Alternatives to Sugars and their Effects

Everyone loves a sweet treat from time to time. Using sugar in moderate

amounts can enhance the taste of food, but an excess amounts can be harmful. Many

people use alternatives to sugar to keep in check of their weight, and minimize their

sugar intake. There are three different sets of alternative sweeteners; sugar

alcohols, artificial sweeteners, and an herbal sweetener.

Artificial sweeteners can also be called nonnutritive sweeteners because they

provide almost no energy. It is a substitute for the real thing. One example of an

artificial sweetener is aspartame. It is digested and absorbed in the body and can be

used It is an alternative to sugar, and can be found in drinks, yogurt, gum, and

cough syrup. There is no dangerous side effects. Sugar alcohols are sugar like

compounds that can be found in fruits, vegetables, or commercial produced from

dextrose. Sugar alcohols are absorbed more slowly than the other sugars and are

broken down differently in the human body. Some examples of sugar alcohols are

erythritol, isomalt, and lactitol. The last alternative sweetener is Stevia. The herb

stevia comes from a plant, and its leaves have been used mostly by the people of

South America. It can also be added to a variety of foods and beverages.

With all these alternatives to sugar, people need to bask in the realities of

their effects it can have on your health if you don’t