How Do You Sweeten Your Life With Nutrition?

Truvia, Splenda, Agave, Equal, or just plain sugar? It used to be that if you wanted to sweeten your foods or drinks, you’d sprinkle on a bit of sugar. Then came the time when thin was in and zero-calorie sugar substitutes hit the market. Sweetening choices remained fairly steady until recently because there’s been an influx of artificial, natural, low-calorie, zero-calorie, low-glycemic index, and other sweeteners filling your grocers’ shelves. Choosing a sweetener can be overwhelming when you’re faced with all of these options. Make the choice easier with this guide.

Complete nutrition guide

There are two main types of sweeteners. Nutritive sweeteners, or those containing calories, include white and brown sugar, molasses, honey, and agave. Nonnutritive sweeteners, such as sucralose (Splenda), stevia (Truvia), saccharin (Sweet’N Low), and aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet), are calorie free. This group of sweeteners can be divided into artificial (those created by scientists in a lab), and natural (those created from sources found in nature, such as fruits and plants). All these sweeteners have been tested to some degree and at this point, all but one has been deemed safe. (Saccharin has been linked to cancer in lab animals.) That being said, the choice of natural vs. artificial is usually a personal choice.





Nutritionally speaking, however, the decision is a bit more complicated. Both nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners have pros and cons. To help you make the choice that’s best for you and your family, we’ve gathered information from both research studies and manufacturers about the benefits and drawbacks.
The facts about nutritive sweeteners are pretty cut-and-dried: A high intake of foods and drinks that contain them can lead to dental caries, replace other more nutrient-dense foods in the diet, and lead to weight gain.
With nonnutritive sweeteners, the picture isn’t so clear. At first glance, it appears that getting the sweet taste you like with no calories or impact on blood sugar levels would be a win-win proposition. However, even though these sugar substitutes have been labeled as safe, the research results have been mixed. Some studies demonstrate no risk to health while others indicate that the sugar substitutes increase the risk of certain diseases, including various cancers. In addition, these sweeteners haven’t been around very long and far more research needs to be done to demonstrate they cause no harm when consumed over long periods of time.

What adds to the confusion is the question of whether calorie-free sweeteners really do lead to an overall lower calorie intake, which would be beneficial in preventing weight gain and promoting weight loss. A good deal of research has been done on this topic, specifically focusing on beverages. Again, the research has produced mixed results.