sweeteners: satisfying your sweet tooth the university of georgia cooperative extension service
TRANSCRIPT
Why Do We Use Sugar?
• Preserve jams and jellies
• Volume and texture in baked goods and ice-cream
• Fermentation in breads
Types of Sweeteners
• Nutritive sweeteners
– Contain calories
• Nonnutritive sweeteners (high intensity sweetener)
– Contain little or no calories
Nutritive Sweeteners
Sugars:• Glucose• Sucrose• Fructose• Lactose• Maltose
• Honey• Corn syrup• High fructose corn
syrup• Brown sugar
• All are equivalent in calories: about 4 calories per gram or about 16 calories per teaspoon
Nutritive Sweeteners
• Sorbitol• Mannitol• Maltitol• Erythritol• Xylitol• Lactitol
• Isomalt• Hydrogenated starch
hydrolysates (combination of polyols)
Sugar alcohols or polyols
Sugar alcohols/Polyols
• Used in many “sugar-free,” “low-carb,” and reduced calorie products– gum, candy, desserts, ice-cream, cough drops
and syrup
• Absorbed more slowly than “sugar”
Sugar Alcohols/Polyols
Advantages• Do not promote tooth
decay• May have less effect
on blood sugar in people with diabetes
• Most have fewer calories than sugar (about 2 calories per gram compared to 4)
Disadvantages• May have laxative
effect (gas, bloating, diarrhea)
• May be in foods that are not that low in calories or fat
Nonnutritive Sweeteners (high-intensity)
• Acesulfame potassium – Sunette, Sweet-One
• Aspartame – Equal, NutraSweet
• Neotame• Saccharin
– Sweet ‘n Low, etc• Sucralose
– Splenda
Approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA):
High-Intensity Sweeteners
Advantages• Little or no calories• No effect on blood
sugar in diabetes
Disadvantages• Some have unpleasant
aftertaste• Cannot replace sugar
entirely in baked products
Read the Label!
• Foods with high intensity sweeteners may be combined with other ingredients
• Check the Nutrition Facts label for calories, carbohydrate, and fat
When Can You Use a High-Intensity Sweetener?
• Beverages• Cooking and baking
when sugar is not needed for volume, texture, structure– Fruit cobblers and
pies– Sauces– Puddings
Sugar’s Role in Baked Goods
Sugar provides to baked goods:
• browning
• tenderness
• structure
• volume
• texture
Why Reduce Sugar Intake?
• Contains calories, but no nutritional value
• Medical conditions:– Overweight/obesity– Diabetes– High triglycerides
How Can You Cut Back on Sugar?
• Reduce added sugar by up to ½• Replace some or all of the sugar
with a high-intensity sweetener– Check guidelines for specific
sweeteners for use in recipes• Use canned fruit packed in
juice
How Can You Cut Back on Sugar?
• Replace high-sugar beverages with sugar-free beverages
Size Calories
Super-size 410
Large 320
Medium 220
Points to Remember• High-sugar foods and beverages are usually
high in calories and low in nutritional value
• Cut back on sugar by using less added sugar or substituting high-intensity sweeteners
• Many “sugar-free” foods are not “calorie-free”
• Baked products often require some sugar for acceptable quality