Sugar substitutes

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Sugar substitutes are sweet-tasting compounds, mostly polyols (so-called sugar alcohols ), which have a lesser effect on the blood sugar level than household sugar ( sucrose ), as they are metabolized independently of insulin .

description

Sugar substitutes are mainly used in diabetic nutrition. They are also found in chewing gum, toothpaste, etc., as they i. d. Usually not cariogenic (caries-promoting). Sugar substitutes, along with sweeteners, are among the sugar substitutes. As food additives , they are subject to approval.

Their sweetening power is similar to table sugar , while sweeteners have a much stronger sweetening power. Their physiological calorific value is 10 kJ / g (2.4 kcal / g) below that of household sugar and is higher than that of sweeteners.

You will u. a. Obtained from fruits and vegetables . From a health point of view, they are harmless. However, sugar alcohols can have a laxative effect in larger quantities (more than 20 to 30 g per day) because they are only slowly absorbed in the intestinal tract , where they bind water and thus liquefy the stool . According to Art. 5 (2) of the EU Sweeteners Directive, foods or table sweeteners sweetened with polyols must therefore contain the note “May have a laxative effect if consumed in excess”.

Sugar substitutes approved in the EU are:

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Belitz, Grosch, Schieberle: Textbook of food chemistry. 6th edition, Springer, 2008, ISBN 978-3-540-73202-0 , p. 443, doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-540-73202-0_9 .
  2. ^ Sugar substitutes and their role in caries prevention. Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
  3. Directive 94/35 / EC from 1994 ( Memento of November 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 221 kB).
  4. Annex 2 (to § 4 Paragraph 1 and § 7 ZZulV): Additives permitted for sweetening food .