What is Sucralose?
Sucralose is produced from natural sugar processed to eliminate its carbohydrate, calories, and digestibility properties. The ingredient was created to give people a calorie-free choice instead of sugar.
Sucralose is a healthy alternative to sugar, providing an alternative for sweetening food without increasing calorie consumption, which reduces the risks of diseases like obesity and diabetes. Sucralose production involves replacing three hydrogen-oxygen groups with chlorine atoms on a sucrose (table sugar) molecule.
This process eliminates calories and carbohydrates from the sugar. As such, the body can ingest the sugar without digesting it since it lacks any significant nutritional value. Over 85% of sucralose that enters the body leaves without getting absorbed. Sucralose can thus be used to stimulate taste buds without increasing calorie intake. Nearly all the sucralose consumed regularly flushed out of the body through urine.
Benefits and Applications Sucralose:
Sucralose is used as a calorie-free sweetener by many household brand names in canned foods, beverages, syrups, dairy products, chewing gum, and many more. It’s also sold directly as a sweetener. However, it’s important to note that sucralose can be several hundredfold sweeter than table sugar.
A minimal amount can yield as much sweetness as multiple times the same sugar portion. It’s also important to note that sucralose-sweetened food might taste slightly different than the same food with sugar due to the slight difference in structure, texture, and sometimes flavour. Besides providing a means to sweeten food without increasing calorie content, sucralose is also advantageous in many other ways.
For starters, it’s highly beneficial for people on weight-loss plans. In a study involving members of the National Weight Control Registry, over 78% of respondents reported having greater control over their calorie intake with sucralose. Foods and beverages containing sucralose are often recommended in place of those with sugar for diabetic patients. Since most sucralose consumed enters and exits the body without getting absorbed, it doesn’t raise blood sugar levels.