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7 Best and Worst Sugar SubstitutesA sugar substitute can help keep you in your skinny jeans, but it may be harming your health. Here's the scoop on the best -- and worst -- sugar substitutes |
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The scary news didn't stop new sugar swaps from hitting the shelves: NutraSweet, Equal and Splenda all promise us zero calories and the same sweet taste as the white stuff. But nutritionists aren't as keen on these sugar substitutes as we are. Researchers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. found that lab animals given foods sweetened with an artificial sweetener gained more weight than those who consumed sugar. The reason? Sugar substitutes give a shot of sweet taste with zero calories, which confuses the body. When we taste something sweet without getting the expected calories that come with that flavor, it actually makes us hungrier. So we eat more -- and pack on the pounds.
Skip ahead to see the best and worst sugar substitutes now.
Even natural sugar substitutes, which contain fructose, can wreak havoc on our health if we overindulge. "Very high doses of fructose may have a negative impact on the liver, and high dietary fructose is associated with metabolic syndrome, obesity, heart disease and type II diabetes," says Robin Foroutan, MS, RD, integrative nutritionist and communications chair for Dietitians in Integrative and Functional Medicine.
But let's face it: Living life without sugar isn't feasible. And with all kinds of sneaky sources of sugar (it's in ketchup, soy milk, tomato sauce and a laundry list of other foods you wouldn't expect) it's easy to overdo it. If you take your coffee with a teaspoon or two of the white stuff, you might want to reach for a sugar substitute every now and then. What's more, most sugar substitutes won't cause a spike in blood sugar levels, so you can sidestep the low energy and brain fog that usually follows a sweet treat.
Enter this list of the best and worst sugar substitutes out there. We asked dieticians to fill us in on the ones that aren't doing anything for our health, and the ones that (in moderation) are actually good for us.
SEE NEXT PAGE: The Worst No. 3: Saccharin (aka Sweet N' Low)
Older comments
The Splenda website and anti-Slenda websites all agree there's chlorine in Splenda. Chlorine is naturally occuring in a number of healthy foods, and is actually good for you this way. However, the Splenda process selectively replaces three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sugar molecule with three chlorine atoms. I have reservations about this being "natural" or truly a healthy thing, though in fairness, Splenda doesn't claim to be "natural". I guess someday we'll find out more, like we did with Nutra-Sweet. Even Truvia is really Stevia and Splenda combined, simply put. Still, I'll use Splenda in moderation. I love honey, too... it's the bees knees! ;) And 100% real maple syrup to sweeten lemonade is amazing!
by HabibiPhoebe Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at 12:43PM Report as inappropriate
Thank you. I was just watching a documentry the otherday about the food buisness and how they use like aspartame to make you fatter and make you want more of their products even on "healthy" items diet soda. Scary stuff I would recommend everyone looking it up (Forget name but if you cant find it message me) I had no idea about honey being able to be used makes sense always loved honey just never thought about it in my coffee and what not. Will defiantly start now. Great article thank you
by Alana_Danes Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 04:04AM Report as inappropriate
Honey, good!
by EricaC123 Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 02:49PM Report as inappropriate
I love honey as a sweetener
by LittleBunny Friday, January 4, 2013 at 07:28AM Report as inappropriate
Go Honey!
by kimihavens Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 01:59PM Report as inappropriate
I have to disagree with agave nectar being a great sweetener. I used it for a month without changing anything else in my diet and I gained 3 pounds! So much for better tasting greek yogurt. I now use 100% organic stevia extract.
by hiddenexpose Monday, August 20, 2012 at 01:01PM Report as inappropriate
I love honey but I only use it in things where I'll actually be able to taste the flavor of the honey. Most of the time I'll use Splenda instead, but I think I'll switch to Truvia in the future. I tried Agave Nectar but it's quite high calorie!
by LipglossandSpandex Tuesday, August 7, 2012 at 03:32PM Report as inappropriate
interesting
by Nicole2814 Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at 07:55PM Report as inappropriate
honey is my favorite
by LittleBunny Tuesday, July 31, 2012 at 04:20PM Report as inappropriate
hooray for honey!
by internet101 Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at 02:00PM Report as inappropriate