What is Sucralose?
07-08-2024
08:08 AM
1 min read
Overview:
A recent study from India examining the effects of replacing sucrose or table sugar with an artificial sweetener, sucralose, found no adverse impact on glucose or HbA1c levels and in fact indicated a slight improvement in body mass index (BMI).
About Sucralose:
- Sucralose is a no-calorie sweetener that can be used to lower one’s intake of added sugars while still providing satisfaction from enjoying the taste of something sweet.
- While some types of sweeteners in this category are considered low-calorie (e.g., aspartame) and others are no-calorie (e.g., sucralose, monk fruit sweeteners, and stevia sweeteners). Collectively, they are often referred to as sugar substitutes, high-intensity sweeteners, nonnutritive sweeteners, or low-calorie sweeteners.
- Like other no-calorie sweeteners, sucralose is intensely sweet. It is about 600 times sweeter than sugar.
- It can be used as an ingredient in any type of food or beverage.
- Sucralose is exceptionally stable, so foods and beverages sweetened with sucralose stay sweet under a wide range of conditions.
- Production:
- Sucralose is made from a process that begins with regular table sugar (sucrose); however, sucralose is not sugar.
- Three select hydroxyl groups on the sucrose molecule are replaced with three chlorine atoms.
- Sucralose’s structure prevents enzymes in the digestive tract from breaking it down, which is an inherent part of its safety.
- After Consumption:
- Most (about 85 percent) of consumed sucralose is not absorbed by the body and is excreted, unchanged, in the feces.
- Of the small amount that is absorbed (about 15 percent), none is broken downfor energy—therefore, sucralose does not provide any calories.
- All absorbed sucralose is excreted quickly in the urine.
Q1: What is Body Mass Index (BMI)?
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters. For example, a BMI of 25 means 25 kg/m2. For most adults, an ideal BMI is in the 18.5 to 24.9 range. A high BMI can indicate high body fatness. BMI screens for weight categories that may lead to health problems, but it does not diagnose the body fatness or health of an individual.
Source: Judicious use of sucralose as sugar substitute has benefits for diabetics, says study
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