In recent years, with the improvement of health awareness, many people have begun to pay attention to the health hazards of sugar, which may accelerate aging, cause obesity, and even hyperlipidemia, diabetes, cancer, endocrine disorders, etc., but it is still difficult to resist the temptation of sweetness, so many practitioners began to Many sugar substitute drinks and desserts have been launched, featuring low calorie content and a sweet taste. Especially with the call for sugar reduction, "sugar substitute" has gradually attracted attention. But are sugar substitutes and sweeteners really a good choice to replace sugar?

Sugar substitutes, also known as sweeteners, as the name suggests, are substitutes that can replace sugar. There are many types and have sweet and low-calorie properties. Different sweeteners have different tastes, which can be tens to hundreds of sucrose. Therefore, as long as a small amount is added, the desired sweetness can be achieved, so it is often used as a substitute for sucrose and added to food, and the calories are lower than that of sucrose, or even negligible. The "zero-calorie" drink appeared. Products with less than 5 calories per 100ml can be marked as "zero calories".

Sweeteners from natural sources, common ones are:

Stevia: Extracted from Compositae herbs, it is 200 to 300 times sweeter than sucrose, and its calories are almost negligible.

Erythritol: Also known as erythritol, it exists in many fruits (grapes, pears, etc.) and is mostly used as a low-calorie sweetener and flavor enhancer in food additives. The sweetness of erythritol is sucrose. 70% of the calorie production, 1 gram of calories is about 0.4 kcal, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Union and Japan even allow it to be marked as 0 kcal/g, which can be said to have almost no calories.

Sorbitol: Also known as sorbitol, it has a refreshing feel and is often used to make chewing gum or sugar-free candies. After eating, it will still generate calories, and it is a nutritive sweetener. 1 gram of calories is about 2.6 calories, and the sweetness is about half of sucrose.

Xylitol: It is a natural sweetener often extracted from birch, corncob, bagasse and other plants. It belongs to sugar alcohols. It will produce a cool feeling in the mouth and will not cause tooth decay. Therefore, it is often used in chewing gum or The cool mouth contains lozenges, but xylitol will still generate heat after eating, 1 gram of heat is about 2.4 calories, and the sweetness is comparable to sucrose, about 90% of sucrose.