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Whenever we need to lose weight or want to lead a healthier life, we try to replace sugar with artificial versions. But does this really work? After all, sweetener or sugar: which is better?
In fact, sugar is one of the biggest enemies of weight loss and overall health. However, we don’t always manage to get our taste buds used to unsweetened coffee, tea and juices, as most experts recommend, and we end up resorting to artificial sweeteners.
And this doesn’t just happen with sugar itself, but also with industrialized products such as soft drinks, chocolate powder, jams and a multitude of other foods and drinks that exist in diet versions, that is, that contain artificial sweeteners in their composition to replace sugar.
If this is your case, it’s time to find out whether this substitution is worth it for weight loss and for the proper functioning of our body.
Sugar: a national passion
Refined sugar is the most often consumed sugar in our diet; it is more reasonably priced and easily obtained in any shop. But this food loses more than 90% of its nutrients during several processing phases, therefore producing just calories.
A World Health Organisation study indicates that people consume 50% more sugar than advised, which raises their risk of disorders including obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and some forms of cancer.
Still, majority of this component comes from processed meals, thus cutting out sugar from your coffee after lunch won’t help. Many times overlooked by consumers, these items include plenty of added sugar. Thus, in addition to limiting our use of powdered sugar, we also have to reduce our intake of processed meals.
Sweeteners: fewer calories and greater sweetening power
Artificial sweeteners were developed as an alternative for people with diabetes who cannot consume sugar. Shortly after, they also began to be used by those who wanted to lose weight or control their weight – and the same thing happened with diet products.
While a tea bag of sugar has 24 calories, a sachet of the sweeteners aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin and sucralose has 3 calories and a sachet of stevia has 0.81 calories. It is worth remembering that sugar sachets usually have 6 grams and sweetener sachets have only 800 mg, as the artificial versions are much sweeter. Liquid sweeteners, on the other hand, do not have significant amounts of calories.
The caloric content of foods and beverages using sweeteners in their composition reflects this difference: although a can of soda has about 150 calories, the same amount of a diet, light or zero-calorie soda delivers none. Among other goods, chocolate powder (80 kcal x 37 kcal per serving) and jellies (70 kcal x 25 kcal) have lower calorie value as well.
Sweeteners and artificially sweetened items are really helpful for individuals who want to keep or lose weight as calorie intake is exactly related to fat buildup. Still, certain care has to be exercised.
Do artificial sweeteners cause cancer?
A few years ago, research conducted on rats linked the consumption of saccharin and cyclamate to a higher risk of developing malignant tumors. However, what happened was that these animals received very high doses of these substances, far above the tolerable limit – and even the limit that a person would be able to consume.
According to Dow, the acceptable (i.e. safe) daily intake varies depending on the type of sweetener and the individual’s weight:
- Acesulfame-K: 15 mg/kg of body weight;
- Aspartame: 40 mg/kg of body weight;
- Cyclamate: 11 mg/kg body weight;
- Stevia: 5.5 mg/kg of body weight;
- Saccharin: 2.5 mg/kg body weight;
- Sucralose: 15 mg/kg body weight.
Moreover, it is important to keep in mind that sugar is shown to be connected to a higher risk of cancer when taken excessively. Thus, regardless of which is better—sweetener or sugar—it is advisable to remain modest.
Care when using sweeteners
Even though the caloric variation is rather large and they are not carcinogenic, this is not an excuse to consume sweeteners and diet foods freely.
In the case of soft drinks, for instance, the diet, light and zero ones do not contain calories, but are rich in sodium, which promotes water retention and should not be consumed by individuals with high blood pressure. Diet chocolates, however, have less sugar, but can be even more calorie-dense than regular chocolates since they have more fat.
So every time we find a diet, light or zero-calorie product, we have to read the label and determine what element is available in less amount and how its nutritional contents compare with the contents of a standard product. You can be sure of this product being the best fit for you if you are trying to lose weight, lower your sugar intake or abstain from sodium.
More alternatives to refined sugar and sweeteners
You can substitute the refined version for healthy options if you cannot stop eating sugar, do not want to use sweeteners, cannot get used to the aftertaste of these items or else.
For instance, brown sugar’s higher calcium and iron content results from it not undergoing the bleaching, crystallization, and refining processes, which also darkens and thickens its grains. Similar to brown sugar, but with somewhat finer granules, another choice is demerara sugar.
Light sugar is a combination of refined sugar with artificial sweeteners that hides the metallic flavor and counts less calories.
Health and weight loss depend on other factors
While switching sugar for sweeteners might help you consume a few less calories, other factors determine actual health benefits and notable weight loss.
To reach this, you have to follow a balanced diet, give fruits, vegetables, and legumes first priority, cut back on processed goods and keep up a regular exercise schedule. Thus, more than choosing between sweetener or sugar, we should concentrate on a healthy lifestyle rather than only on substituting the product that would sweeten our food and beverages.
