Look for manufactured foods and sweeteners for the table that contain one of these 5 sugar substitutes approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration:
- Aspartame (Brand Name: Equal)
- Sucralose (Brand Name: Splenda)
- Acesulfame-K (Brand Name: Sweet One)
- Saccharin (Brand Name: Sweet and Low, Sugar Twin)
- Neotame
A note to household chefs
Aspartame loses sweetness when cooked. Sucralose, acesulfame-K and saccharin can be used for baking. Look for special baking recipes for artificial sweeteners, as direct substitution for sugar might not give you the result you want. Or, try a combination of artificial sweetener and sugar in recipes to get your desired result while lowering the overall carbohydrate amount. Keep in mind that some artificial sweeteners can be sweeter than equal amounts of natural sugar. A little bit goes a long way.
What is Stevia?
This naturally sweet herb has been used in other countries for centuries. It is not FDA approved for use as a sweetener, but it can be purchased as a “dietary supplement” in many health food stores. Stevia comes in powder, liquid and tablet form. It doesn’t provide calories or impact blood glucose.
Are Artificial Sweeteners Safe?
The FDA has completed careful testing of all the artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners have been shown to be safe to eat. Despite rumors of cancer causing effects of artificial sweeteners, research does not support that risk. All artificial sweeteners may be used by people with diabetes.
Food For Thought
Some foods made with artificial sweeteners may have more calories or fat than the original sugar-sweetened product. This may be the case with desserts and baked goods. Read food labels to compare products for serving sizes, calories and fat. Choosing a smaller portion of a sugar-sweetened product may be lower in calories than the artificially sweetened version!
View a printer-friendly Guide to Sweeteners.
Self-assessment Quiz
Self assessment quizzes are available for topics covered in this website. To find out how much you have learned about Understanding Carbohydrates, take our self assessment quiz when you have completed this section. The quiz is multiple choice. Please choose the single best answer to each question. At the end of the quiz, your score will display. If your score is over 70% correct, you are doing very well. If your score is less than 70%, you can return to this section and review the information.