Why plant-based sweeteners are the best alternative for those with a sweet tooth

Almost all of us like a sugary snack. But, we hate the fact that added sugar plays a significant role in weight gain. It also raises the risk of some serious health problems like diabetes and heart disease. Some people use sugar substitutes, also known as artificial sweeteners, to battle their cravings.

Artificial sweeteners likeAspartame (Equal),Neotame (Newtame),Saccharin (Sweet'N Low) andSucralose (Splenda) taste like sugar but have fewer calories. Some even have no calories. However, there are growing concerns about their safety. Several experts today have started recommending natural sweeteners instead of artificial ones, keeping the side effects in mind.

Natural sweeteners come from flowers and plants directly, with little processing. Examples include stevia, monk fruit, and yacon syrup.

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Stevia -Stevia rebaudiana is a plant in the sunflower family and is native to parts of South America. The leaves contain two primary compounds — one is extremely sweet, while the other is very bitter. Manufacturers extract the sweet compoundfrom the plant to produce stevia.

Monk fruit - Monk fruit, native to southern China, is another alternative sweetener. The fruit contains compounds called mogrosides, which can be 150–200 times as sweet as sugar. The extracts contain no calories.

Yacon syrup - Yacon syrup is sticky nectar harvested from the yacon plant, which is also native to parts of South America. It is high in soluble fibres called fructooligosaccharides, which have just half the calories of regular sugar. These fibres also feed healthy bacteria in the intestines. As a result, yacon syrup may help with digestive issues.

What about other natural sugar substitutes like honey?

There are several popular sugary sweeteners that health-conscious people often eat instead of sugar, including coconut sugar, molasses, honey, and maple syrup. These really aren’t much different from sugar.

The amazing diversity of the plant world offers up quite a few different natural sweeteners, though they each have their unique shortcomings. In addition, there is no guarantee that a chemical produced by a plant is any safer than one created in a lab. These plant sweeteners still need to undergo extensive testing before they are considered safe as a food additive.Whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables, usually have the best mix of nutrients for the body.

(Inputs byDr David Chandy, Consultant in Endocrinology at the Endocrinology department at Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital)

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