Although there is really nothing quite dangerous about the ordinary table sugar that you have on your breakfast table, a lot of people are still more than willing to try out alternatives. Sugar substitutes in recent years have started to flood the market.
One of the reason, perhaps, is the fact that people are very much concerned with the caloric content of the sugar that they consume everyday.
Some people like diabetics are asked to cut down on their sugar consumption for medical reasons. Others who are diagnosed as obese are advised by their doctors to start dieting. And because most of these people cannot give up on the sweet things in life, sugar substitutes is one way of following the doctors advice and following the urgings of the appetite.
Alternative sweeteners are now being used not only in beverages but also in different kinds of food. It is now used as ingredients to cooking and baking.
Here are some of the alternative sweeteners in the market. Read on and find out what sweetener fit your needs.
Sucralose, which being manufactured under the name Splenda is an artificial sugar substitute that comes from sugar itself except that the chemical components are changed. Sucralose is actually 600 times sweeter than ordinary table sugar and is already being used as industrial ingredients to some baked goods, soft drinks, chewing gum and other frozen dairy desserts.
One of the main features of sucralose is the fact that it can retain the composition of sugar even at high temperature. This is the reason why sucralose can be used in baking. It is considered quite safe even if it is artificially made. In fact, it has even been considered safe for pregnant and breasfeeding women.
Neotame, which is being manufactured by the NutraSweet Co. is one sugar substitute that the body can easily metabolized and excreted by the body. This is actually manufactured more for food industries rather than for the consumer market. It is actually being used for products such as soft drinks, yogurt, and chewing gums.
Acesulfame K is another sugar substitute that is being sold in the market today under the product names, Sunett and Sweet One, Sweet and Safe. It is already approved by the fda as safe. It is derived from acetoacetic acid. It stimulates the secretion of insulin in the body. It is however not metabolized and is excreted by the kidneys.