Today's post is the fifth article in a series about sugar and all things sugar.

The first post, Carbohydrates Vs. Sugar is here.

The second post, Natural Vs. Added Sugars is here.

The third post, Healthier Sugar Alternatives is here.

The fourth post, What are the Types of Added Sugars (Sugar Aliases), is here.

One of the more "feared" things in nutrition are low-calorie sweeteners. Low-calorie sweeteners are another name for non-nutritive sweeteners or what many people call "artificial" sweeteners.

People swear they cause cancer. Contribute to weight gain. Have all kinds of adverse health effects. Years ago, there was a laundry list of aspartame's negative impacts–all untrue.

There are several non-nutritive sweeteners, some called "tabletop" sweeteners, because you can use them, buy them at the grocery store, and find them in restaurants to add to your foods and beverages. The most common tabletop sweeteners include:

Aspartame
Saccharin
Stevia sweeteners
Sucralose

Aspartame (Blue Packets)

Aspartame, most known as NutraSweet, are two amino acids: aspartic acid and phenylalanine.

It is 200 times sweeter than sugar, so a minimal amount is needed to get a sweet taste.

Aspartame is not heat stable – so it cannot or should not be used in baking.

The FDA approved this in 1981 for use.

*Of all of these, no specific health risk is known for healthy people when consumed in amounts most reasonable people would consume.*

This tabletop sweetener has a warning on it for those with the condition known as PKA or phenylketonuria. People with this condition cannot handle the amino acid phenylalanine and must avoid it. Worried you have it? Highly unlikely since this condition is checked for when we are born.

Saccharin (Pink Packets)

Saccharin, most known as Sweet and Low, is the oldest of these sweeteners discovered in the 1800s, used since 1900, and FDA approved since 1970.

It is 200-700 times sweeter than sugar, so a small amount is needed to get a sweet taste. As a result, it isn't often used in baking, though it is heat stable.

In the past, there was a warning on foods with saccharine – that it may cause cancer in laboratory animals. However, replication studies failed to find this connection in humans (because we are not rats), and the FDA officially removed that warning in 2000.

Stevia (Green Packets)

Stevia is an herb known as Stevia rebaudiana. You can grow this alongside basil, mint, and other herbs in your herb garden. Truvia is stevia, and many branded companies have a version of stevia, including Splenda Stevia Sweetener and Stevia in the Raw.

It is about 200-350 times sweeter than sugar, so, like the others, it only takes a small amount to achieve a sweet taste. One can also use this in baking.

The FDA considered Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) in 2008. Before this time, stevia was with dietary supplements and not in the baking aisle with the other sweeteners.

The whole leaves of the stevia plant are not approved food additives, so the stevia available for purchase for food use will not be the entire leaves. If you grow it yourself, you can do what you choose. However, the information related to this is limited.

Sucralose (Yellow Packets)

Sucralose is also known as Splenda. It is a sugar molecule modified with chloride (an element also part of table salt – sodium chloride) that is not broken down in the digestive tract. So, we get the sweet taste without absorbing it. It was approved for use in 1998 and became available to the general population in the early 2000s.

It is about 600 times sweeter than sugar, so a minimal amount gets a sweet taste. And it is heat stable and marketed as being used in baking.

There are no specific warnings or known risks related to using sucralose.

Safety

All of these sweeteners are considered safe in the quantities that most people would consume. Laboratory studies look at high doses for daily use for a lifetime – amounts most people would not consume regularly or even daily.

I always tell people that if they are concerned about these substances and their safety, that is fine, and they can avoid them.

However, the facts are they are safe for most people to consume.