Sweeteners do more for us than just bring sweetness

 

Sweeteners do much more than add sweetness to food; Believe it or not, some can reduce the levels of carbohydrates and calories present in your favorite dishes. High-intensity sweeteners provide an easy way to reduce the number of calories in our diet.

As such, low-calorie sweeteners can play a helpful role in helping to achieve weight loss or maintenance, as part of a balanced diet, accompanied by physical activity.

Despite their remarkable benefits and the fact that high-intensity sweeteners were developed and launched on the market, most of them had associated taste problems, causing consumers to not fully accept them. For example, sweeteners such as stevia, aspartame, and acesulfame-k present a significant challenge in flavoring the foods and beverages we are used to consuming that are sweetened with cane sugar.

On the other hand, there are prebiotic fibers with a low level of sweetness and a great taste. Its implementation allows a reduction in calories and a greater intake of fiber. Generally, these types of products work well in combination with high-intensity sweeteners.

At the same time, prebiotics can help maintain a strong immune system by building a healthy lower intestinal tract that improves nutrient absorption and helps maintain proper digestion.

Even if this solution is more expensive compared to other sweetener options, consuming it will give you a healthier profile. The growing dialogue about the importance of gut health in overall health wellness has led to these types of ingredients occupying a new and better place in the food industry.

More and more people concerned about their health are recognizing the importance of supporting intestinal health, as one of the main barriers between the body and toxins in the environment, and with it, as one of the main techniques of disease prevention, causing the demand for prebiotics and probiotics to increase more and more.

Some are considering using invert syrup, a liquid sweetener made from sucrose and also found in honey and maple syrup. The process consists of hydrolyzing and obtaining an ingredient sweeter than sucrose since fructose has almost twice the sweet intensity of sucrose. In recent years, invert sugar has been replaced by cheaper high-fructose corn syrup.

However, consumer sentiment towards high fructose corn syrup is causing many processors to turn back to invert sugar for its functionality and clean label appeal. Our modern and easy access to food enjoyment and more people with sedentary lifestyles gives us a clue that we need to manage sweetener intake more effectively than ever before.

The high rates of obesity are a clear reference that people need to focus on active and healthy lifestyles and energy balance, between the calories consumed at each meal, with the calories burned through physical activity.

Add value to your company with our food industry solutions. Find sugar replacement solutions, prebiotic and fiber solutions, functional ingredients and sustainable proteins for your product and industry in bestground.com.