Nutrition
Better than sugar, without the calories
Natalie Roberts

Ok, so you've tried them all, Sweet'N Low, Equal, NutraSweet, Splenda, Acesulfame K.

These, as well as other artificial sweeteners, provide consumers the sweet taste we love without the added calories.

But, which is better for you? Or does it matter?

Well, that depends. Saccharin, branded as that little pink packet Sweet'N Low, was once the hot topic of controversy among the popular sweeteners.

Once touted as a cancer causing substance, numerous human studies and Federal Drug Administration approval have proved that saccharin is safe for human consumption.

Saccharin has been around for over a century and is 300 times sweeter than table sugar, or sucrose. It is used in a wide variety of sugar-free food and beverages.

On the other team is aspartame. Aspartame, marketed as Equal and NutraSweet, is nearly 200 times sweeter than sugar and is found in 6,000 products worldwide.

From soft drinks to chewing gum to yogurt, and even some pharmaceuticals, aspartame provides us with a sweetener that does not contribute to calories and does not raise blood sugar.

In fact, the American Diabetes Association supports the use of aspartame for people with diabetes.

Aspartame is composed on the amino acid phenylalanine, which is also present in protein foods. Persons born with the rare genetic disorder, phenylketonuria (PKU) must restrict their intake of phenylalanine.

In comes sucralose, also known as Splenda, which is 600 times as sweet as sugar. Sucralose is made from real sugar, but it does not provide calories or affect blood sugar levels.

Splenda is made from a multi-step process that takes three of sugar's hydrogen-oxygen molecules and replaces them with three chlorine atoms.

No, you are not chlorinating your body!

The new molecule, sucralose, is not metabolized by the body, therefore it is excreted.

Splenda is heat stable and it has no bitter aftertaste. Also available on the market is Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking, which provides half the calories and carbohydrates of sugar with great baking performance.

Have you tried acesulfame potassium, also known as acesulfame K? This is yet another non-caloric sweetener that is 200 times sweeter than sugar.

With its clean taste, it is used in a wide variety of food and beverages, including dry beverage mixes, dry dessert mixes, baked goods, carbonated beverages, cough drops and more.

These are just a few of the products available to consumers.

Artificial sweeteners have numerous benefits, including not promoting tooth decay, flexibility in meal planning when counting carbohydrates, as part of a weight management program, and promoting a more healthful diet.

When all is said and done, it is up to you, the consumer, and your taste buds, on which non-nutritive and low-calorie sweetener to use.

Each is FDA approved with years of research to backup safety for human consumption.

For more reliable information on sweeteners, visit these websites: www.caloriecontrol. org and www.eatright.org

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Natalie Roberts has been a licensed dietician an for more than six years. She's a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, where she earned her bachelor's and master's degrees. Natalie currently works as a community health educator, as a high risk counselor for WIC and clinical dietician.