The Similarities Between Natural And Artificial Sweeteners

Sweeteners are substances that are added to foods in order to improve the taste of them. Natural sweeteners are compounds that possess some goodness nutritionally; however, artificial sweeteners are compounds that retain barely any of this nutrition that natural sweeteners have. It is arguable that both natural and artificial sweeteners have health benefits but which one is really more beneficial to people. (Lebedev, Park, & Yaylaian)

Natural sweeteners are removed from natural sources without being altered chemically during the process. Some common natural sweeteners are honey, maple syrup, molasses, stevia and sucrose. Out of these, sucrose known as table sugar is the most common natural sweetener and is fairly different chemically to most

They do not cause any major change to insulin levels in comparison to artificial sweeteners and this allows for a lower risk of developing diabetes. Natural sweeteners also decrease the negative effects on your pancreas more than artificial sweeteners as a result of the more stable insulin levels. (Michaelis)

Although natural sweeteners provide good nutrition they carry a lot of calories. Natural sweeteners have several times more calories than artificial ones possess. So even though they are beneficial for the body in some ways they still cause it to build up fat which obviously is not a benefit. (Michaelis) This happens because as there are many more calories in natural sweeteners this energy is burned off instead of fat which just leaves it sitting

Some common artificial sweeteners are saccharin (C7H5O3NS), acesulfame-K (C5H6O3NS), aspartame (C13H18O5N2) and sucralose (C11H19O8Cl3). These kinds of sweeteners are generally used by people who have diseases such as diabetes, people who are worried about tooth decay, or people that want to lose or not gain any weight. (Whitworth)The primary reason for people choosing to have artificial sweeteners is the lack of calories that are in them. Weight loss can be achieved by replacing regular sugars with artificial sweeteners in moderation. This works by the body sensing no presence of energy so stored fat is used up instead. (The Human Touch of Chemistry)There are no carbohydrates in artificial sweeteners. This links to diabetic benefits as artificial sweeteners create a less strict diet for peoples with diabetes who have to control their blood sugar levels. On the other hand the main disadvantage to having artificial sweeteners is the fact that it has a lack of nutritional value. For this reason it is recommended that people stay away from these kinds of sweeteners.