Sweeteners: Artificial
sweeteners are chemicals, which do not contain sugar and therefore
contain no calories, they will not raise your blood glucose or affect
your weight. They can be useful in diabetes in providing variety
without upsetting your blood glucose control. They are intense and
so you need to use only small amounts of them to sweeten foods and
drinks. They come in different forms: tablet, granules (for sprinkling)
and liquid. You can buy them from supermarkets and chemist. They
do taste different from each other, so experiment to find one to
your taste.
Are
sweeteners safe?
Sweeteners like all food additives undergo rigorous safety assessments
and evaluation. Based on these tests the Government sets “Acceptable
Daily Intakes” (ADI) often based on adults or per kg body
weight. However it is very difficult to set limits as people vary
in their consumption and individual foods do not state the amount
of sweetener present in the product. The current advice is that
the products are seen to be safe, but by using a variety of different
sweeteners you avoid having too much of an individual one.
How to use sweeteners?
-
In drinks such as tea or coffee - 1 tablet = 1 teaspoon sugar
-
In a dessert such as custard – 3-4 tablets = 1 teaspoon
sugar
- On
cereal – 3-4 tablets = 1 teaspoon sugar
Sweeteners
can be used instead of sugar when making milkshakes, khir, tea,
coffee, and milk. 1 tablet will provide the same sweetness as 50g
of sugar.
When making dishes such as milk puddings and custards add the sweetener
at the end of cooking.
Eating
sweets:
One can have sweets. If possible one should have with meals and
have in moderation.
Also once a while treat is good.
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Last updated on 1-07-2003
