Sugar plays a huge role in our lives today. We have acquired a taste for sweetness in our
foods. Often times after meals, we will have a “taste” for something sweet. Fruits do not
seem to satisfy our learned taste for the sweetness found in products made by sugar, i.e.
baked goods, candy, frozen desserts, etc.

Sugar is a product of sugar cane harvesting.
The cane juice is boiled down and the crystals left
behind are harvested for sugar or the juice is put
through a centrifuge and the crystals are spun out
of the liquid cane juice. The crystals separate
themselves by weight with raw sugars rising to the
top and heavier molasses sugars sink to the
bottom of the centrifuge. This is how you get
raw sugar (unprocessed, unbleached sugar)
that is marketed as Sugar in the Raw or Succinot.
Cane syrup, molasses and brown sugar all start
with the juice squeezed from sugar cane stalks.

Cane syrup, molasses and brown sugars are related granulated white sugar, which is
engineered to increase the sweetness. Sugar comes in a range of varieties: Demerara,
turbinado, succinot, raw sugar, brown sugar,
high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, dextrose,
free flowing brown sugar, honey, inverted sugar,
rice syrup, confectioner’s sugar, maple syrup,
sucrose, malt, maltodextrin, and Barbados sugar
and all have slightly different taste and textures.

Each 1 teaspoon serving of sugar provides
approximately 16 calories. This is pure
carbohydrate energy that will enter into
the blood stream as glucose, ready for
cells to use.

Sugar has gotten a bad name?

With each serving of sugar you receive 16 calories. Add this up in a serving of cake, ice
cream, candy, flavored sports drink, energy drink, speciality coffee beverage and you can
end up with more than a mere 16 calories. And sugar should not have a bad name, but
the quantities of sugar used in processed foods should have a bad name.

The excess calories consumed from sugar lead to excess body fat. How is this so? Easy -
calories in versus calories out. Not that simple. You could still consume your daily
allotment of calories, but if too many come in the form of one particular macronutrient, you
will gain weight. The issue with consuming excessive calories from sugar is very little
processing has to be done by your body to convert it into glucose. Green beans, rice,
potatoes, salad and table sugar will become glucose in your body.

The main difference between complex carbohydrates - green beans, rice, etc and simple
carbohydrates is the rate at which these foods become sugar. Complex carbohydrates
contain fiber and longer chains of sugars that take longer to be broken down by enzymes in
the digestive tract. So in theory, your blood sugar rises at a slower rate than sugar
provided by a candy bar or piece of cake or juice. So the faster your blood sugar rises, the
more sugar that is available for potential energy use. If this sugar is not used immediately
for energy, then the body stores it for future use - BODY FAT! And with sugar flavored
foods, they taste really good, so it is easy to eat excessive quantities; thereby leading to
excessive calorie intake and weight gain. There is your bad rap.

Now with that being said, what are you to do if you want to include sweetness in your life.

Here comes the artificial sweeteners.

Avoiding processed and added sugar in foods is one way to manage your caloric intake.
We will discuss the major sugar substitutes on the market.

Sucralose

Consumer name: Splenda

Discovery: 1976 as an insecticide

Approved for use: 1998

Made from sugar by removing one of the -OH (hydroxyl)
groups and replacing it with -Cl (chlorine). The addition of
the chlorine decreases the absorption of sugar by some
people. Note - sucralose zero impact on blood glucose levels
is not entirely true as it cannot be determined who is
susceptible to absorbing some of the altered sugar molecule.

Growing in popularity and in being used in a wide range of products.

Acesulfame-K

Consumer name: Sweet-n-Low

Discovery:1879 replaced by other artificial
sweeteners because of cancer risk in lab rats
that were given excessive amounts of saccharin.
Packages used to contain saccharin cancer risk
labeling for consumers, this ended in 2000.

Approved for use: 1977 banned was placed on
saccharin, but Congress released a moratorium.
Approved for use in foods 1988.

Found in protein powders as acesulfame-K and is used in combination with aspartame or
sucralose as a sweetener.

Aspartame

Consumer name: NutraSweet or Equal

Discovery: 1965

Approved for use: 1981 and 1983

Used as a sweetener for diet soft drinks. Made
from two amino acids phenylalanine and
aspartic acid. Both amino acids occur naturally
in foods. Contains 4 calories per gram but
because it is 600 times sweeter than sugar, it can be
used in such small amounts that no caloric value is added
to the foods by aspartame.

The safety of aspartame has raised many questions about the scientific data collected in
laboratory rats fed aspartame. When metabolized by the body, aspartame is broken down
into formaldehyde (embalming fluid) and wood grain alcohol (methanol). These are
potential carcinogens in our bodies, if produced in large enough quantities and the
exposure is long enough. The exact amount and length of time has not been determined.

Some persons have reported side effects from consuming foods that contain aspartame.
These side effects include: headaches, dizziness, seizures, nausea, vomiting, burning
sensation in their digestive tracts, skin eruptions, or other allergic reactions to aspartame.
No repeated studies do not claim these side effects from the ingestion of aspartame.

Phenylketouria (PKU) is a genetic disorder in persons who lack the enzyme necessary to
break down phenylalanine when ingested. All products containing aspartame must carry
label warning for these individuals.

Stevia

Discovery: used by the Guarani tribe in Paraguay
and Brazil. Isolates of the chemicals that give
Stevia its sweetness 1931. Banned in 1990 as
a sweetener, but can be marketed as
a supplement.

Used in Canada and Japan as a sugar replacement in
food products. Stevia is 250-300 times sweeter than
sugar. Japan has been using Stevia as a sweetener
since 1971 and comprised 40% of the market usage
of this sweetener.

Stevia belongs to the genus the sunflower family
(Asteraceae). This plant has a delayed onset of its
sweetness properties than sugar. Has a negligible impact on glucose levels and is being
researched in obesity and high blood pressure as a treatment option. Stevia is heat stable
and can be used in place of sugar in hot and cold beverages/foods. Is available in
powdered and liquid concentrate forms.

Why the exclusion of stevia as a sugar replacer? Many thoughts surround the banning of
stevia. The major reasoning is the makers of artifical sweeteners would lose their market
share by the demand of a less toxic, natural sugar replacement. Limit research is available
on this planet usefulness as a sugar replacer. More information can be found at http://www.
stevia.com

As a consumer you will have to decide which is right for you. Do you moderate your sugar
intake and take your chances with managing your weight. Or do you throw the dice with
artificial sweeteners?

Cydney C Walker, MS, RD, CPT
RD Finders and Personal Training

References:

http://www.stevia.com

Stevia - Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevia

Discovering Nutrition. Paul Insel, R. Elaine Turner, and Don Ross. Second Edition.
American Dietetic Association.