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No substitute for caution

There are plenty of artificial sweeteners in the market. But make an informed choice, suggests DIVYA KUMAR

SANS SUGAR Sweets made with artificial sweeteners are safe when consumed in moderation

If there were a Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory for adults, all its sundry chocolate delights would be made magically sweet without sugar and would be free of calories. Unfortunately, we live in a world without eccentric chocolate barons and Oompa-Loompas, so we have to make do with the next best thing: sugar substitutes.

The good news is that there's more choice than ever before today in the artificial sweetener market. Some such as saccharin and aspartame have, of course, been around for decades. Others such as sucralose, levulose, stevia and acesulfame potassium have entered the Indian market and are starting to make some waves, while still others like xylitol, sorbitol and manitol are yet to make the move in a big way.

So what do you need to know to make an informed choice about the best sweetener to use? First, there's the concept of the `nutritive' versus the `non-nutritive' sweeteners, which is just a fancy way of saying that the first kind contain some calories, and the second contain virtually none. The venerable aspartame and saccharin fall under the non-nutritive category, as do sucralose, acesulfame K and stevia.

Free of calories

These sweeteners are several hundred times as sweet as sucrose or sugar, but don't contribute any calories at all. For example, sucralose, available under the brand names Sugar Free Nutra and Kal-Tame, is a derivative of sucrose but is not metabolised by the body and passes through the system without adding any calories. Acesulfame K is often used in combination with other sweeteners, thereby reducing the bitter taste common to sugar substitutes, and has recently been launched in India in combination with aspartame as Cutkal. Unlike aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame K and saccharin are stable at high temperatures and can be used in cooking and even in baking.

One issue that has dogged these non-calorific artificial sweeteners is the fear of serious side effects such as cancer. But Dr. V. Mohan, chairman, Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre, says: "No cases of cancer due to artificial sweeteners have ever been reported in human beings. These sweeteners are safe to use in measured quantities."

If you would still prefer to go natural, there's always stevia, a plant extract-based non-nutritive sweetener that is 300 times as sweet as sugar. But there's room for improvement in the stevia-based products available in India, says Dr. Mohan. "It's very good because it has been shown to have some blood glucose lowering properties," he says, "but I'm not personally satisfied with the products in India because of the bitter aftertaste."

Nutritive sweeteners

That brings us to the nutritive sweeteners. The most popular of these is levulose (fructose or fruit sugar) that is being used in the Dezire line of diabetic food products in India. Levulose is 1.7 times sweeter than sucrose and with a much lower Glycemic Index (GI). This means that although it has the same number of calories as sugar, smaller quantities need to be used, and it raises blood sugar levels by just one-third the amount sugar does. Sugar alcohol-based sweeteners like sorbitol, xylitol and mannitol, which are not yet that popular in India, are carbohydrates that are not completely absorbed by the body. However, these sweeteners have been shown to cause stomach problems and diarrhoea if used in large quantities, so make sure you read the labels of those sugar-free chewing gums and diabetic chocolates your relatives bring for you from abroad.

In general, Dr. Mohan recommends that nutritive sugar substitutes be used only once a diabetic's blood sugar levels are under control. Nutritionist and dietician Nimmi Ittycheria John also warns that eating foods with artificial sweeteners does not give you a free ticket to indulge excessively. "Sugar is not the only bad ingredient in an aerated soft drink or other junk food," she says. "These foods may contain a combination of ingredients which may exceed the calorie and fat requirements of a healthy diet."

So there you have it — used in measured quantities and as part of a balanced diet, these sugar substitutes can make your life a little sweeter. Not quite Willy Wonka's magic, but close enough.

What the chef says

Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor is brand ambassador for Sugar Free Nutra and he gives us some tips on using sucralose in cooking and baking:

Sucralose can be used for making a wide range of desserts and mithais besides being used as a tabletop sweetener like in tea, coffee, lassi and even in the making of ice creams.

But keep in mind that it lacks the browning, tenderising and moisture retaining properties provided by table sugar, and cannot be caramelised or used to make candies.

When your recipe calls for beating ingredients like butter, sugar and eggs together you will need to beat the ingredients a bit longer to incorporate enough air into the mixture.

Baked items will not brown as well as when made with sugar. Therefore addition of cocoa or other dark ingredients may be necessary to get the browning effect. Also ingredients like buttermilk may be needed for moisture retention. Further, baked foods will get done faster so one will need to check for doneness a bit earlier than the time that a recipe with sugar calls for. These foods will last longer if stored in a refrigerator.

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