32 ~ Wednesday, November 27,

os i ‘

The skinny on artificial sweeteners

| Health Canada

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assesses risks

HEALTH Canada warns that
not all sweeteners are created

equal.

Without sacrificing taste, consumers
are demanding reduced sugar in prod-
ucts. They are turning to sweeteners,
which are actually food additives and

_ substitutes for sucrose, fructose and

glucose — commonly known as sugar.
_ Health Canada’s Health Protection
Branch evaluates the potential health
risks of food additives that manufactur-

ers want to introduce into the market-
place. The ditference between artificial
sweeteners asd sucrose is the intensity
of sweetness.

Aspartame, for example, is a syn-
thetic sweetener 180 to 200 times
sweeter than sucrose, [t Consumers
know aspartame by its trade names,
NutraSweet and Equal. What they may
not know is that sucrose and aspartame
both have four calories per gram. A
smaller amount of aspartame is needed
to achieve the same sweetness as
sucrose, resulting in fewer calories
being consumed.

Different sweeteners have different
properties.”

Aspartame, for example, breaks -

down and loses its sweetness when it is
heated. Sucralose, or Splenda, is avail-
able in a powder form, which makes it
ideal for baking and cooking.

Another sweetener, xylitol, is used
in chewing gum because, unlike other
sweeteners, it will not promote cavities.

Health Canada monitors food addi-
tives to watch for potential hazards.

In 1978, saccharin and cyclamates
were banned for use in food produc-
tion as a result of testing that showed a
link with cancer. Both sweeteners may
still be purchased in drug stores as a

substitute for granulated sugar, howev- .
er, They carry a warning label advising -

consumers and ‘pregnant women’ to
consult-a physician before using.

A product using artificial sweeteners. ;
is not necessarily healthier for you than
a product made with sucrose, warns
Health Canada.

That product contains fewer calo-
ries, but may not have any added nutri-
ents. And if cookies are advertised as
containing 50% less sugar than the
original cookies, it does not mean that
you can eat twice as many without |
gaining weight. oe

As with any kind of food, moderation
applies; consuming too much of one par-
ticular food is not a healthy decision...

' For more information, write to the.

Health’ Protection Branch, Health -
Canada, 3155 Willingdon ‘Green, °
Burnaby, B.C., VSG 4P2.- an

wy

metics

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