What are natural sweeteners? Let's find out together!
There are several natural sweeteners, including xylitol, stevia, molasses and maple syrup.
Xylitol is best known for its use as a sugar substitute in chewing gum. The purpose of making chewing gum in this way is to prevent tooth decay and to provide fewer calories than the alternative made with regular sugar. Xylitol is considered the ideal sweetener for people with diabetes because it has a very low glycemic index.
Stevia, on the other hand, is a natural substance native to South America. The body does not assimilate stevia, so it provides no calories; in fact, it is a non-nutritive sweetener. Among the various applications of stevia, we mention the production of light foods and beverages, therefore low-calorie products.
Molasses comes from the processing of cane or beet sugar. What comes from processing cane sugar is distilled to make rum. In contrast, molasses from the processing of beet sugar is used to make brewer's yeast or animal feed.
To make maple syrup, the sap from the bark of maple trees must be boiled. Maple syrup is considered the third least caloric natural sweetener after molasses and stevia. It is rich in minerals and has both cleansing and energizing properties. It can be found in drinks, juices and cocktails.
Another natural sweetener of particular importance is honey, which, as we know, is the food product of domestic bees. Bees produce honey by processing nectar from flowers and sugary secretions from the leaves of certain tree essences. The bees enrich the honey with enzymes before maturing it in wax honeycombs. Honey is a natural sweetener, rich in probiotic substances such as vitamins, minerals and enzymes, making it a true food supplement. Its sweetening power is higher than that of sucrose due to its high fructose content.
Is sugar considered a natural or artificial sweetener?
Refined sugar is more than 95 percent sucrose, which is the sum of glucose and fructose. This disaccharide is obtained from two plants: sugar beet and sugar cane. It turns out that it can be considered a natural sweetener. Sugar can also come from other sources, such as Canada maple sap, sweet corn seeds, and dates.
What are artificial sweeteners?
Saccharin and aspartame are two of the most common artificial sweeteners.
Saccharin is a sweetener made from ortho-sulfobenzoic acid and has a sodium content that makes it sweeter than regular sugar. Its resistance to heat allows it to be used in the kitchen for the preparation of dishes subjected to different cooking techniques.
The same cannot be said of aspartame, which cannot withstand high temperatures. Aspartame is made by combining two man-made amino acids, aspartic acid and the amino acid phenylalanine. According to recent studies on aspartame, it has been concluded that its excessive consumption is considered carcinogenic. For proper elimination of aspartame, our bodies should not consume more than 40 milligrams per day.
Both sweeteners are used in the production of low-calorie beverages, which are considered useful for keeping blood sugar levels constant. In reality, these sweeteners, when consumed in large quantities, alter the gut microbiota, leading to subsequent metabolic disorders. In the case of aspartame, this type of disorder is caused primarily by the presence of phenylalanine, an amino acid that is difficult to metabolize.
Low-calorie sweeteners are substances added to beverages and foods to produce a sweet taste. They can be divided into two types: natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners. Sweeteners are natural if, unlike artificial ones, they are not refined but extracted from plants, fruits and vegetables. Natural sweeteners have a lower glycemic index than artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners, on the other hand, are substances designed to replace sugar and therefore have a high glycemic index. Therefore, their intake should be controlled by avoiding excessive amounts.
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