Sugar Substitute Safety. Sugar or Sugar Substitute 6/10/2014. Sweet Tooth. Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth. Sugar Consumption. Low Calorie Sweeteners

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1 Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth Debra E. Schroeder UNL Extension Educator June 9 and 25, 2014 Sweet Tooth People without a sweet tooth are rare Desire for sweets is thought to be a basic survival adaptation Calories do count Regular physical activity is crucial to maintaining healthy weight or for promoting weight loss Sugar Consumption NHA data showed that Americans get about 22.2 teaspoons of sugar a day AHA recommends for 1800 calorie diet no more than 6.25 teaspoons of sugar or 100 calories 2200 calorie diet no more than 9.4 teaspoons or 150 calories Low Calorie Sweeteners Important to know how foods with low calorie sweeteners fit into your diet Tendency to think that because a food is made with low calorie sweeteners is it calorie free Sugar free does not mean calorie free! Sugar Substitute Safety Sugar substitutes cut out calories and carbs Sugar substitutes world s most tested food FDA has deemed them generally recognized as safe. One sweetener still carries a warning label is Aspartame (sweetener in Equal Classic and NutraSweet) First sugar substitute, saccharin, discovered more than 100 years ago. Sugar or Sugar Substitute Both can fit into a healthful diet Limit intake of both Remember most artificially sweetened foods contain carbs and calories Still have to count them! 1

2 Can Artificial Sweeteners Cause Cancer Early studies showed that high doses of a sweetener cyclamate Currently banned from U.S. food products, in combination with saccharin cause bladder cancer in laboratory animals FDA deemed artificial sweeteners used in the U.S. as safe based on extensive animal and human studies. Studies have not documented adverse effects even when human subjects have consumed large amounts. Few long term effect studies FDA has set acceptable daily intake (ADI) limits for each artificial sweetener. Heaviest users of aspartame was only 5 to 10 percent of the ADI. Low Calorie Sweetener All low calorie sweeteners contribute no or very few calories to foods and beverages Each has undergone extensive safety testing which has been reviewed by FDA FDA has stated that There is no causal relationships between dietary use of low calorie sweeteners and alleged adverse reactions People with Diabetes Low calorie sweeteners have long played a role for people with diabetes Can be very helpful in maintaining level amounts of carbohydrates in each meal Can help in weight loss Do not raise blood glucose or insulin levels Use as tools for making healthful food choices Sugar Twin, Sprinkle, Sweet n Low (pink) Oldest sugar substitute 300 times sweeter than sugar Made from saccharin Works better in cookies and cakes Suitable for mixing with dry ingredients Keeps its flavor when heated Some experience a metallic after taste. To avoid, mix with other types of sweeteners Warning label dropped in 2000 Sugar Twin, Sprinkle, Sweet n Low (pink) Caution: some brands of saccharin use sodium as an ingredient, so read the label Can be measured like granular sugar Substitute up to ¾ cup Best to use less than 1 cup sugar substitute to avoid bitter after taste Decrease sugar substitute by about ¼ cup per cup of sugar Does not add bulk or volume Brown Sugar Twin Works best in recipes for sauces and stir fry that need brown sugar for sweetness Does not add tenderness 2

3 Equal and NutraSweet (blue) Blend easily with other ingredients Good for dressings and marinades Good for sweetening liquid mixtures Made from aspartame About 200 times sweeter than sugar Non-caloric because of the small amounts that are used Loses some sweetness at high temperatures Not recommended for cooking and baking because it breaks down when exposed to heat Equal and NutraSweet (blue) Looses sweetness in liquids No after taste Work well in making frostings and glazes Use to flavor at the table or in cold items People with PKU (phenylketonria) should restrict their intake of aspartame Splenda (yellow) Measures like sugar Least amount on controversy Bulking agents can add about 12 calories per tablespoon of mixture and not listed on label Splenda granular may produce less volume Can be used in baking Works best in recipes for fruit fillings, custards, sauces and marinades Can add an artificial flavor when used alone Splenda (yellow) Store items baked with Splenda in refrigerator to last longer May bake more quickly Baking times---generally less 7 to 10 minutes for cakes 1 to 2 minutes less for cookies Splenda (yellow) When beating ingredients together may have to beat longer, to get enough air for fluffy even texture Ways to successfully incorporate Splenda into a recipe Combine thoroughly with the other dry ingredients Dissolve in the liquid Beat together with shortening 3

