Today a large variety of food items are sold under sugar-free and zero calories labels. A lot of people approach these food items as the mid-path between controlling their blood sugar levels, avoiding weight gain while not sacrificing their favorite food. But what is the reality can you go on having zero-calorie soda or sweets or an ice-cream without any health concerns?
Talking on these matters in today’s blog Delhi’s eminent Nutritionist and Dietician Avni Kaul burst some of the common myths about sugar-free food.
Sugar is Just the Single Source of Carbohydrates
Remember that sugar is just one carbohydrate there are disaccharides and polysaccharides classes of carbohydrates too. So, if the food package is labeled “sugar-free” with big fonts that alone doesn’t tell everything about the total carbohydrate. Hence whenever you pick a food item labeled sugar-free, no added sugar, reduced sugar, low sugar, read the complete ingredient list that commonly written in the backside of the package with small fonts. Most probably you may find the scientific name of the other sources of carbohydrates like amylose, glycogen, cellulose, and chitin.
Artificial Sweetener Aspartame
One of the common artificial sweeteners are aspartame which is 200 times sweeter than common sugar. It is commonly used in bakery items, colas and in sweets. Unfortunately, at high temperatures, aspartame degenerates and leave behind chemicals that are toxic in nature. Thought cleared by many FBAs, but a lot of studies suggest that aspartame has at least 92 sides effect that includes anxiety, weight gain, depression, and neurological disorders.
Artificial Sweetener Sucralose
A lot of times, sucralose is used as sugar substitutes for baked food, pastries, ice-creams, and diet supplements. It’s about 600 times sweeter than sugar and a large number of theories suggested the impact of sucralose induce sugar curving and make you reach for more sweets and even junk food that eventually leads to weight gain.
Artificial Sweeteners
Though there has been a lot of scrutiny going on to identify the negative impact of artificial sweeteners. But one thing is clear that these sweeteners are called “artificial” that are chemically manufactured molecules. Eatables that are not engineered by nature but at the laboratory are always subject to debate.
Avni Kaul is Founder of Nutriactivania with Masters Degree in Food and Nutrition from University of Delhi and is also a Certified Diabetes Educator from Project Hope and International Diabetes Federation. She is a Leicester Mammas Ambassador trained in Lactation Counselling with NHS United Kingdom. Mammas support pregnant and new mothers and their families. Specializations of Avni Kaul Include Infant and Young Child Feeding Practises, Pre and Post natal diets, Fat loss, Muscle Gain and Holistic Health and Nutrition