In our experience, the known sweeteners can be divided into several groups.
(1) Natural sweeteners – tasty, healthy but not recommended for those who want to avoid sugar.
(2) Rare sugars: allulose and tagatose – considered recommended sweeteners, less sweet than sugar and expensive.
(3) Chemical/filtered sweeteners – often considered tasty but not recommended.
(4) Polyols that are considered healthy and recommended by professionals, but have harsh aftertastes.
(5) Maltitol, which is found in countless cheap, tasty products but is not recommended due to the high carb. content.
(6) Plant-based sweeteners with high sweetening power, x300 than sugar, are limited in use and have strong aftertastes.
(7) Innovative protein-based supersweeteners, x3000 times sweeter than sugar with aftertastes.
(8) Combinations of sweeteners, usually a sweetener that gives volume plus a natural or synthetic sweetener.
Common Sweetening Solutions
Sugar substitutes can be classified into several categories:
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Natural sweeteners are considered "unrecommended" sugars for diabetics, even though they are delicious. These sweeteners usually contain sugar and are therefore actually products that are not suitable for diabetics. In this group you can find honey, Maple syrup, date honey, date sugar, glucose, dextrose, fructose, sucrose (table sugar), cane sugar, agave syrup, brown sugar, lactose, maltose, corn syrup, molasses, coconut sugar and more.
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Rare sugars, such as allulose and tagatose, are not fully absorbed by the body. Their taste and texture are very similar to sugar, but their sweetness level is lower than sugar: allulose is about 70% of sugar and tagatose is about 92% of sugar but only 38% of the calories. They have no aftertastes, but they create a slight cooling effect in the mouth, similar to erythritol. Allulose is good for baking. In industry, allulose is produced by structural modification of fructose, which is extracted from corn, and tagatose is extracted from lactose. To obtain 100% sweetness, such as sugar, it is common to add one of the supersweeteners to adjust the sweetness to the sweetness of 100% sugar. These sweeteners are expensive and therefore are mainly used by private consumers. Which are the "recommended" sweeteners.
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Chemical/synthetic substitutes (which do not exist in nature and are only produced in laboratories) - they are usually at least as tasty and sweet as sugar: saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame, alitime, sucralose, acesulfame-K, newtame. These sweeteners have a low caloric value and a low glycemic index (GI) because they are not absorbed into the blood or other tissues. However, the big question is whether they are safe to use and we have chosen those that are not suitable for our products - products from natural sources.
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Polyols/polyols are sugar alcohols, usually from natural sources, that occur in some fruits and vegetables and can be produced artificially. They can be divided into several groups:
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"Not recommended" substitutes with a high glycemic index (GI) and a taste similar to sugar: mannitol, industrial maltitol. Only moderate consumption is allowed.
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"Recommended" substitutes with a low GI: erythritol, sorbitol, xylitol, pure maltitol. Most of them have aftertastes effects or a cooling effect. Low to moderate consumption is allowed, their sweetness is high and accordingly the 'aftertastes' are very dominant.
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"Recommended" substitutes with a low GI, good taste but less sweet than sugar and require combination with additional sweeteners: isomalt, lactitol.
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"Recommended" low-GI substitutes, allulose and tagatose, are found in nature in minute quantities and are produced from fructose and lactose through complex enzymatic processes. Tagatose has slight aftertastes, is almost as sweet as sugar, and is very expensive due to the production processes.
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Plant-based supersweeteners with high sweetening power: Stevia rebaudiana extract and monk fruit (Siraitia grosvenorii / monkfruit), which was declared by the FDA as the best sweetener in the world, are two of the most popular "natural" sweeteners on the market. Both have a glycemic index of almost zero, and therefore do not cause an increase in blood sugar levels, but are not recommended for use in large quantities. Both have strong aftertastes and are 200-300 times sweeter than white sugar. They are usually added to other sweeteners with a filler volume to replace sugar, such as: maltitol, allulose, erythritol, xylitol, and especially dietary fiber. These are "recommended" sweeteners.
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Sweet proteins with high sweetening power - new sweeteners produced using advanced technologies such as precision fermentation. These sweeteners, especially the sweet proteins from Thaumati, MycoTechnology, Oobli and Amai Proteins, show the potential to offer calorie-free sweetening solutions with a taste profile that also includes the aftertastes typical of other supersweeteners. They are an innovative sweetener solution, more precise than plant-based supersweeteners and similar in aftertastes, which require other sweeteners to fill the space occupied by sugar. On the other hand, Tilo sweeteners require regulatory approvals for novel foods. These are "recommended" sweeteners.
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Blending Strategy - One of the key lessons from developing sweetener-based products is that it is nearly impossible to use recommended sweeteners as a single solution for sugar replacement. High-intensity sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit lack the bulk and texture required to replace sugar, and also contribute to an aftertastes. In contrast, sugar alcohol sweeteners (polyols) and rare sweeteners provide bulk but can cause gastrointestinal side effects in large quantities, and some are not as sweet as sugar. The common solution in the industry is to create synergistic blends. You can find Whole Earth and others that combine allulose/erythritol/xylitol and especially dietary fiber with supersweeteners from plant sources or with synthetic supersweeteners. The result is a sweetener with a 1:1 ratio to sugar, with bulk and sweetness similar to that of sugar. Indeed, these solutions make it possible to maximize the benefits of each sweetener individually, while minimizing its disadvantages, thus achieving an excellent sensory and functional result, but the mixtures also have off-flavors.
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SugarNess is the only sweetener that contains five (5) "recommended" sweeteners, without aftertastes, which can replace sugar in a 1:1 ratio, both in terms of sweetness and in terms of texture and volume. SugarNess belongs to the sweetener blends group, but is much more advanced than the solutions available on the market.
Conclusions
There are diverse opinions and many studies on the subject. It is clear to everyone that sugars such as honey, molasses, cane sugar or coconut sugar, even if they are from natural sources, are not suitable for diabetics and those who wish to avoid sugar. There are innovative solutions based on mechanical changes of sugar and dietary fiber, such as fine grinding or layering - but these are also sugar based sweeteners. As for substitutes - there are many opinions and there is much controversy. From reading many studies, we have drawn the following conclusions:
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Even if the sweetener is safe and healthy, it is recommended not to consume in large quantities.
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In general, sweeteners can be divided into 2 main groups: tasty but unrecommended or recommended but not tasty.
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There is no single sweetener that can replace sugar in terms of filling volume, taste and sweetness and on the other hand, it will be without aftertastes and at a reasonable price. The solution is combinations of several sweeteners. Existing solutions usually solve the requirements for a sweetener of: filling volume, taste, sweetness and even price, but they have unpleasant aftertastes.
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Refined sweetness: We are addicted to excessive sweetness and it is better to reduce the sweetness.
Bibliography
The Best Sugar Substitutes for People with Diabetes
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The Best Sugar Substitutes for People with Diabetes
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"The Difference Between Natural and Artificial Sweeteners", Dr. Joseph Mercola.
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"What Is Luo Han Guo Good For?", Dr. Joseph Mercola.
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"High-Intensity Sweeteners", US Food and Drug Administration.
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"Has Stevia been approved by FDA to be used as a sweetener?", US Food and Drug Administration.
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Sugar substitute, Wikipwedia.
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What to know about inulin, a healthful prebiotic, Medical News Today.