6 frequently asked questions about sweeteners

1. Sweeteners. Sometimes there is a lot to do. For example, it is said that diet drinks only make you fatter and that sweeteners cause cancer. Is that correct? Six frequently asked questions with their answers.

1. Which sweetener is best?

1. One sweetener is no better or worse than another and they are all safe to use. It therefore strongly depends on your personal preference for which sweetener you choose. Some people find stevia more pleasant than sucralose, for example. The other prefers to use aspartame or saccharin. The same applies to baking with sweeteners: some likes a compact cake and therefore uses sucralose, others prefer the cake a bit lighter and uses tagatose.

2. Are sweeteners safe?

1. There are many stories about sweeteners. For example, it is sometimes said that sweeteners are carcinogenic. However, sweeteners should only be used in foods if it is clear that they are safe (and therefore not carcinogenic). Even the World Cancer Research Fund says sweeteners are safe. Extensive research into the safety of sweeteners is therefore carried out in advance. The so-called ADI is determined on the basis of the research results. This is done by independent scientists from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The ADI is the amount of sweetener that a person can consume on a daily basis throughout his life without leading to health risks. Only when the safety of a substance in daily use under the ADI has been demonstrated with sufficient certainty in scientific studies, can a substance be authorized for use in food. In order to build in an extra safety margin, the ADI has been set a factor of 100 lower than the amount that is expected to lead to health problems. Due to this built-in safety margin, it is not a problem if you take more than the fixed maximum amount once. The ADI is also expressed in milligrams per kilogram of body weight. The amount of sweetener per day that has been shown to be safe is therefore lower for children and lighter people than for people with a higher body weight. When several sweeteners are used in one product, the calculation is based on the sweetener for which the ADI is reached the fastest.

2. There are many stories about sweeteners. For example, it is sometimes said that sweeteners are carcinogenic. However, sweeteners should only be used in foods if it is clear that they are safe (and therefore not carcinogenic). Even the World Cancer Research Fund says sweeteners are safe. Extensive research into the safety of sweeteners is therefore carried out in advance. The so-called ADI is determined on the basis of the research results. This is done by independent scientists from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The ADI is the amount of sweetener that a person can consume every day for a lifetime without leading to health risks. Only when the safety of a substance in daily use under the ADI has been demonstrated with sufficient certainty in scientific studies, can a substance be authorized for use in food. To build in an extra safety margin, the ADI has been set a factor of 100 lower than the amount that is expected to lead to health problems. Thanks to this built-in safety margin, it is no problem if you take more than the fixed maximum amount once. The ADI is also expressed in milligrams per kilogram of body weight. The amount of sweetener per day that has been shown to be safe is therefore lower for children and lighter people than for people with a higher body weight. When several sweeteners are used in one product, the calculation is based on the sweetener for which the ADI is reached the fastest.

3. Diet soda makes you fat?

1. Drinking a sugary drink causes you to consume a lot of calories unnoticed. By replacing the sugar with artificial sweeteners, drinks still taste sweet, but without calories. So that seems like an ideal solution. However, some people say that artificial sweeteners lead to weight gain. Sweeteners make you fatter is not based on the most reliable studies *. in fact, they show that you lose weight when you switch sugary drinks for light drinks. That does not mean that diet drinks are the solution for obesity; it only concerns about 1 kilo. In addition, weight loss will also require other dietary adjustments. In addition, the acids contained in it attack the tooth enamel. Water, tea and coffee therefore continue to be preferred. It is also true that people who drink drinks with sweeteners more often have a higher BMI. This is known as 'reverse causality'. It is likely that it is precisely overweight people who drink light drinks in an attempt to lose weight. In addition, there is something they call 'compensation urge': due to lack of knowledge, many people overestimate the health benefits of light products or foods with sweeteners. When they see 'less kilocalories' or 'less fat' on the packaging of a product, they expect that it will contain drastically fewer kilocalories. This makes them eat and / or drink more. In 2006, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment provided insight into the compensation behavior of Dutch light product users. They concluded that in particular the unhealthy diet products, including soft drinks and fruit drinks and crisps, were used in the wrong way. Compensatory behavior makes you gain weight instead of losing weight.

