Describe the benefits and adverse effects of the common alternative sweeteners

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Artificial sweeteners are sometimes called nonnutritive sweeteners because they provide virtually no energy. Considering that all substances are toxic at some dose, it is little surprise that large doses of artificial sweeteners (or their components or metabolic by-products) may have adverse effects. The question to ask is whether their ingestion is safe for human beings in quantities people normally use (and potentially abuse). Artificial sweeteners include acesulfame potassium or Acesulfame K; aspartame; luo han guo; neotame; saccharin; stevia; and sucralose.

Some "sugar-free" or reduced-kcalorie products contain sugar alcohols. The sugar alcohols (or polyols) occur naturally in fruits and vegetables; manufacturers also use sugar alcohols in many processed foods to add bulk and texture, to provide a cooling effect or sweet taste, to inhibit browning from heat, and to retain moisture. These products may claim to be "sugar-free" on their labels, but in this case, "sugar-free" does not mean free of kcalories. Sugar alcohols do provide kcalories (0.2 to 2.6 kcalories per gram), but fewer than the sugars. Because sugar alcohols yield energy, they are sometimes referred to as nutritive sweeteners.