Sweet Tooth

Saccharin. Cyclamate. Aspartame. Sucralose. Tagatose. Alitame. Xylitol. Maltitol. Lactitol. Isomalt. Erythritol. Mannitol. Sorbitol.

If it tastes like sugar, but it's not...

People like sugar; people like sweet foods. Unfortunately, sucrose ("table sugar") is, well, fattening. It also promotes tooth decay, increases your blood glucose levels, and triggers the insulin reaction. For decades, dieters, diabetics, and people concerned about their teeth have sought an alternative to sucrose. Although the perfect solution has not yet been discovered, we do have many choices.

Saccharin was discovered in 1879 by a scientist with abysmally bad lab technique — he spilled some on his hand and, later that evening, touched it to his mouth. Eureka... it tasted sweet (and didn't kill him :). Saccharin got a bad reputation in the 1970's when experiments with rats indicated it might have carcinogenic effects. Although the FDA attempted to ban saccharin in 1977, Congress issued a moratorium overriding the ban; the moratorium was extended seven times until 1991 when the FDA formally withdrew its proposal.

More recent studies show that the effect of saccharin was to crystalize a bladder protein present in rats (but not in humans). Based on current research, "the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the World Health Organization ... noted that the animal data which earlier raised questions about saccharin are not considered relevant to humans". In Dec. 2000, then-President Clinton signed a bill to remove the warning labels previously placed on saccharin and saccharin-sweetened products.

Cyclamate was discovered in 1937 by another scientist with poor lab technique, this time a grad student who set his cigarette on a lab bench and and then tasted sweetness when he took another drag. Cyclamate widely used both as a table-top sweetener and in foods until it was banned in the US in 1970. Cyclamate is still in use in other countries. In 1984, the FDA's Cancer Assessment Committee reviewed the scientific evidence and concluded that: "[T]he collective weight of the many experiments... indicates that cyclamate is not carcinogenic." There is currently a petition before the FDA to re-approve cyclamate for use in the US.

Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by a scientist who licked his finger to grab a sheet a paper ... do we sense a trend?. Aspartame (under the brand name "NutraSweet" quickly replaced the (believed to be carcinogenic) saccharin in many foods. Unfortunately, aspartame breaks down at elevated temperatures (it can't be used in cooking), in carbonated beverages, and simply over time. Because it is compounded of two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine (and breaks down into those compounds in the body), persons with the rare inherited disease Phenylketonuria should avoid aspartame. Persons suffering from fibromyalgia may also want to avoid foods containing aspartame and MSG. In addition, there have been reports of possible medical problems associated with aspartame. Depending who you believe, aspartame may be safe... or it may not be.

Sucralose is the only non-caloric sweetener actually made from "real" sugar (sucrose) . Discovered in 1976 (wanna guess? this time it was a student who misunderstood an instruction to "test" as one to "taste"), sucralose was granted approval by the FDA in 1998 and has begun to appear in little yellow packets on restaurant tables under the brand name "Splenda". Although sucralose is made from sucrose, it is not broken down by the body like sucrose and is not used for energy. Research demonstrates that sucralose has no effect on carbohydrate metabolism, short- or long-term blood glucose control, or insulin secretion.

Tagatose is a naturally occurring sugar that can be found (in small quantities) in some dairy products. Its use as a low-calorie sweetener was determined in 1981; in the late 1980s Spherix patented an inexpensive process to produce tagatose in bulk from whey (a byproduct of cheese-making). Tagatose has only 40% of the calories of sucrose and is incompletely absorbed during the digestive process, providing the same bulk as sucrose with significantly fewer calories. The FDA has affirmed that tagatose may be used in food products under GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe).

The polyols are naturally occurring sugar-free sweeteners. Although scientists call these "sugar alcohols", they are neither sugars nor alcohols; they are, however, carbohydrates. Polyols can be used volume-for-volume like sugar, tend to have a low Glycemic Index and cause smaller increases in blood glucose and insulin levels than do sugars and other carbohydrates. The FDA classifies some polyols as GRAS; others are approved as food additives. The polyols currently used in foods in the U.S. are erythritol, isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol and xylitol.

Summary

Many of the sugar substitutes are calorie-free; all have fewer calories, volume-for-volume, than table sugar (aspartame actually has 4 calories/gram, identical to sugar, but is 200 times the sweetness of sugar, so it tends to be used in much smaller amounts). Some sugar substitutes can be used in cooking; some "brown" well; some break down at cooking temperatures. Taste varies, but all taste sweet.

If you're trying to reduce sugar consumption, as a diet aid, to combat diabetes, or to help prevent tooth decay, any of these sugar substitutes may be a good choice. If you're an "enlightened consumer", you may want to do a little research, read up on the choices, and draw your own conclusions. At the very least, take a good look at the labels on low-cal, low-carb, and sugar-free foods (diet sodas, gum, candies, etc). The ingredients listed can make for interesting reading.

References:
Calorie Control Council - Low Calorie Sweeteners
GlobalSweet.com - Sugar-free Sweeteners. GlobalSweet sells polyols in granulated form.
Hitting the Sweet Spot, Evan Ratliff (Wired Magazine, Nov. 2003, p. 190)