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.