Is it true that sugar substitutes are harmful?

Artificial sweeteners are synthetic substances that taste sweet. Some of them are hundreds or even thousands of times sweeter than granulated sugar.

Their key advantage is very low calorie content. For example, one can of soda (330 milliliters) contains about 150 kilocalories, and almost all of them are from sugar. The same amount of drink with artificial sweeteners has approximately zero calories.

Therefore, products with sweeteners are often sold as dietary products. By reducing calorie intake, they help control weight and, as a result, reduce the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Is it true that sugar substitutes are harmful?

This version appeared in the 1970s. Then scientists studied one of the artificial sweeteners – saccharin. They concluded that laboratory rats who consume it are more likely to suffer from bladder cancer. For this reason, packages of saccharin have a warning that it may be hazardous to health.

However, since then, sweeteners have been repeatedly studied from all angles. There has never been any convincing evidence that they can cause cancer or other problems. Against.

Conclusion of experts from the British Medical Association for the Fight against Cancer

Large human studies have provided compelling evidence that artificial sweeteners are safe for humans.

As a result, the warning label for saccharin was removed in 2000 .

In fact, the only claim made against sweeteners today is that they can stimulate or change appetite. For example, this manifests itself in the fact that a person begins to eat more: “After all, due to diet soda, I have reduced the number of calories, which means I can afford a larger piece of the pie.” Or another situation: having gotten used to sweetened food, people refuse fruits and vegetables – they seem tasteless. But this is more of a psychological problem. Sugar substitutes as such do not directly harm health.

However, a remark needs to be made here. Scientists guarantee the safety of only those sweeteners that have been tested by the relevant services. And only if you use sweeteners in accordance with the instructions: no more than the amount indicated on the package.

What sweeteners are best to use?

All artificial sweeteners undergo mandatory safety testing before entering food products or supermarket shelves in their pure form. In the EU, the procedure is carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), in the USA – by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This applies to both completely artificial sweeteners obtained purely by chemical methods, and those created on the basis of natural components – natural sugar or plants containing it .

Here are popular sweeteners that are approved in both Europe and the USA. Choose according to your taste. It’s best to first consult with your attending physician. This is especially important if you have diabetes, metabolic disorders, or allergies to certain foods. Certified sweeteners can be harmful in rare cases, but it’s still not worth the risk.

Plant-based sugar substitutes

Stevia

This sweetener is produced from a purified extract of the stems of the plant of the same name. Stevia is approximately 200 times sweeter than regular sugar. This means that if you are used to drinking tea with one spoon of sand, you can put 200 times less of the substitute – a dose at the tip of a knife.

There is evidence that stevia lowers insulin and blood sugar levels and also promotes a feeling of fullness. The downside of the sweetener is its specific “herbal” taste, which not everyone likes. Since February 2024, in Russia it is allowed to use stevia only in the form of steviol glycoside E960. In other formats, the additive can be dangerous, so be careful what kind of sweetener you buy.

Sorbitol

This substance belongs to a special type of carbohydrates – sugar alcohols. Sorbitol is found in a variety of berries and fruits, such as blackberries and apples. It is about 60% less sweet than sugar, but it also contains almost half as many calories.

Compared to granulated sugar, sorbitol has two advantages. Firstly, it, like other sugar alcohols, is not cariogenic – that is, it does not destroy tooth enamel. Secondly, the substance has a low glycemic index and almost does not increase blood glucose levels. But there are side effects: the sweetener can cause flatulence and diarrhea in some people .

Erythritol

Also a sugar alcohol, with the same benefits as sorbitol. It is slightly less sweet than sugar. Unlike sorbitol, erythritol has close to zero calories and has no side effects such as flatulence. It is sometimes used in combination with stevia, since this sweetener can neutralize its specific taste.

Artificial sugar substitutes

Aspartame

The most popular artificial sweetener in the world and therefore the most demonized . It is 180–200 times sweeter than sugar, has minimal calorie content and has been convincingly proven to be absolutely safe in dosages up to 50 mg/kg body weight for everyone. The only exceptions are people who have a rare metabolic disorder – phenylketonuria.

Advantam

20 thousand times sweeter than sugar. Unlike aspartame, which decomposes at high temperatures, advantame is heat stable and therefore can be used in baking. The permissible daily dose is up to 32.8 mg per kilogram of body weight per day.

Saccharin

200–700 times sweeter than sugar. And like most artificial sweeteners, there are virtually zero calories. The safe dose of saccharin established by the FDA is 15 mg per 1 kg of body weight per day.

However, if you are allergic to sulfonamides, a class of compounds to which saccharin belongs, you should avoid this product.

Sucralose

600 times sweeter than sugar. Contains no calories, suitable for baking. According to current FDA data , the sweetener is safe in doses of up to 5 mg per 1 kg of body weight per day.

However, there is a small study that suggests that sucralose may reduce insulin sensitivity. Scientists are still studying the mechanism and possible consequences of this.

Acesulfame potassium

200 times sweeter than sugar , zero calories. The safety of acesulfame potassium at a dosage of less than 15 mg per 1 kg of body weight per day has been confirmed by more than 90 studies.