The Sweeteners They are substances that are used as a substitute for sugar, since they have the ability to sweeten and improve the taste of some foods and beverages without adding calories.
Its main use is in weight loss regimes and in the preparation of diet products or foods for diabetics, where they can partially or totally replace sugar.
There is a large number of synthetic sweeteners manufactured in the laboratory available for several years on the market, more recently a new sweetener called stevia which is obtained from a plant, Stevia rebaudiana.
Most commonly used sweeteners
The use of sweeteners dates back to 1879 when the saccharin, the first sweetener used in the preparation of foods for diabetics, it was very powerful, however it gave food a metallic taste when used in high concentrations.
By the forties it was possible to develop a greater quantity of sweeteners with a better flavor and high sweetening power, such as the aspartame, the sucralose and the acesulfame K. These sweeteners are 200 to 600 times sweeter than sugar, they are used in many foods and even in the case of sucralose and acesulfame K they can be used to prepare foods that require cooking and baking without losing their properties.
Possible health risks
The use of sweeteners has been accompanied by the suspicion that they are associated with toxic effects for health, in this sense, numerous laboratory studies have been carried out in which a relationship was established between the development of bladder cancer and the use from cyclamate for which the FDA prohibited the use of this sweetener.
Subsequent studies have not been able to establish a direct relationship between the use of other sweeteners and the development of diseases such as cancer, so the FDA approves their use. However sweeteners like aspartame are associated with a number of symptoms and adverse effects when used in high concentrations, these include headache, concentration disorders, abdominal discomfort, and weight gain.
Use of sweeteners and metabolic disorders
Although an association between cancer and the use of sweeteners has not been established, it has been seen that it is possible that sweeteners do not have the ability to generate the sensation of satiety which can lead to the person eating more food and therefore gain weight.
They are also capable of causing physiological changes in the body similar to those that occur after ingesting sugar, which are partly due to changes in the intestinal bacterial flora, which causes the sugars in food to be assimilated more, which leads to increased blood sugar levels and metabolic decline leading to overweight and obesity.
