A Guide to Artificial Sweeteners/ Sugar Substitutes

 

 The importance of reducing our sugar intake in a world full of attractive and lovely tasting sweet things has not been lost on many of us. We understand the importance of diet and exercise and want to control the variables we actually can in the labrinth that is good health. Natural sweeteners, as these foods should be more accurately named are one way to control our insulin response. Insulin is a hormone produced to enhance glucose absorbtion into the body. When there is too much glucose on your blood your body stops making its own glucose and starts storing away the glucose in the blood, as fat. The fat is deposited in the muscles and also the liver, its not just a matter of aesthetics.  If this happens constantly it could lead to obesity and increase your chances of having Diabetes type 2. 

Artificial sweeteners or Sugar Substitutes are compounds found to sweeten food without causing our insulin levels to rise much or even at all. Some are actually artificial compounds but I'll only be talking about the types with natural sources: Plant extracts and Sugar alcohols. 

Stevia. So unassuming.

First on the list of plant extracts is Stevia. Extracted from the leaf of the plant stevia rabaundiana , it levels at about 300 times sweeter than sugar! It's sweet but it doesn't quite taste like sugar, the catch is it's bitter or metallic aftertaste. Steviol glycosides, the compound making stevia so sweet has no calories or sugars leaving our insulin response alone. Many companies cut it with things like maltodextrin and erythritol (sugar alcohol) to reduce it's sweetness, remove the bitterness and mimic sugar effectively. The additives will have some calories and sugars but hey, tradeoffs make the world run. It doesn't spike blood glucose and it doesn't cause digestive problems. It's perfect for drinks and foods but baking with it is not advised. At all. Don't do it.

Monk Fruit. Aren't humans curious creatures?

Second is Luo Han Guo more recognizable as Monk Fruit. Monk Fruit sweetener is made from a gourd of the siraitia grosvenorii plant. The juice is dried into a powder that is also about 300 times sweeter than sugar. Unlike stevia it does come with some natural fructose and glucose, which are removed in processing leaving us with the zero calorie mongroside, the compound making the fruit so sweet. It also has a bitter after taste but its milder than stevia, it's also fruity tasting. It has no effect on the insulin response. It is again often mixed so you need to pay attention to what additive is in your sweetener and use sparingly. Lakanto Monk fruit+Erithritol combo is used for baking successfully, straight monk fruit won't work.

Always pay attention to your body's response to any artificial sweeteners. Digestive problems are not unheard of, so if you don't agree with one move on to the next. Sugar alcohols are coming in the next post.