What Are Their Benefits?
What are Artificial Sweeteners?
Sweetening Agent
An artificial sweetener or a sweetening agent is a sugar substitute, known as a food additive, which provides you with a sweet taste similar to that of sugar. However, it contains significantly less food energy as compared to the sugar-based sweeteners, which makes it a zero-calorie or a low-calorie sweetener. Artificial sweeteners can be derived through different plant extracts or when they are processed by chemical synthesis. Artificial sweeteners are many times sweeter when compared to regular sugar and hence they are also sometimes known as intense sweeteners.
Many of these artificial sweeteners are so sweet to an extent that either dextrose or maltodextrin is added to these sweeteners for reducing the intense sweetness. These sweetening agents, however, are usually obtained from synthetic sugar substitutes. They have also formed from natural substances such as herbs or just the sugar itself.
Artificial sweeteners are amongst the most attractive substitutes to sugar since they do not add too many calories in your diet. They can also be used directly in many of the processed food such as in dairy products, puddings, candy, baked goods, jams, soft drinks, and several other beverages and food items. They can also be used once they are mixed with starch-based sweeteners. Today, we will be learning about what artificial sweeteners are, the advantages and disadvantages of natural sweeteners, and look at the artificial sweeteners examples in this natural and artificial sweeteners PDF.
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How Do Artificial Sweeteners Work?
Let us learn how artificial sweeteners work in our body.
For the proper functioning of the sweetening agent, it must be soluble in water and should readily bind to the receptor molecule which is present on our tongue surface. The receptor is connected to a G- protein. Whenever the sweetening agent binds to the receptor, the G- protein starts to dissociate, which helps to activate a nearby enzyme. As a result, it tends to trigger a sequence of events wherein the signals get transmitted to and then are interpreted by our brain. This interaction between the sweetener and the receptor is responsible for the sweetness that the artificial sweetening agent has.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Natural Sweeteners
Natural sweeteners tend to have a huge variety of uses, be it at home, or in the processed foods. They are sometimes also referred to as added sugars since they are added to different food items during processing. Let us discuss the advantages and disadvantages of natural sweeteners.
Health Advantages of Natural Sweeteners:
Natural sugar substitutes can often turn out to be healthier than sugar. However, their vitamin and mineral content is not much different. Consider, for example, both honey and sugar are similar nutritionally. Your body would process both of these into glucose and fructose only. Hence, it is fine to consume a natural sweetener depending on how its taste is and not on its health claims. However, be sure to use any sorts of added sweetener sparingly.
Health Disadvantages of Natural Sweeteners:
Generally, natural sweeteners are safe. However, there is no health advantage for consuming any kind of added sugar. If you consume too much sugar, even if it is a natural sweetener, it could lead to many health issues like weight gain, poor nutrition, tooth decay, and increased levels of triglycerides. Also, you shouldn’t give honey to kids younger than 1 year of age.
Consuming sugars in moderation is always the key to lead a healthy life. When you choose your sugar substitutes, it tends to pay for being a savvy consumer. Artificial sweeteners can surely help in managing your weight. However, they are no magic bullet and you should consume them only at moderate levels.
FAQs on Artificial Sweeteners & Sweetening Agents Explained
1. What is an artificial sweetening agent as defined in the Class 12 Chemistry syllabus?
An artificial sweetening agent is a chemical substance used as a substitute for natural sugars like sucrose. These agents provide an intensely sweet taste to food and beverages but contribute negligible or zero calories. This is because the human body typically does not metabolise them for energy. They are particularly important for individuals with diabetes or those managing their calorie intake.
2. What are the two main types of sweetening agents?
Sweetening agents are broadly classified into two main categories:
Nutritive Sweeteners: These are carbohydrates that provide calories or energy when metabolised. The most common example is sucrose (table sugar), along with others like fructose and glucose.
Non-Nutritive Sweeteners: These substances provide intense sweetness with little to no caloric value. This category includes all the common artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose.
3. Name four common artificial sweeteners and state their relative sweetness compared to sucrose.
Four common examples of artificial sweeteners as per the NCERT syllabus are:
Saccharin: It is approximately 550 times sweeter than sucrose.
Aspartame: It is about 100-200 times sweeter than sucrose.
Alitame: A high-potency sweetener, it is around 2000 times sweeter than sucrose.
Sucralose: This is a trichloro-derivative of sucrose and is about 600 times sweeter.
4. Why are artificial sweetening agents important in the food industry?
Artificial sweetening agents are important for several key reasons:
Health Management: They enable individuals with diabetes to consume sweet-tasting foods without raising their blood sugar levels.
Calorie Control: They are crucial for creating low-calorie or "diet" products to aid in weight management.
Dental Health: Unlike sugar, these agents are non-cariogenic, meaning they do not promote tooth decay.
High Intensity: Their high sweetness intensity means only a very small quantity is needed, making them a cost-effective alternative to sugar for manufacturers.
5. How do artificial sweeteners provide a sweet taste without adding calories?
Artificial sweeteners work by binding to the specific sweet taste receptors (T1R2 and T1R3) on our taste buds, similar to how regular sugar does. Their molecular shape allows them to fit into these receptors, which sends a signal to the brain that we interpret as sweetness. However, unlike sugar, most artificial sweeteners have a chemical structure that our body cannot break down or absorb. They pass through the digestive system unmetabolised and are excreted, which is why they contribute no calories.
6. Why is aspartame not suitable for use in products that require cooking or baking?
Aspartame is unstable at high temperatures. When heated, its chemical structure decomposes into its constituent amino acids, namely aspartic acid and phenylalanine. This chemical breakdown causes it to completely lose its sweetening property. For this reason, aspartame is only used in cold foods and soft drinks and cannot function as a sugar substitute in recipes that involve heat.
7. What is the fundamental structural difference between sucrose (table sugar) and sucralose?
The key difference is in their chemical structure. Sucralose is a derivative of sucrose where three of the hydroxyl (-OH) groups on the sucrose molecule are selectively replaced with three chlorine (Cl) atoms. This modification makes the sucralose molecule highly stable and prevents the body from metabolising it for energy, while its shape still allows it to be recognised as sweet by our taste receptors.
8. What are some limitations of using artificial sweeteners?
While beneficial, artificial sweeteners have some limitations. For instance, some sweeteners like saccharin may leave a bitter or metallic aftertaste. Certain sweeteners have specific restrictions; for example, aspartame is unsafe for individuals with the rare genetic condition phenylketonuria (PKU), as they cannot process the amino acid phenylalanine. Furthermore, their stability can vary, as seen with the heat-lability of aspartame.
