Stevia. Stevia is one of the healthiest coffee sweeteners out there. It has zero calories like most artificial sweeteners, but is still considered a natural sugar substitute.
Stevia — in packet, drops or plant form — is a dietitian favorite. Not only does it contain zero calories, but stevia-based sweeteners are herbal as opposed to artificial. Stevia blended with a sugar alcohol called erythritol (Truvia®) works well in low-carb baked desserts, too.
In addition, FDA considers three plant- or fruit-based high-intensity sweeteners to be generally recognized as safe for use as sweeteners in the United States: stevia, luo han guo (also known as Swingle fruit or monk fruit extract), and thaumatin.
Though widely available throughout the world, in 1991 stevia was banned in the U.S. due to early studies that suggested the sweetener may cause cancer.
Sugar is better for you than artificial sweeteners. Or even better yet — no added sugar. That's your absolute best bet. “Really, both sugar and artificial sweeteners are a problem for your health,” says functional medicine specialist Melissa Young, MD.
Allulose is a favorable natural sweetener because it has a remarkably similar flavor to sugar, without any funky after taste. It's also about 70% as sweet as table sugar, so serves as a pretty simple sugar substitute, that you can trade spoon for spoon, while tapering your sweet tooth.
The worst sweeteners include artificial sweeteners like sucralose, saccharin, and aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, agave, and brown rice syrup. It's best to avoid these sweeteners, if possible.
In general, artificial sweeteners are safe in limited amounts for healthy people, including pregnant people. But limit or cut out sugar substitutes: If you're living with a rare genetic disease called phenylketonuria. Foods and drinks with aspartame can lead to serious health problems.
Using stevia can reduce calories in foods and drinks, but it may also have some adverse effects. Possible side effects include nausea, bloating, low blood pressure, and hormone disruption. Stevia is a non-nutritive or zero-calorie sweetener made of steviol glycosides.
Yes. We sweeten Coke Zero Sugar in our bottles and cans with a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium (or Ace-K).
Mashed bananas, pureed dates, unsweetened applesauce and canned pumpkin can add sweetness while retaining moisture and lowering fat content in quick breads, pancakes, cookies, muffins and more.
Stevia is a sugar substitute that originates in the leaves of the plant Stevia rebaudiana. It is a popular sugar substitute because it has zero calories, and doesn't appear to break a fast by causing an insulin spike.
Like the sugar alcohols xylitol and inulin, erythritol has a sweet flavor that closely resembles table sugar (sucrose), without the bitter aftertaste found in other sugar substitutes such as saccharin, sucralose (Splenda), and aspartame (NutraSweet).
Artificial sweeteners
Offering a 200 times sweeter taste than regular sugar, aspartame is chemically prepared under strict conditions. This is a zero-calorie option with no bitter aftertaste which is usually reported with other sugar substitutes.
The worst of the worst culprits include aspartame (found in Equal and NutraSweet), sucralose (found in Splenda), and Saccharin (found in Sweet 'N Low). Many people who cut artificial sugars out of their diets report the improvement of many health problems including migraines, depression, IBS, weight gain, and more.
Because of its molasses content, brown sugar does contain certain minerals, most notably calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium (white sugar contains none of these). But since these minerals are present in only minuscule amounts, there is no real health benefit to using brown sugar.
From a calorie and sugar content perspective, the differences between sugar and honey are minimal, however, overall, honey contains slightly more health benefits than table sugar from its potential antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties.
The artificial sweeteners and other chemicals currently used in diet soda are safe for most people, and there's no credible evidence that these ingredients cause cancer. Some types of diet soda are even fortified with vitamins and minerals. But diet soda isn't a health drink or a silver bullet for weight loss.