Sugar Substitutes Two types: Artificial Sweeteners Sugar Replacers Not metabolized by the body (no kcals) Metabolized by the body Sugar Replacers

Sugar Substitutes: Artificial Sweetners Not metabolized by the body: Saccharin (Sweet and Low) Rapidly excreted in the urine; does not accumulate in the body 300-700 x as sweet as sugar Used in soft drinks and as a tabletop sweetener (coffee, on cereal) Believed not to cause cancer. NO WARNING LABEL REQUIRED

Sugar Substitutes: Artificial Sweetners Not metabolized by the body: Acesulfame – K 200 x as sweet as sugar Used in chewing gum, dry beverage mixes, breath mints, cough drops

Sugar Substitutes: Artificial Sweetners Not metabolized by the body: Sucralose (Splenda) Derivative of sucrose – replaced 3 hydroxyl groups of sucrose with chlorine atom  not recognized as CHO so it passes through GI tract unabsorbed 600 x as sweet as sugar: SWEETEST can be used in baking, table top sweetener, dairy products, soft drinks

Sugar Substitutes: Artificial Sweetners Metabolized by the body: Aspartame (Equal-approved in 1981 as Nutrasweet) made up of 2 amino acids and a methyl group so has 4kcal/gm like protein, but since so little is used no caloric effect dangerous for people with PKU – phenylketonuria since it continues the a.a. phenlalanine which people with PKU cannot metabolize  accumulation causes mental retardation 200 x as sweet as sugar used as a tabletop sweetener

Sugar Substitutes: Sugar Replacers Sugar Alcohols occur naturally in fruits and vegetables: mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, isomalt, lactitol, maltitol used in “sugar free foods” but yield kcalories (1/2 much as sucrose): hard candies, jams, jellies, gum, cookies side effects: gas, abdominal pain, diarrhea – may act as a laxative! body absorbs sugar alcohols less quickly than sugar – have a lower glycemic effect