Are artificial sweeteners a healthier alternative to sugar?

According to RCO News Agency, Sugar plays a key role in our diet, but over -consumption has raised health concerns around the world.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that sugar constitutes 5 % to 5 % of the daily energy. This includes added and natural sugars, which means consuming five teaspoons daily. However, global consumption of sugar is about 1.5 million tonnes a year and 2, which is far beyond these recommendations.

Residents of many countries are over -suggesting and freely consumed by the World Health Organization. It is here that low -calorie or calorie sweeteners act and provide an alternative to those seeking to reduce their sugar consumption.

Even healthy products such as yogurt, often turn to sweeteners to attract consumers, because taste is the most important factor affecting preference and shopping. However, there is a widespread confusion about sweeteners. Whether they are safe and healthy? Or how can they balance health, taste and pleasure?

Achieving a balance in sweets

Food engineers play an important role in achieving this balance and work on sweeteners and flavoring formulas to improve the taste while maintaining health benefits.

Sweeteners allow those who reduce sugar intake, allow them to enjoy sweet tastes without safe consumption of sugar and sugar.

Despite these benefits, public confidence in artificial sweeteners has been reduced by worrying about their safety and potential health risks.

The amount of sweetness of a product is one of the main factors in choosing consumers, and many products, including “healthy”, such as protein and sports and energy drinks are flavored with sweeteners. In addition to sweets, other flavors such as vanilla or cinnamon can also enhance the understanding of the pastry without adding sugar.

Similarly, flavors such as acidity or salinity also affect sweets. For example, a little salt can enrich the dessert. Food engineers use this flavoring interactions to improve the overall attractiveness of the products and often guarantee the appropriate texture by combining materials such as fiber or protein.

Imbalance in intestinal microbiota

Professor Sedef Nehir El, professor of food engineering at the University of Aegean (EGE), emphasizes that sugar alternatives often include artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, acesulfame-k and sugary alcohols such as sorbitol, xylitol and oreiteol.

He explains: Sugar alcohols have fewer calories; Because they are not effectively digested, while artificial sweeteners are very severe sweet tastes. However, their effects on health are still in question. One of the concerns is their effect on intestinal microbiota, because synthetic sweeteners may cause dysbios (imbalances of beneficial intestinal bacteria).

Research shows that these sweeteners can affect metabolism and bowel health, but the results are different due to unique microbiomes. In Türkiye, for example, people with diabetes often consume foods with sugar alternatives.

Professor Sadaf Nahir L -emphasizes the need for more public awareness of their dangers and calls on health agencies and government to launch educational campaigns.

Sweet strategies to reduce sugar intake

Beyond artificial sweeteners and sugary alcohols, emerging methods provide new ways to reduce sugar content. For example, a decrease in enzymatic sugar and enzymes are used to break down sugar, which maintains both sweets and reduces the overall level of sugar.

Another method includes unequal distribution of sugar in food to increase sweets. Cross -end effects, such as the combination of sugar with supplemental flavors, also strengthen the sweetness without increasing the content of the sugar.

A new study showed the potential to reduce enzymatic sugar. Researchers converted fruit concentrate sugars to fructoligosaccharide (FOS) using enzymes such as invertase. Fructoligosaccharide, which supports bowel health as a prebiotic, provides less calories. While this study was promising, further research was highlighted before extensive use.

Challenges of gluten -free diets

Gluten -free diets are often unbalanced because they contain low protein, fiber and low sugar. So preparing gluten -free foods with improved nutritional value is a key challenge.

In a study published in Year 2, scientists examined the impact of various whey protein compounds, Inulin as dietary fiber and xylitol as sweetener in enriching gluten -based biscuits based on green and red lentils. The results showed that these functional compounds had different effects on green and red lentils biscuits. For example, replacing sugar with xylitol results in a more crisp and softer product.

The results showed that the tissue and taste have improved, but the use of xylitol in large quantities can cause bloating or stomach upset. In addition, not all food packages clearly show the presence of sugary alcohols such as xylitol, which complicates the consumer’s choice. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration requires such labels for sugar -free products, but it is different globally.

The future of food engineering

Nicole Wong of the Department of Nutrition and Food Management at the University of Iva Womans explained that the creation of sweeteners is challenging.

His team first measures the severity of each sweetener, then tests with different compounds to optimize the taste and minimize bitterness. The final formulas are designed for specific dietary systems because factors such as acidity and bitterness affect effectiveness.

“Each combination is tested in different ratios, which can lead to thousands of potential mixtures,” says Wong.

Advances in sensory sciences have shown that some sweeteners, such as sucrose and fructose, can block bitter taste receptors and increase overall taste.

Wong predicts that in the next 5 to 5 years, data -based and machine learning approaches will transform the development of sweeteners. For example, artificial intelligence -based tools may identify optimal compounds for different foods and meet growing demand for natural, sugar -free products.

However, the health consequences of sweeteners go beyond the topic of taste. Studies show that both synthetic and natural sweeteners can activate taste receptors associated with cancer cell processes, such as epithelial-mesenching (EMT) transmission, which helps metastasis. Although these findings are preliminary, they raise important questions about long -term safety.

Creating proper balance

Professor Sadaf Nahir El emphasizes that while scientific research on sugar reduction strategies is being progressed, it is slow to adopt it in the industry. He points out that the issue of research is not a shortage of research, but the industry’s inadequate participation in the implementation of these solutions. Without stronger rules, it is unlikely that widespread use of artificial sweeteners will change.

While the industry easily combines substances with positive effects on health, there is less tendency to gradually eliminate materials with recognized negative effects on health.

“If the negative effects of artificial sweeteners are not legal in the next decade, it is unlikely that the industry will abandon their use or other alternatives to sugar,” he said.

The increasing demand for healthier and low -inductions options forces consumers to choose between taste and health. Products that are labeled “sugar -free” or “natural” often make buyers uncertain about their benefits and risks. Creating proper balance between sweets and health is still a major challenge for food engineers, regulators and industry regulators.

The future of the sweetness lies in moderation and innovation. With ongoing research, better public education, and more strict regulations, we can hope to meet both our desires and our health goals.

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