2. Drinking a sugary drink causes you to consume a lot of calories unnoticed. By replacing the sugar with artificial sweeteners, drinks still taste sweet, but without calories. So that seems like an ideal solution. However, some people say that artificial sweeteners lead to weight gain. Sweeteners make you fatter is not proven by the most reliable studies *. in fact, they show that you lose weight when you switch sugary drinks for light drinks. That does not mean that diet drinks are the solution for obesity; it only concerns about 1 kilo. In addition, weight loss will also require other dietary adjustments. In addition, the acids contained in it attack the tooth enamel. Water, tea and coffee therefore continue to be preferred. It is also true that people who drink drinks with sweeteners more often have a higher BMI. This is known as 'reverse causality'. It is likely that it is precisely overweight people who drink light drinks in an attempt to lose weight. In addition, there is something they call 'the urge to compensate': due to lack of knowledge, many people overestimate the health benefits of light products or foods with sweeteners. When they see 'less kilocalories' or 'less fat' on the packaging of a product, they expect that it will contain drastically fewer kilocalories. This makes them eat and / or drink more. In 2006, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment provided insight into the compensation behavior of Dutch light product users. They concluded that in particular the unhealthy diet products, including soft drinks and fruit drinks and chips, were used in the wrong way. Compensatory behavior makes you gain weight instead of losing weight.

4. Can you drink light drinks during pregnancy and breastfeeding?

1. Diet soft drinks, but also other diet products are safe to use if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Sweeteners are not harmful to you or your unborn child. It is of course the intention that you remain under the aforementioned ADI. If a sweetener is not to be used in specific circumstances, the packaging contains a clear warning. This is the case, for example, for people with phenylketonuria, who should not ingest aspartame or other sources of the amino acid phenylalanine. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) conducts extensive research into the safety of a substance before it can be added to products. This applies not only to sweeteners, but also to colorants, flavor enhancers or preservatives. If the result is that it is safe enough to eat or drink on a daily basis, the European Union will assign this additive an E number. The E numbers of sweeteners all start with a '9'. A This video clearly explains how E-numbers are arranged:

5. Why do sweeteners sometimes give you a bitter aftertaste?

1. With your taste buds you distinguish salt, sour, bitter, sweet and umami. But that distinction is very personal. In this way, one person can perceive a bitter taste more intensely than another. In the case of stevia, the sweet taste is perceived by the body with a delay. It has a slightly bitter taste and aftertaste. Bitterness diminishes when stevia is mixed with sugars such as sucrose, fructose or glucose. The latter is often done with soft drinks.

6. Do sweeteners fit in a low-carb or restricted-carb diet? Low calorie sweeteners are not carbohydrates. A sweet or liquid intensive sweeteners (for example in soft drinks) therefore do not count towards the carbohydrates. A low-calorie powdered sweetener does contain a little bit of carbohydrates, 0.5 grams per teaspoon of sweetener. This is so little that a low-calorie sweetener fits in a low-carbohydrate diet. You should be careful when you sweeten your food or drink with something from the polyols sweetener group. These are a kind of carbohydrates. You need more from polyols than from intensive sweeteners to achieve the same sweet taste. If you eat low or low carbohydrates, it is therefore wise to look at the amount of polyols you use. * Miller PE, Perez V. Low-calorie sweeteners and body weight and composition: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014 Sep; 100 (3): 765-77. - ogers PJ, Hogenkamp PS, de Graaf C, Higgs S, Lluch A, Ness AR, Penfold C, Perry R, ​​Putz P, Yeomans MR, Mela DJ. Does low-energy sweetener consumption affect energy intake and body weight? A systematic review, including meta-analyzes, of the evidence from human and animal studies. Int J Obes (Lond). 2016 Mar; 40 (3): 381-94. Don't miss anything anymore?

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