4 Stevia Truvia/Purvia-Stevia Newest sweetener on market approved by FDA in 1995 as dietary supplement If used sparingly, once or twice a day, the risks are low If marketed widely and used in diet sodas it could be a potential health threat Can add a biter aftertaste Lacks ability to add texture, caramelize, feed the fermentation of yeast and help tenderize a batter, all properties possessed by sugar Cookies: Always preheat oven Crisp shortbread type cookies give best results For chewier cookies add canned pumpkin, uncooked oatmeal or peanut butter Cakes: Always preheat the oven Separate eggs Whip egg whites to very stiff peaks to increase volume Immediately invert pan onto a cooling rack Truvia/Purvia-Stevia Yeast Breads: Breads will take longer to rise. Quick breads tend not to rise as well Increase the amount of baking powder or baking soda One packet of Stevia about ½ teaspoon Strength varies among brands Brands high in steviosides will yield sweeter taste without bitter after taste 4

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6 To Reduce Sugar in Recipes Cut the amount of sugar by ½ and reduce the liquid by ¼ When juice is called for, use apple juice and reduce the amount by ¼ Add touch of vanilla flavoring, almond flavoring or a dash of cinnamon to a recipe calling for fruit to increase the sweet taste of the fruit Heat up any low sugar dessert prior to serving, when possible, to increase the sweet taste without adding sugar Reactions to Sugar Substitutes? Try these recipe adaptations: Add fruit puree to replace some of the sugar and fat in soft chewy cookies Reduce sugar by ¼ to 1/3 in most recipes Slice bar cookies in bite size portions Take advantage of natural sweetness of dried fruit instead of candies fruits Reactions to Sugar Substitutes? Portion smaller amounts of cookie dough for mini versions of your favorite treats Try these decorating tips Drizzle a bit of chocolate icing made from melted bittersweet chocolate and non fat half-and half Press tops of reduced sugar cookies into fine-grain colored sugar or crushed sugar free candy Brush tops of cookies lightly with no sugar added jam thinned with small amount of juice or water Additional Resources Web Pages Artificial Sweeteners 101 at tm_source= UNL Extension NebGuide Sweeteners G1458 and Stevia G1634 available at: References Artificial Sweeteners 101 at: Baking with Low Calorie Sweeteners, Diabetes in the News, June, 2003, p. 9. Can Drinking Too Much Soda Pop Increase Diabetes Risk? If So How Much? Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter, October, 2004, Vol. 22, No. 8, p. 1 & 8. Confused About Sugar, Diabetes Wellness News, November 2012, Vol. 18, No. 11, p.6. Cooking and Baking is Sweet with Splenda, Diabetes Cooking, March April, 2003, p Diekman, Connie, Sweeteners: Facts and Fallacies, Today s Dietician, September, 2012, Vol. 14, No. 9, p Hackfeld, Linda M.P.H., R.D., and Betsy Eykyn, M.S., Cooing Ala Heart, Appletree Press, Mankato, MN. 1992, p How Much Sugar is Right? Less, Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter, June, 2004, Vol. 22, No. 4, p. 1 & 8. Jones, Georgia, Stevia, NebGuide, University of Nebraska- Lincoln Extension Publication G1643, May Jones, Georgia, Sweeteners, NebGuide, University of Nebraska- Lincoln Extension Publication G1458, May Low Calorie Sweeteners Resource Kit, International Food Information Council Foundation, Washington, D. C., October

7 References Magee, Elaine, Which Artificial Sweetener is Right for You? cited 5 May 2011 at: Miller, Jeannette, and Carol Van Waarduizen, The Healthy Holiday Cookbook, American Heart Association Iowa Affiliate, 1987, p Roberts, Shauna S., Sweet Selections, Diabetes Forecast, June, 2003, p Secrets of Low-Sugar Baking, Diabetes Cooking, November- December. 2004, p Shafer, Jessie, Arsha McCulloch and Jane Burnett, The Ultimate Guide to Sugar Substitutes, Diabetic Living, Spring, 2013, p Smith, Belinda Maness, Sugar Substitutes Not Alike, Diabetes in the News, February, 1992, p Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska Lincoln cooperating with the Counties and the United States Department of Agriculture. University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture. 7