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What's the difference between added sugars and natural sugars? Nov 9, 2021 | By Tara Schmidt (@taraschmidt)Comment receiving replies
I have always tried to avoid foods with artificial sweeteners by learning common names used on food & drink labels such as Aspartame, Saccharin, and Sucralose, but I am still confused about Truvia and Erythritol -- if they are considered "true" artificial sweeteners and/or if they are safe to consume in place of cane sugar?
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Truvia is considered a nonnutritive sweetener, while erythritol is a sugar alcohol. They both could be considered as sugar substitutes and are "generally recognized as safe (GRAS)" by the FDA. At the end of the day, it up to you! I like to ask patients if these types of products are helping them (perhaps by decreasing their total calorie intake), their average intake in terms of frequency and amount and whether or not they are necessary in that person's diet. Have you replaced an added sugar with these products for the purpose of weight management?
Some additional reading if you're interested:
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-artificial-sweeteners-aye-or-nay/
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/how-sweet-it-all-about-sugar-substitutes