Core Knowledge
Contents
Sugar
Overview
Sugar is a naturally occurring nutrient that makes food taste sweet and has four calories per gram. What are all the forms of sugar? What's the difference between them? And why are they in so many of our food products? This article covers the many sides of sugar, or sugar-like substances, from sugar alcohols to sucralose, so you'll know what's in food products, and how to avoid it.
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Where to Find Sugar
Sugar is sneaky. It's found in a variety of foods from fruits and vegetables to milk and cereals. It may be used as a sweetener added to foods or drinks, as a natural preservative that binds water to prevent the growth of microorganisms, and as a bulking agent, which gives texture to a variety of food from jams to frozen products.
One form of sugar is fructose, which is the sweetest, naturally occurring sugar and is found in fruits, berries, and honey. It is 1.5 times sweeter than sucrose, which is table sugar. Another common sugar is milk sugar, which is lactose. Foods we consume can consume naturally occurring sugars and added sugars.
Artificial sweeteners or non-nutritive sweeteners contain zero calories and no carbohydrates. These sugar substitutes are used in place of sucrose (table sugar) to sweeten foods and beverages. Currently, the most common of these are saccharin (Sweet & Low), aspartame (NutraSweet or Equal) and sucralose (Splenda).
Whether you're choosing pure sugar or an artificial sweetener, moderation and variety is the way to go. Always choose the least-processed foods to help keep your sugar consumption to a minimum.
Saccharin
Saccharin has been used as a non-caloric sweetener in foods and beverages since it was discovered more than 100 years ago. Used in Sweet and Low, saccharin is described as being 300 to 500 times sweeter than sugar. It is often blended with other sweeteners due to its bitter aftertaste.
Aspartame
Used in Nutrasweet and Equal, aspartame contains two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Together they make foods taste sweeter, reported to be 200 times sweeter than sugar. People with PKU (phenylketonuria) should not use aspartame because of the risk to their health.
Sucralose
Sucralose is a low-calorie sweetener reported to be 600 times as sweet as sugar. Used in Splenda, it has become a favorite of the food industry because it is tolerable to high temperatures and high and low pH, has a pleasant taste, and has a very low caloric value (2 calories per tablespoon) The Federal Drug Administration and World Health Organization approve the use of sucralose in products. It is found in a wide variety of products from soft drinks and ice cream to chewing gum, salad dressings, and baking mixes.
Stevia
Stevia, which is currently found in dietary supplement form, is now also being used in soft drink products. Coming off a report that Splenda can decrease gut bacteria and change the pH of stool, Stevia could fast become a popular alternative to chemically derived non-caloric sweeteners. Stevia, which is reported as being 200 times sweeter than sugar, naturally tricks the body into getting something sweet without the calories. But don't assume that a diet coke made with Stevia is suddenly the world’s perfect health drink. Natural foods and drinks with minimal amounts of added sugar are best. You should still drink water and unsweetened tea most of the time for hydration.
Dextrose
Dextrose is the commercial name used for the crystalline glucose produced from starch. It too contains four calories per gram. If the crystallized dextrose contains no water, it is listed as "dextrose anhydrous" or "anhydrous dextrose" in the ingredients. If the crystallized dextrose contains one molecule of water, it will be listed as dextrose, or dextrose monohydrate. Food manufacturers may list dextrose produced from cornstarch as "corn sugar" in the ingredients, or if derived from rice or wheat, as rice sugar or wheat sugar. Dextrose is used in many baking products like cake mixes and frostings, snack foods like cookies, crackers and pretzels, as well as desserts.
Crystalline fructose
Crystalline fructose is simply pure fructose in crystalline form. It contains four calories per gram and offers benefits such as improved texture, taste and stability when used in products. When combined with other sweeteners and starches, crystalline fructose increases sweetness, cake height and "mouthfeel" of foods and beverages.
High fructose corn syrups (HFCS)
HFCS are corn syrups that are enriched with fructose and have nearly equal amounts of glucose and fructose. HFCS is most commonly found in beverages, canned fruits, dessert syrups and other foods.
Sugar alcohols
Depending on how you look at it, sugar alcohols fortunately or unfortunately, are neither sugar nor alcohol. Sugar alcohols, also known as polyols are a group of low calorie, carbohydrate-based sweeteners. They deliver the taste and texture of sugar with about half the calories (1.5-3.0 calories per gram). They are used as a food ingredient, often to replace sugar, cup for cup, in many sugar-free and low-calorie foods. They are not commonly used in home food preparation, but are found in many processed foods.
Polyols
Polyols vary in sweetness from about half as sweet as sugar to equally as sweet. They add sweetness and texture to many sugar-free foods, and are frequently combined with low-calorie sweeteners. Polyols are used in foods such as sugar-free chewing gums, ice cream, candies, frozen desserts and baked goods. In addition to mild sweetness, polyols provide the bulk and texture of sugar in food products. They can be found as xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol, maltitol, isomalt, lactitiol, hydrogentated starch hydrosolates, hydrogenated glucose syrups, erythritol or a combination of these! Often times individuals with diabetes will use foods with sugar alcohols, because they are converted to glucose more slowly, require little or no insulin to be metabolized and don't cause sudden increases in blood sugar. However, these foods are not "free" foods, and may cause bloating and diarrhea when eaten in excess.
Alternatives to Sugary Snacks
There are plenty of foods that are satisfying without being packed full of sugar. Here are some of our favorite sugary snack alternatives:
- Fruit leather
- Fruit Snacks
- Dried Fruit dipped in dark chocolate
- Sugar-free gum
- Instant hot chocolate
- Raisins
- Frozen chocolate sorbet bars
- Popcorn
- Pretzels
- Pumpkin seeds
- Granola bars
References
- Amanda Carlson, MS, RD, director of performance nutrition at Athletes' Performance
- Megan Mangano, RD, perfomance nutritionist at Athletes' Performance
