Category: General Food Recipes

Equal as an Artificial Sweetener

More people are diagnosed with diabetes which is usually caused by being overweight. If nothing is done, this could lead to further complications and death. The good news is that this disease is treatable.

One of the indications that the person is healthy is based on the sugar level in the body. Those that are too high can be reduced by taking one of the most popular artificial sweeteners in the market namely Equal.

The product has been exported all over the world and is distributed by the Merisant Corporation. This has been certified to be safe by the Food and Drugs Administration after passing numerous tests.

Equal uses aspartame as a main ingredient. This is also used by other artificial sweetener products such as NutraSweet and Canderel. This is broken down to 50% of phenylanine, 40% of aspartic acid and 10% methanol.

The person can substitute this for regular sugar in coffee or tea. This can also be used during baking or cooking to add flavor without the extra calories.

Is Equal absolutely safe? Yes. But there are those who claim that this can harmful to the body and people have experience dizziness, headaches, weight gain, memory loss, anxiety and rashes. No tests have proven this to be true since these are isolated cases.

Aspartame, the main ingredient in Equal has been used on a variety of products before it was made into an artificial sweetener. A few examples are breath mints, toothpaste, cereals and multi-vitamins which can be purchased at the supermarket.

Equal sweetener can be purchased in the grocery by the bottle or in boxes. This makes it easy to store at home and bring when the person is out on a trip. The company has made this available in the form of a health bar. The current flavors are Peach, Lemon and Vanilla Bean.

Equal has a shelf life of three years. This should also be stored in room temperature to maintain the quality of the product.

How many times can Equal be taken in a day? Tests have shown that this can be taken in more than 90 times in a single day. This is because no calories are absorbed by the body which is perfect for regular coffee or tea drinkers.

Equal can be used for baking and cooking. The person check out the website for a few ideas and read some magazines to make some healthy dishes.

Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners

Although sugar has been part of the dining table and kitchen for centuries, people know that too much of it also is not good for the body. This is especially true with people who are either diabetic or those who are trying to lose weight because of obesity problems.

But with the high levels of sugar content that are found in the foods that we eat right now, especially those that are processed and those that are bought from fast food joints, it seems that it is extremely hard, maybe even next to impossible, to be able to avoid consuming excessive amounts of sugar. Besides, it is not called sweet if it is not sweet tasting and ultra delicious.

Because of this need to lessen the amount of sugar content in the body but still retain the sweet tasting flavor that one has grown accustomed to having in their everyday meals, science and commerce developed substitutes to sugar that can answer both problems. Some of these alternatives to sugar come from natural sources while others are artificially made in laboratories.

Recent years have seen the mushrooming of these artificial alternatives to sugar. This is perhaps because of the fact that America has become really body conscious. This time, low calorie sugar substitutes were developed to answer the need of women (and men at that) who want to diet.

Perhaps the oldest artificial sweetener in the market is saccharin, which was discovered back in 1874. It has been granted a GRAS (Generally recognized as safe) stature in 1958 but was withdrawn in 1972 when studies have linked the sugar substitute to cancer. Still, FDA allowed the use of Saccharin as a table-top sweetener but is no allowed to be an ingredient in mass manufactured products.

Another allegedly dangerous artificial sweetener is the aspartame, which up until now is still with the jury. Although the sugar substitute is already being used by people, there are still murmurs that the sugar can cause headaches and epileptic attacks.

Although there is really no evidence that suggests that these artificial sweeteners are dangerous, there are still doubts on the safety of using it especially by people who are in delicate conditions. Many health organizations suggest the limited use of these products.

It is recommended that you only limit your use of sweetened foods in your diet to only 2 or 3 servings daily. This will translate to about half a cup of pudding, an ice cream or a gelatin product or one bowl of sweetened cereal.

Corn Sweetener for Everyday Consumption

Part of a balanced diet requires some form of sugar that is taken into the body. According to one study, most Americans rely on corn sweeteners to provide the right amount daily.

Last year, corn sweetener captured 56% of the nutritive market. This just proves that this is used on a variety of items that people take for granted. This may be in the form of bread, to a formulated juice drink and also in some of the medicines that the patient is given.

Corn sweeteners are divided into three types. The first is in the form of syrup. This has been used as an ingredient in making food such as ice cream, hotdogs, canned goods and certain vegetables. People on a diet or those who love eating salads can also use this as a condiment for flavoring.

The second type of corn syrup is dextrose. When this word comes to mind, people think this is the one used in the hospital that is inserted into the body. This is true since this chemical is easily absorbed by the body.

