Sucralose Artificial Sweetener
As more and more of us are struggling with our weight, it seems that a lot of us are turning to food and beverage products that claim to be “sugar-free”.
Although it is a good idea to trim calories whenever you can, you do need to be careful just what you are getting when you buy any sugar free product.
Even though it doesn’t contain sugar, it can contain sugar by-products or artificial sweeteners that are actually worse for you than sugar itself.
What Is Sucralose?
You may not have heard of the name “sucralose”, but you have most certainly heard of the brand name “Splenda”.
Splenda is actually sucralose and has been around since 1999. It was originally developed to be a safer alternative to aspartame (“NutraSweet”). It was found that aspartame might not be the safest thing for your body to ingest on a regular basis.
Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that is considered to be 600 times as sweet as table sugar and three times as sweet as aspartame.
One of the benefits of sucralose over other artificial sweeteners is that it is able to stand up under heat, which means that you can use it for baking.
This is also a safe product for diabetics to eat, it doesn’t promote dental problems like sugar can, and it has no calories, so it is ideal for people who are on a diet.
See Also: Counting Calories For Weight Loss
Sucralose Benefits
When you think of any artificial sweetener, the first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it will immediately take the place of sugar.
We all know that sugar is not only unhealthy for your teeth and for diabetics, but also contains calories in the form of carbohydrates.
So, the primary benefit of using sucralose is that you can enjoy a diet soda or other foods with fewer calories in them.
Another reason why this is such a popular sweetener is because you can use it in cooking. Sucralose allows you to maintain much of the same taste and texture that you would if you were cooking with ordinary sugar.
For people who are trying to cut down on calories but still enjoy desserts, this is a real benefit and one that can help them stick to a weight loss program.
See Also: How To Read A Nutrition Facts Label
Sucralose Side Effects
When you consider the benefits of using sucralose in exchange for regular sugar, you will find that the side effects are actually relatively few.
What is important to note is that although this product is made from sugar, it has actually been chlorinated, so you will be ingesting a small amount of chlorine.
This is not harmful in small amounts, but some studies have shown that eating a large amount of this can cause some adverse effects.
It is highly unlikely that you would ever be able to consume that amount.
In fact, in order to cause side effects in mice, they needed to eat the equivalent of 11,450 packets per day which you obviously wouldn’t do.
Sucralose Vs Aspartame
When you are determining just which sweetener packet you should pick up the next time you go get a cup of coffee or tea, you will probably have to make a few decisions.
First of all, it is universally agreed that white table sugar has little nutritional value other than the calories that it provides.
Therefore, many people would prefer to choose a sweetener that has no calories.
Among those that you can choose from is aspartame which was first made in 1965 and shortly after that approved for use.
Aspartame has been around for nearly 60 years in spite of the fact that there are many studies that show that it can be dangerous, especially for people who have phenylketonuria (PKU).
Aspartame is broken down by the body into several different products including phenylalanine (an amino acid), and that does cause problems for some people.
Sucralose has been proven to be just about as safe, with no issues being reported for phenylketonurics.
In addition, because sucralose is able to hold up to heat and keep its properties intact, it has a longer shelf life and of course can be used in baking.
Sucralose Vs Stevia
Although Stevia is not new by any means (it has been used in Japan for over 40 years), it is relatively new to the United States and so has gotten a lot of attention recently.
Stevia is actually made from the leaves of the Stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana), which is grown primarily in South America.
This product is approximately 300 times sweeter than sugar, contains no carbohydrates and therefore no calories.
It is also ideal for people who suffer from diabetes since it has no effect on blood glucose levels.
Unlike the other artificial sweeteners which have side effects, Stevia is unusual because it actually has additional benefits other than just being a powerful sweetener.
In fact, many people take Stevia supplements as a way to reduce hypertension and also as a treatment for diabetes.
Whether you are someone with diabetes, someone on a calorie-restricted diet, or someone who is just trying to stay away from refined sugar, there are now more choices than ever before in front of you.
It is really up to you to decide just which sweetener tastes right to you and provides the least amount of side effects with the greatest benefits to your overall health.
