Artificial Sweeteners:
Sugar substitutes that contain little or no calories are called artificial sweeteners, non-nutritive sweeteners or non-caloric sweeteners. Well-known artificial sweeteners include sucralose, aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-K and neotame.Sugar alcohols such as xylitol and sorbital are also used to replace sugar and have fewer calories than regular sugar.
What It Is:
Acesulfame-K (buy direct) is sold under the names Sunett and Sweet One. The letter K stands for potassium. It is about 150 to 200 times sweeter than sugar, so very little of it is needed to sweeten foods, so using acesulfame-K adds no calories to your diet. Acesulfame-K is similar to saccharin in structure.What It Is Not:
Acesulfame-K is not toxic and it is not a source of dietary potassium. After absorption, almost all of the molecules remain unchanged and are excreted in the urine.How To Use It:
Acesulfame-K is heat-stable and often combined with other sweeteners. It has been approved for general use in foods and is found in many food products worldwide. However, in the United States it is not as popular as sucralose and aspartame.Safety:
Acesulfame-K has been shown to be safe in more than 90 studies by the FDA and the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives.Fears:
Acesulfame-K has been blamed for causing tumors in rats. However, the overwhelming majority of studies show it to be safe. The American Dietetic Association considers acesulfame-K safe when used as part of a healthy eating plan.Sources:"Position of the American Dietetic Association: appropriate use of nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners." J Am Diet Assoc. 2004 Feb;104(2):255-275.
US Food and Drug Administration. "Artificial Sweeteners: No Calories ... Sweet!" July 2006.