In fact, the greatest user of this are the drug companies since this plays a major part in the fermentation process which helps in producing various medicines such as penicillin.

But dextrose also has other uses. This provides a good source of carbohydrates that is mostly found in chewing gum, jams, preserves and icing mixes. There are also a variety of items of pastry products that can be made from using this such as bread, buns and rolls.

Dextrose is used to extend the shelf life of certain products and is also used by beverage companies to make non-alcoholic drinks.

The third type is crystalline fructose. This is formulated as a result of a chemical process and is used on a variety of products such as caned fruits, condiments and other processed foods.

Sodas also contain crystalline fructose as one of its ingredients which provides the drink some artificial flavor that is favorable to the taste buds. Other products that have this are cereals and other instant drinks that are available in the supermarket.

Is consuming anything with corn sweetener safe on a daily basis? The answer is yes because this gives the body energy in order to efficiently. People can drink or eat this and the individual will know how much percentage it has by reading the label located on the side of the product.

Aspartame Sweetener- On the Questions of Safety

With American societys penchant for low calorie foods, the market has been plagued by all kinds of sweeteners that promises low to almost non-existent calorie content. One of the many kinds of sweeteners that are already flooding the market is Aspartame sweetener.

Aspartame sweetener is a non-caloric sugar substitute. This means that there is no calorie content, which is real good news for people with sweet tooth who still wants to diet.

Aspartame has actually been discovered way back in 1965 and is already been available in the market since the 1980s. The safety of this sweetener has already been established by both local and international committees and agencies. However, there have still been doubts on its safety up until now.

Aspartame has a powderish consistency. It is odorless and is approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose or ordinary table sugar. It has already been used in so many products in the market and have actually even been marketed in brand names like Canderel and NutraSweet. When ingested, it does not enter the bloodstream but rather goes straight to the intestines and breaks down into three components, aspartic acid, methanol and phenylalanine.

Although the sweetener is relatively stable when dry, it loses its sweetness when it is combined with liquids or in temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius.

Still, despite being in the market for so long, questions about its safety is still being raised. The long-standing debate on whether it is safe or not has actually not been resolved. Some claim that aspartame sweeteners can cause headaches, epilepsy and even brain tumors. There are however no major study that has yet to support this claim.

In fact no link has been found between aspartame and cancer or gene damage. Many scientists have also disclaimed the suggested link between the headaches/epilepsy with aspartame.

Consumption of aspartame does not affect human reproduction and does not prevent conception. It does not lead to any nervous system disorders or any allergic reactions. There is also no evidence that aspartame can affect a persons behavior, cognition and mood.

People, however, could not care less. They still use aspartame. Europe for instance consume about 2.8 to 10.1 kilograms per body weight aspartame every day. This however is still quite low and way below the accepted daily food intake that is set by international agencies like the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Artificial Sweeteners for Pregnant Woman

The health of a newborn child even before this comes out of the womb of the mother will really depend on the diet during the crucial 9 months. This has prompted mothers to reduce the amount of sugar taken into the body by relying on artificial sweeteners.

Are this safe for the pregnant mother? The answer is yes. This is because it offers zero calories and has the right amount of vitamins and minerals per serving. This should be taken in moderation since this could contribute also to excess weight gain especially for women who are diagnosed with diabetes should be more careful since

There are a variety of products that are available in the market and these may contain any of the following ingredient; honey, sucrose, dextrose, corn sugar, fructose or maltose.

Sugar alcohol can also be considered as an artificial sweetener most of these are sugar free. A few examples of these are sorbitol, hydrogenated starch, mannitol, xylitol and isomalt.

There are many artificial sweeteners to choose from. The first is Sunnet. This is made from Acesulfame Potassium which can be added to drinks, desserts and baked goods.

The next is Equal or NutraSweet which is made up of the ingredient called Aspartame. This can be taken in large amounts without worrying about any calories until the lactation period. This is also used by people who are diagnosed with diabetes.

The only time this is not safe for pregnant women is when the patient is diagnosed to have a rare liver disease or those who have high levels of phenylalanine in the blood. This will only hinder the metabolism of aspartame in the body.

Another artificial sweetener good for those who are pregnant is Splenda. The main ingredient is sucralose. This is used on a variety of products such as non-alcoholic drinks, juices, condiments, baked goods and coffee or tea products.

All of these products have been certified by the Food and Drugs Administration. Those who want to be sure this is safe can first consult a doctor before using any of these products. The professional can give the right amount that the body can consume on a given day.

The only time artificial sweeteners are unsafe is when the person buys products such as cyclamate, saccharin and stevia. The ingredients have been linked to cancers which are harmful to both the mother and the baby.