GThe sweeteners, or sweeteners, as they are more commonly called, are sweet-tasting ingredients used in foods and drinksto give sweetness instead of sugars. They are chosen because contain few or zero calories, but they are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar on the palate. Yet there are conflicting opinions about them. Let’s find out with the Professor Carlo La VecchiaProfessor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology atUniversity of MilanTemporary advisor ofWHO in Geneva and member of the Advisory Board ofInternational Sweeteners Association – ISAwhy and how it is good to use them.
Sweeteners: which are the most used and where
They are divided into two broad categories: natural and artificial. Natural sweeteners They are found in some foodsothers they are extracted from plants and used without being subjected to a refining process. A typical example is erythritol, one of the most widespread. Then there are artificial sweeteners. We can find them in foods such as non-alcoholic, carbonated and non-carbonated drinks, in desserts, such as yogurt and ice cream, in chewing gum and sweets, in jams/marmalades and in food supplements. Not to mention the sachets to sweeten coffee that we find in every bar.
Sweeteners and diabetes
The nutritional guidelines they encourage us to follow a Diet and healthy lifestyle model to support overall health and well-being. Eating a varied, balanced, high-quality diet featuring a wide range of foods is recognized as fundamental, together with adequate physical activity, for improving our health. «Thanks to their properties, sweeteners allow producers to support these objectives, especially by developing beverages with less sugar and less energy. Here’s why can make a contribution to fighting diabeteswhich represents one of the most widespread and unfortunately growing non-communicable diseases linked to incorrect lifestyles.
According to theItalian Diabetes Barometer Report 2023made by IBDO Foundation, in 2022 the number of diabetics in Italy was 3.9 million peopleequal to 6.6% of the general population. A has been registered +14% compared to 2019for a total of 400 thousand more cases. In this alarming picture, sweeteners they can be helpful, since in the case of type 2 diabetes, they do not raise the glucose level in the blood. That is This also applies to prediabetic subjectswho are advised to control their weight and reduce the consumption of refined sugars to prevent them from developing clinical diabetes”, underlines Professor La Vecchia.
Sweeteners: why they are safe
Even sweeteners, like all food products, they are regulated at European level since 1990. Their presence in a food or drink is indicated on the label“with sweetener”, and in the list of ingredients, name and number “E”, which refers to the EU and indicates that the food additive is safe. Before being placed on the market, like any other ingredient are subjected to strict control and approval processes by the main food safety authorities around the world, such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and, for Europe, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). EFSA’s scientific opinion comes at the end of a broad and careful evaluation of all types of studies examining the potential effects of a sweetener on animals and humans. Only at this point can we conclude that the sweetener it is safe for the population, as long as it is consumed within the limits set by international health authorities. These limits are established in so-called “Acceptable Daily Intakes” (ADI)defined for each food product.
Consumption in Italy
Today, all available surveys indicate that Current consumption of sweeteners is well below the DGA established by the health authorities. A recent research involving Italy, France, Ireland and Great Britain has highlighted how the Average daily consumption of aspartame varies from 0 to a maximum of 30% of the ADI in the general population. The data from our country are even more significant: in Italy, an average consumption of sweeteners is estimated to range from 1% to 5% of the ADI. In other words, Italians consume on average from 20 to 100 times less sweeteners than the intake thresholds set by the European health authorities. This, therefore, does not make these consumptions worrying. Indeed, sweeteners can be a valid ally for well-being.
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