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Planning A Diabetes Diet - Sweetening agents

Many persons with diabetes have a sweet tooth. For them, restriction on the use of sugar means an intolerable hardship. Sugar is the most commonly used sweetening agent. It can be added during cooking and it does not have a bitter after taste. Its preservative property is made use of in preparing jams. One g sugar provides 4 kcals.

Sweetening agents fall into two categories: non-calorific sweetening agents or intense sweeteners and calorific sweetening agents or bulk sweeteners.

NON-CALORIFIC SWEETENING AGENTS

Saccharin

This chemical is 300 times as sweet as sugar. It has a bitter after taste and is decomposed by heat. It does not improve the texture of the foodstuff or increase its bulk and lacks a preservative action. Saccharin is used in canned fruits, fruit preserves, soft drinks, chewing gums, toothpastes and drugs. From the evidence available so far, saccharin can be regarded safe for human consumption. It is advisable to avoid saccharin during pregnancy.

Saccharin is added to tea or coffee or a dish, after it is prepared and not while boiling or cooking (1 tablet = 1 teaspoon sugar) A mixture of sugar and saccharin is marketed.

Acesulfame Potassium

This substance is 180-200 times as sweet as sugar. It can be added to foodstuffs or drinks. Its calorie value is negligible. It is not available in India but is marketed in USA as Sunett or Sweet One. It is remarkably stable in liquids and in baking and cooking.

Thaumatin

Derived from a fruit, it is 2500-3000 times sweeter than sucrose. It is added to yoghurt, jams, chewing gum, coffee drinks.

Sucralose

It is 600 times as sweet as sucrose.

Aspartame

This is a mixture of amino acids and has a negligible calorie value. It is 180-200 times as sweet as sugar. It does not have a bitter after-taste. Aspartame, dissolved in water loses its sweet taste, after six months. Persons suffering from phenylkctonuria, a rare disease, should not use asparatame.

Asparatame is marketed as Sugarfree and Equal in India and as Nutrasweet and Canderel abroad.

CALORIFIC SWEETENING AGENTS

Fructose and Sorbitol: Fructose provides 4 kcals/g and is 1.2 times sweeter than sucrose. Sorbitol provides 2.6 kcals/g and is half as sweet as sucrose. These are used in preparing cakes. In large amonts these can cause diarrhoea.

All sweetening agents have some limitations and an ideal sugar substitute is yet to be found.

Mixtures of sweetening agents

A mixture of sorbitol and saccharin has been marketed abroad. A mixture of saccharin and either lactose or maltodextrin is used to sweeten liquids like tea or coffee.

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Planning A Diabetes Diet - Sweetening agents