Sweeteners
A 2023 observational study published in Nature Medicine found a link between using erythritol as an added sweetener and CVD events in people with heart disease.
With results like these, no wonder the latest advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO), issued in 2023, discourages the use of non-sugar sweeteners to control weight or reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases. This recommendation is based on a systematic review of the available evidence, concluding that such sweeteners provide no long-term benefit in reducing body fat in adults or children, and that long-term use may increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes and CVD. Yet controversy persists. Dr Kimber Stanhope, a research nutritional biologist at the University of California, Davis, has researched sugar and many types of LCS intensely, notably sugar alcohol erythritol. She remains unconvinced by many of the popular arguments. She has never seen human intervention data showing that aspartame has negative effects. ”I don’t mean population data, which shows a positive association between use of non-caloric sweeteners and CVD, diabetes and obesity – likely because people with CVD, diabetes and obesity have been instructed to reduce their sugar intake and non- caloric sweeteners help them do that,” she explains. “To know if non-caloric sweeteners cause increased risks, we need to look at dietary intervention studies. Those studies have yet to find any negative effects of aspartame, and some have shown positive effects because it is replacing sugar and its calories.” Aspartame breaks down into two amino acids and a methyl group, all of which are produced in higher quantities by many foods. For instance, a 3oz piece of meat provides far higher levels of those amino acids than a 12oz soda containing aspartame. In short, you can drink several aspartame-sweetened sodas each day – and you’ll still have less of those amino acids than from a steak. Furthermore, bodies use those amino acids to build and replace proteins.
Ingredients Insight /
www.ingredients-insight.com
“You will also get fewer methyl groups from those sodas than you get from whole fruit, and whole fruit consumption is associated with a low risk of CVD, diabetes and obesity,” Stanhope adds. “Therefore, it is not plausible to me that the small amounts of amino acids and methyl groups in aspartame- sweetened soda can cause disease, but the higher amounts in meat and fruit do not.”
Ending the controversy?
As the debate over artificial sweeteners rumbles on, natural alternatives are emerging. One good example is sugar alcohols, which contain far fewer calories than sugar and break down slowly, in the gut. This helps prevent spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels.
“They are a good option for individuals with diabetes and are a healthier alternative to sugar because of their lower calorie content and reduced glycemic response,” notes Shapiro. “Nevertheless, when consumed in large amounts they can cause gastrointestinal problems such as abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhoea.”
This can be explained by how sugar alcohols are digested. Because the process happens slowly they have more time to feed bacteria in the gut, which can produce excess gas – though individual differences in metabolism, gut microbiome composition and dietary habits all determine how people respond.
The possible long-term health risks of sugar alcohol are still being explored, but a 2023 observational study published in Nature Medicine found a link between using erythritol as an added sweetener and CVD events in people with heart disease, or who had risk factors such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Even so, Shapiro concedes that these findings have not been confirmed in subsequent studies.
$225.86m
The expected value of the global erythritol market in 2023, reaching around $449.6m by 2033.
Future Market Insights $375.5m
The worth of the global aspartame market in 2021, which is expected to grow to $561.7m by 2031.
Allied Market Research 63
The Image Party/
Shutterstock.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90
