Sugar Substitutes. Are They the Answer to Nutrition and Healthier Eating?
Healthy eating can be hard. With processed foods becoming more common it can be frustrating navigating how to feed your child. Sugar is often seen as a culprit for many health concerns like obesity and diabetes. Does this mean we should turn to sugar substitutes and sweeteners as the answer to healthier eating?
To answer this simply… NO!
Let’s dive into why not.
What are sugar substitutes & sweeteners?
Each sugar substitute is slightly different but the general idea remains the same:
Sugar substitutes give foods the same sweetness as sugar without the added calories.
They are often in the form of a tabletop sweetener or used to replace added sugars in many ‘diet’ or ‘light’ sodas, baked goods, yogurts, and chewing gum [2]. In Canada, sugar substitutes are often referred to as ‘sweeteners’ and are under strict regulation to ensure safety. Some common names include:
Saccharin;
Aspartame;
Sorbitol;
Sorbitol syrup;
Stevia extract [1].
These sweeteners are often hundreds of times sweeter than sucrose (real sugar), and therefore less of it is needed to achieve the same sweetness [3]. This may lead some to believe sweeteners are a healthy option.
What’s the research saying?
Less research has been done on sugar substitutes than added sugars. Along with this, because of the specific nutritional needs for the growth and development of children, food and beverages with sweeteners are generally not recommended for children [2]. Health Canada states sugar substitutes are not needed for healthy eating as eating sweets regularly can lead to a preference for sweet foods [1].
Sweeteners have gained attention for use as dietary tools because of their low-calorie nature [5]. However, evidence suggests that artificial sweeteners are associated with an increased risk of multiple chronic diseases similar to those of sugar consumption [6]. What’s more...claims that sweeteners reduce overweight and obesity rates lack clear and consistent evidence [6].
Let’s compare sweeteners to sugar…
It has become quite clear that added sugars negatively impact health. Even with less concrete evidence with respect to sweeteners, we are missing a bigger problem. Though sweeteners have fewer calories than sugar, both lack nutritional value. So even if one is the better option, both are essentially empty calories and should be limited.
Sweeteners seem to have many similar effects to those of added sugars. The majority of studies have found a positive correlation between weight gain and consumption of artificially-sweetened beverages [5]. Like added sugars, sweeteners may trigger the dopamine reward system we talked about in the last blog driving us to eat more [3]. Another study recently found those who consistently drink diet sodas have significantly increased risks for the development of the diseases people are trying to avoid when using these sugar substitutes (such as type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and stroke) [6].
The use of sweeteners with children may be partially problematic. This is because exposure to sweet foods during childhood development can influence preferences continuing into adulthood [6]. Frequently eating high sugar or artificial sugars can alter food preferences leading to greater sugar intake later in life [3]. Foods containing sweeteners are usually low in nutrients and can negatively impact optimal growth and development throughout infancy, childhood and adolescence [2].
One study found that prenatal consumption of diet sodas was associated with poorer cognitive scores potentially due to the role that sweeteners have in altering the brain's neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) [4]. Sweeteners may also interfere with the gut and lead to metabolic dysregulation [6]. Lastly, studies among children and adults have shown that consumption of artificial sweeteners (without calories) can lead to the overconsumption of sweet food (with calories) when added sugar is consumed later on [3].
The bottom line
Neither added sugar nor sweeteners provide any nutritional value and are both likely contributing to unhealthy habits. At the end of the day, moderation is key. Whether it's the real thing or these artificial sweeteners...the bottom line is that we should be limiting our child’s intake of both. Instead of focusing on which is less unhealthy, try and focus on what foods that are more nutrient-dense. Health Canada recommends choosing unsweetened food and drinks, especially for your children [1]. Follow along for the next blog to learn some tips and tricks for swapping out added and artificial sugars in your child’s diet!
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Blog Contributor
KENDALL SARAVANAMUTTOO
WESTERN UNIVERSITY STUDENT
HONOURS SPECIALIZATION IN HEALTH SCIENCES
References
1.Health Canada. (2019, December 11). Sugar substitutes and healthy eating. Government of Canada.
2. Alberta Health Services (2015, May). Nutrition guideline healthy infants and young children sugar Substitutes. Alberta Health Services.
3.Sylvetsky, A., Rother, K. I., & Brown, R. (2011). Artificial sweetener use among children: Epidemiology, recommendations, metabolic outcomes, and future directions. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 58(6), 1467–1480
4. Cohen, J. F. W., Rifas-Shiman, S. L., Young, J., & Oken, E. (2018). Associations of Prenatal and Child Sugar Intake With Child Cognition. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 54(6), 727–735.
5. Brown, R. J., de Banate, M. A., & Rother, K. I. (2010). Artificial sweeteners: a systematic review of metabolic effects in youth. International journal of pediatric obesity : IJPO : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 5(4), 305–312.
6. Swithers, E. S, (2015). Artificial sweeteners are not the answer to childhood obesity. Elsevier, 93, 85-90.
