Get the Skinny on Sugar Substitutes

Occurring naturally in places like sugarcane, sugar beets, and honey, sugar has long been the sweetener of choice. However, within the past half-century, other products have shown up next to sugar on grocery store shelves, touting their low-calorie advantages with the same or even sweeter taste. Sugar substitutes now line the shelves in a variety of forms. Take a look at some of the different kinds below.

• Sucralose: Derived from sucrose – common table sugar – sucralose is sugar with a twist, literally! The chemical formula is altered by replacing 3 hydrogen-oxygen groups with chlorine atoms, which changes both the shape of the overall molecule and the way it interacts with the body. While remaining sweet, the molecule is not accumulated as extra energy the way sugar molecules are. Sucralose is potent – approximately 600 times sweeter than sucrose – and can be added as a liquid or solid in foods and beverages. Because sucralose passes through the body unimpeded, diabetic patients are able to consume sucralose with no worry when it is added to foods or drinks. Bacteria do not use sucralose as a food source either, so cavities do not form from eating foods with sucralose as a sweetener.

• Aspartame: With its clean, sweet taste, aspartame enhances citrus and fruit flavors. Chewing gum containing aspartame remains sweet almost 4 times longer than similar gum containing sucrose. Much like sucralose, the chemical composition of aspartame (C13H18O5N2) causes it to flush from the body without being stored as an energy source. Therefore, diabetic patients are able to enjoy foods and beverages containing aspartame, and consumers will not suffer dental caries from consuming aspartame.

• Stevia: A recent newcomer to the sugar substitute stage is stevia. Unlike other sugar substitutes, stevia is derived directly from a plant, much like how cane sugar is derived from sugarcane. The stevia plant, related to ragweed and daisies, has been used locally for hundreds of years in Paraguay and Brazil as an herb to sweeten foods, treat burns, and cure illnesses, such as colic and upset stomachs. With zero calories, stevia is 200 times sweeter than table sugar in the same concentration.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports in a 2012 interview that approximately 24% of adults and 12% of children use sugar substitutes, and that market is only continuing to expand. Keep up with the demand by ordering these food-grade ingredients and many others from Bell Chem, your Jacksonville chemical supplier. Bell Chem’s headquarters are located in Longwood, FL – just north of Orlando – with hundreds of products stocked in our 50,000+ square-foot warehouse. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff handle all your needs by calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or send us an online message.

Aspartame

Aspartame is an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute in some foods and beverages, especially “diet” foods. This food-grade chemical is about 200 times sweeter than sucrose, or table sugar. Therefore, since the quantity of aspartame needed to produce a sweet taste is so miniscule, the calorie count is negligible. Among the FDA approved artificial sweeteners, the taste of aspartame comes closest to that of actual sugar. Additionally, aspartame is often blended with other artificial sweeteners like acesulfame potassium to produce a taste even more like table sugar. Aspartame is usually undesirable as a baking sugar because it breaks down when heated. However, the stability of aspartame in heat can be slightly improved by covering it in maltodextrin.

Although there has been stipulation that aspartame can cause harmful effects on the body, current scientific evidence indicates that aspartame is safe at current levels of consumption as a non-nutritive sweetener. However, because aspartame can break down into the chemical phenylalanine, aspartame must be avoided by anyone with the condition phenylketonuria.

At our chemical supply company in Orlando, we offer aspartame as one of our many food/reagent-grade chemical products. We also stock personal care raw materials, highly specialized botanical ingredients, as well as hard to find technical grade chemicals and custom compounds. Call us at 407-339-BELL (2355) for a full list of chemical products.