Abstract
Evidence suggests that excessive intake of added sugars has adverse effects on cardiometabolic health. In this chapter we review the role and potential benefits of noncaloric sweeteners, as a part of the diet. After their emergence and because of their supposed beneficial effects in different conditions as diabetes or obesity, an increasing number of studies show controversial results. Some of them even suggest that they are ineffective. In conclusion, further research and results are needed to provide convincing evidence of their long-term effectiveness and the absence of negative effects secondary to their use. It is interesting to examine the distinctive properties of sweeteners compared with sugar, the gold standard. We will focus on other substances that are commonly used to sweeten foods instead of sugar.
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Abbreviations
- ACS:
-
The American Cancer Society
- ADA:
-
The American Diabetes Association
- ADI:
-
Acceptable daily intake
- AHA:
-
The American Heart Association
- APM:
-
Aspartame
- BMI:
-
Body mass index
- DM:
-
Diabetes mellitus
- EDI:
-
Estimated daily intake
- EFSA:
-
European Food Safety Authority
- EU:
-
European Union
- FFQ:
-
Food frequency questionnaire
- FOS:
-
Fructooligosaccharides
- GI:
-
Glycemic index
- GIP:
-
Glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide
- GLP:
-
Glucagon-like peptides
- GRAS:
-
Generally recognized as safe
- HIS:
-
High-intensity sweeteners
- JECFA:
-
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
- LNCS:
-
Low and noncaloric sweeteners
- mRNA:
-
Messenger RNA
- MS:
-
Member states
- NNS:
-
Nonnutritive sweeteners
- SCF:
-
Scientific Committee on Food
- WHO:
-
World Health Organization
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García-Almeida, J.M., Cornejo-Pareja, I.M., Muñoz-Garach, A., Gómez-Pérez, A., García-Alemán, J. (2018). Sweeteners: Regulatory Aspects. In: Mérillon, JM., Ramawat, K. (eds) Sweeteners. Reference Series in Phytochemistry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27027-2_12
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