What you need to know about alternative sweeteners
Alternative/non-nutritive sweeteners (not to be confused with artificial sweeteners) are naturally sweet plant-based products that are not considered detrimental to your health. Most of these products come in extract form, meaning you only need a little bit to create the perception of sweetness. If used too much, many of these sweeteners cause distinct, “diety” aftertastes that are not pleasant, so choose wisely!
Stevia: Stevia (also known as candyleaf, sugarleaf or sweetleaf) is a plant native to South America, although it is now produced in many parts of the world. It is a zero sugar, zero calorie sweetener and has been used in beverage and food products for hundreds of years. Stevia started to become commercially produced in the 70’s in Japan by extracting the sweet compounds (steviol glycosides) from the leaves. Oftentimes, stevia extracts are up to 300 times sweeter than sucrose (cane sugar). From a sustainability perspective, stevia requires much less inputs and resources than cane sugar and beet sugar production (82% and 64% less carbon footprint, respectively)!
Monk Fruit: Monk fruit is a small fruit native to southern China that is also a zero sugar, zero calorie sweetener. The fruit is crushed and strained, before undergoing the extraction process. The extract is 150-200 times sweeter than cane sugar, due to sweet compounds called mogrosides, and can oftentimes be blended with other natural sugar substitutes (check your label if you are looking for pure monk fruit extract).
Allulose: Allulose is a simple sugar (very similar to fructose, the only difference is the arrangement of the atoms) that is naturally found in wheat, figs, molasses, maple syrup and raisins; nowadays, it is commercially produced through the conversion of fructose (in corn) to allulose. It has 70% of the sweetness of sucrose, and 10% of the calorie content.
Sugar alcohols:
Xylitol: Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that can be made naturally or artificially by fermenting the cell wall carbohydrates (hemicellulose) of yeasts and bacteria. Fun fact: it has use in the medical world–it can help with remineralization of tooth enamel, is often used as a preventative agent in dental caries (from pathogenic bacteria), and can aid in inner ear and respiratory tract infections.
Erythritol: Erythritol is a sugar alcohol (polyol) found in fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, and fermented foods.
Lastly, Sucrose Enhancer: Sucrose enhancer is a bitterness blocker that is often used to smooth out the bitterness in alcoholic beverages. You can also add a drop to any other drink to increase the perception of sweetness, and can be labeled as a “natural flavor.”
Other solutions:
Neutral Fruit Juice Concentrates, such as apple, fruit, and white grape can be added in small amounts (without adding much sugar) to increase the perception of sweetness and mouthfeel.
Maple Syrup and Honey are still relatively high in sugar but have a lower glycemic index than cane sugar.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4890837/
https://foodinsight.org/everything-you-need-to-know-about-monk-fruit-sweeteners/
https://allulose.org/allulose-info/about-allulose/
