The Scoop on Sugar Substitutes

Health experts consistently say that the diets of most Americans contain too much added sugar—the type you sprinkle on cereal, stir into coffee or tea, and consume in all manner of beverages, sweets, and desserts. Added sugar provides calories but no valuable nutrients, and it can contribute to weight gain and cause elevated blood glucose levels, the hallmark of diabetes.

Of course, there are sweeteners besides sugar: More varieties of sugar substitutes are appearing in grocery stores, along with sugar-free drinks, candies, cakes, and other sweet-tasting items. However, if you’re swapping sugar-free or diet products for those containing sugar in order to lose weight, it may not be an effective strategy: A study published in 2013 found that consuming artificially sweetened beverages, such as diet soda, was associated with a higher incidence of obesity—along with higher rates of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Alternative sweeteners

Sugar alternatives that are marketed in handy little packets include saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, stevia, and monk fruit extract. These products are referred to as non-nutritive sweeteners. (Nutritive sweeteners contain carbohydrates and have calories; sucrose [table sugar], glucose, honey, corn syrup, molasses, maple syrup, and agave nectar are examples.) Sugar alcohols, such as xylitol and sorbitol, also are used in place of regular sugars to give foods, beverages, and chewing gum a sweet taste.

Here is a closer look at these sweeteners, what they are made from, and just how sweet they really are.

Stevia: Stevia extracts were deemed safe for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Ad-ministration (FDA) in 2008.

“Stevia comes from the Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni plant. Rebaudioside A (Reb A) and stevioside are the two steviol glycosides that manufacturers extract from the leaves of the stevia plant to be used as sweeteners. The purified/refined forms are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the FDA,” says Laura Sanford, MS, RD, CDN, a clinical dietitian at Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Pure stevia is calorie free, and 200 to 300 times sweeter than table sugar.

“However, stevia extract is often combined with sugar alcohols, such as erythritol, or with dextrose, a form of sugar,” notes Sanford. Additional ingredients are primarily added for volume, so the products can be marketed in packet form that are equivalent in sweetness to two teaspoons of sugar.

For example, Truvia is stevia blended with erythritol, PureVia contains stevia and dextrose, and Stevia in the Raw contains dextrose and maltodextrin.

Monk fruit extract: The sugar substitute that most recently gained FDA approval (in 2009) is extracted from an Asian fruit called Luo han guo; in the U.S., it is commonly known as monk fruit extract.

“This extract is 150-300 times sweeter than table sugar,” says Sanford. “Nectresse and Monk Fruit in the Raw are two products made from monk fruit extract on the market today.”

 Sucralose: To make sucralose, sucrose is chemically modified by removing hydrogen and oxygen and adding chlorine; this switch removes most of the calories and increases the sweetness by a factor of 600. Sucralose is not broken down for energy by the human body like sucrose is.

The Splenda brand offers numerous products containing sucralose. Their sweetener packets and granulated products also contain dextrose and/or maltodextrin to add volume and texture.

Sugar alcohols (“-itol” sweeteners): Sugar alcohols are carbohydrates that are found naturally in foods such as fruits and vegetables. Erythritol, xylitol, sorbitol, and mannitol are sugar alcohols.

“Sugar alcohols also can be manufactured from other forms of carbohydrates,” explains Sanford. “Generally, sugar alcohols are less sweet than real sugar. Products containing sugar alcohols and no added sugars can be labeled as ‘sugar-free.’”

Sugar alcohols have about two calories per gram on average. Sanford explains that sugar alcohols aren’t digested or absorbed completely in the human body. However, along with the reduced absorption may come unpleasant side effects, such as flatulence, bloating, and diarrhea, if large amounts—more than 30 grams per day—of sugar alcohols are consumed. Products containing sorbitol and mannitol must state on their labels that there is the risk of a laxative effect.

Bottom line

When it comes to sugar substitutes, just as with sugar, it’s wise to limit your intake and focus on getting natural sugars from fruits and other whole, unprocessed foods.

Powdered forms of sugar substitutes, such as sucralose (Splenda), stevia (Truvia, PureVia), and monk fruit extract (Nectresse), have been “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, just because they are GRAS doesn’t mean they provide any health benefits–or help you lose weight.

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