A. Ashley Abbott, a dietetic intern at Tufts FrancesStern Nutrition Center, replies: Artificialsweeteners are low-calorie sweeteners that willnot raise your blood sugar. Artificial sweetenersare considered free foods because they contain kless than 20 calories and less than 5 grams of carbohydrateon a diabetes exchange. They can beused in place of sugar to provide a lower-calorie,lower-carbohydrate food or beverage.Artificial sweeteners may be useful in bloodsugar and weight control because they are muchsweeter than regular sugar, so less is needed whenthey are used as sugar substitutes. In addition, theycannot be broken down by the body (with theexception of aspartame), so they pass through yoursystem without providing any extra calories.There are five FDA-approved artificial sweeteners:acesulfame K (Sunnet), aspartame (Equal,NutraSweet), saccharin (SweetN Low), sucralose(Splenda), and neotame. These sweeteners can befound in a wide variety of foods and beveragesincluding diet drinks, chewing gum, light yogurts,baked goods and processed snack foods. They canalso be bought in individual packets to be used inhome recipes, or to sweeten coffee and tea.Although artificial sweeteners alone will notraise your blood sugar, they may be in foods containingother ingredients that will, so rememberto read the nutrition label when choosing foods!These sweeteners are often found in processedfoods that provide far fewer nutritional benefitsthan whole foods. Focus on a diet rich in wholefoods, and remember that moderation is keywhen consuming artificial sweeteners.
