What is the most commonly overused food ingredient with little nutritional value? It is sugar!
No, we aren’t talking about the sugar naturally found in nature. Naturally found sugar, such as the ones in honey, vegetables, or fruits, is healthy. On the contrary, it is the troublesome white sugar you use to sweeten your coffee and appease your taste buds.
On average, an individual consumes about 94 grams of sugar daily, which explains why the number of people with diabetes rose from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million over the past few years. Fortunately, many people are now choosing healthy sugar substitutes to lead healthier lives while appeasing their tastebuds simultaneously.
But what are sugar substitutes all about, and should you consider switching? Let’s dive
deeper into the matter and get a better understanding with this blog.
Why Consume Sugar In The First Place?
The sweet taste of sugar is one of the primary reasons why people love sugar so much. The human evolutionary instinct associates sweet food with healthy food and an excellent energy source. This is unsurprising, considering unripe berries taste bitter while ripe berries taste sweet.
Sugar tastes good and provides an instant energy boost, increasing blood pressure and dopamine release in the brain. This is similar to the neurological reaction you can expect when consuming addictive drugs.
What Exactly Are Sugar Substitutes?
As the name suggests, sugar substitutes are something we use to sweeten our food without using conventional sugar. They can be plant-based or made of chemicals created to enhance and improve the taste of your food. Many even call them healthy sweeteners since they are more nutritious than conventional sugar.
You can use these sweeteners in your daily food instead of using processed food such as jellies, syrup, jam, sauces, and even beverages. In most cases, a healthy sugar substitute is sweeter than the conventional table sugar. You can use them in smaller quantities and still get the sweet taste you desire in your food.
Ordinary Sugar Substitutes You Need To Know About
When it comes to choosing the best sugar substitute, there is more than one option you need to know about. Most of these types are manufactured, and finding them in the market should be easy. These include:
|
Common Sugar Substitutes You Need To Know About |
|
Aspartame |
|
Acesulfame |
|
Saccharin |
|
Sucralose |
- Aspartame: Aspartame combines the amino acids phenylalanine and aspartic acid and is a great sugar alternative. Aspartame is frequently used in flavored yogurt, soft drinks, frozen desserts, and puddings, among other foods. For many people with a sweet tooth, aspartame is the best healthy sugar substitute since it is said to be 200 times sweeter than table sugar.
- Saccharin: Next, we have saccharin, a recently developed sugar alternative far sweeter than table sugar but with fewer calories. This sugar is included in several medicines and canned fruits and vegetables, including cherries and pineapples. Due to its reputation for leaving a nasty aftertaste in the mouth, this sugar type also has certain drawbacks.
- Acesulfame: Since Acesuflame contains no calories and is significantly sweeter than regular table sugar, it is one of the most incredible sugar substitutes for diabetics. This kind of sugar is combined with other sweeteners rather than used alone. Soft beverages, candies, and even frozen desserts that contain acesulfame are widely available. It also works as a sugar alternative for milkshakes, tea, coffee, and other liquids.
- Sucralose: Sucralose is another common sugar substitute that has characteristics such as zero calories and is considerably sweeter than conventional sugar. Most people use it for baking, but you can find it in medicines, syrups, canned fruits, juices, and candies.
Are There Any Negative Effects of Sugar Substitutes On Your Body?
Artificial or natural sugar substitutes are great in several different ways, but there are also certain risk factors associated with them. Some of the best-known of these adverse effects include:
Effects On Weight
A common misconception is that people who lose weight should consider sugar substitutes. But this is a misconception, considering people tend to eat more to satisfy their appetite and gain weight.
This will harm your weight management goals, making it essential you eat only the recommended quantity of food with sugar substitutes.
Effects On Cardiometabolic
Eating excessive amounts of sugar substitutes can also have an adverse effect on cardiometabolic. This can lead to further complications such as excess belly fat, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar levels.
Besides that, it can also be the reason why people suffer from abnormal cholesterol levels. More importantly, these conditions can eventually become chronic health complications such as type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.
Effects On Appetite
Sugar substitutes do not directly affect an individual’s insulin levels, leaving many to believe these things will help increase their appetite. But this is not good since people will continue eating more to satisfy themselves.
As a result, the brain signals that the body is hungry, making people eat more and resulting in complications such as weight gain.
Effect On Gut Microbiome
The gut microbiome is crucial since it controls multiple aspects of an individual’s health, including boosting immunity and enhancing digestion.
Unfortunately, sugar substitutes directly and adversely affect the gut microbiome, leading to many health-related complications. This can cause a negative shift in your gut bacteria, leading to complications such as blood sugar dysregulation.
Should You Consider Switching To Sugar Substitutes?
People take sugar substitutes for many reasons, and it is important to focus on whether one should or should not accept sugar substitutes. Even if you decide to take sugar substitutes, it would be best only to take the best sugar-free sugar substitutes to ensure minimal adverse effects on your health.
Another essential thing to note here is that experts suggest taking sugar substitutes only in moderate quantities. So make sure you add moderate amounts of sugar substitutes to your food and live a healthy life.
In Conclusion
Sugar substitutes have barely any benefits except that they have no calories and do not cause tooth decay. Even considering sugar substitutes, it is always best to take them in moderate quantities.
Besides, it is always better to opt for natural sugar than processed sugar to minimize its adverse effects on your health. All the best!