Sugar Substitutes

Sugar substitutes have been around for years, and they're getting better-tasting all the time. And for low carb dieters, sugar substitutes are a huge help when it comes to satisfying a sweet tooth.

Sugar Substitutes

Why are sugar substitutes so popular? There are a variety of reasons:

Regular sugar has 16 calories per teaspoon, and sugar substitutes have four calories or less
Regular sugar contributes to tooth decay; sugar substitutes do not
They replace sugar for diabetics or people on low carb diets

Well-Known Sugar Substitutes

There are three well known sugar substitutes--saccharin, aspartame and sucralose. Saccharin is found in Sweet 'n Low (the pink packets), aspartame is found in NutraSweet and Equal (the blue packets) and sucralose is found in Splenda (the yellow packets). Here's a little information on each of them:

Saccharin is 300 times sweeter than sugar, which explains its popularity, but its safety was debated in the 1970s. It was found to cause bladder cancer in lab rats, but when tested on humans, it was found to be safe. To experience any health problems due to saccharin, a person would have to drink 50 cans of saccharin-sweetened diet soda daily.
Aspartame has been widely used for about 20 years. Some people like the taste, but others think it's bitter. The safety of aspartame is still being debated. In fact, if you search the Internet, you'll find more web sites and articles that implore you not to use it. However, studies have been done to show it is safe for human consumption.
Sucralose is made from sugar, and it's 600 times sweeter than sugar, but it isn't digestible by the body, so it's calorie-free. Plus, your body doesn't recognize it as a sugar or as a carbohydrate, which makes it popular among dieters and those with diabetes. There's been little debate about the safety of sucralose, and it has been found to be very safe for human consumption. And sucralose is so diverse that you can bake with it. There are several recipes using it that people find to be quite delicious!

Personal preferences about which sugar substitutes are best vary by taste. Aspartame isn't good for baking, but it's good in diet sodas. On the other hand, sucralose is very good for baking. And saccharin is great in iced tea. Choosing the best one for your needs is really up to you.