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