Our nutrition expert answers your queries on the subject of sugar substitutes.

Following a report last week that claimed artificial sweeteners can actually lead you to absorb more calories I have received lots of letters about “healthy” alternatives to sugar and have answered some of your most common questions below.

It has traditionally been assumed that these sweeteners are a good thing, because if you substitute a can of standard cola for a diet version, you are saving around 140 calories. However, research is now questioning whether things are as straightforward as this. New work carried out by Professor Soraya Shirazi-Beechey and her team from the University of Liverpool has discovered that some intense artificial sweeteners stimulate “sweet receptors” in our intestines that in turn increase the body’s capacity to absorb more sugar.

Despite the reassuring studies on the safety of intense sweeteners, many people prefer not to risk even the vague possibility that consuming them may be linked with anything from headaches to increased risk of cancer. Many people — including myself — play it safe by sticking to naturally calorie-free options such as water and products such as plain yoghurt with your own fruit added.

Is agave nectar better for you than sugar?

Agave nectar looks and tastes like honey, but comes from the cut stem of a Mexican plant known as the century or blue agave. The natural sweetness of agave comes from fruit sugar, also known as fructose, which raises blood sugar levels gently after eating. This helps to keep cravings for sweet foods at bay and our moods balanced. The slow digestion of agave gives it a glycaemic index of 40 — that of granulated table sugar (officially known as sucrose) is 68, and tends to send blood sugar high quickly, encouraging our bodies to store excess sugar as fat.

Fructose, and therefore agave nectar, is about a third sweeter than sugar, which means that you can get away with using a third less. In other words, you get the same sweetness using two thirds of a teaspoon of agave with 14 calories as in a teaspoon of sugar with 20 calories.

It can be used to replace sugar in both hot and cold drinks because it dissolves in both, in baking and on cereal or yoghurt.

Granulated forms of fructose are also widely available in supermarkets these days and have similar nutritional advantages.

I’ve seen a sweetener called ‘xylitol’ on some sugar-free mints and chewing gum. What is it and why is it linked with teeth on packaging?

Xylitol is a type of “bulk” sugar that is extracted from birch trees in Finland. Like fructose xylitol is sweeter than sugar, but in this case, twice as sweet. A teaspoon of granulated xylitol (available as Perfect Sweet or Xylobrit) has around 10 calories.

It is important to note that xylitol, along with other bulk sweeteners like sorbitol, manitol and lactitol found in many sugar-free sweets, can all cause loose stools if over-consumed. Stick to limits advised by manufacturers.

Is honey better for you than sugar?

From a calorie point of view, honey provides 288 calories per 100g and sugar 394 calories, so gram for gram, it offers a saving. In reality, because honey is rather dense, a heaped teaspoon weighs 17g and provides 49 calories compared with a heaped teaspoon of sugar weighing just 6g with 24 calories. This is worth remembering if doing a straight swap of honey for sugar in drinks or yoghurts.

From a general health perspective, honey is probably better than sugar. It has been used for thousands of years to treat a wide variety of ills including everything from stomach pains to gut disorders, which we now call irritable bowel syndrome. It has also traditionally been applied directly to wounds.  Research also shows that honey has antimicrobial properties that kill off a wide range of bacteria including Listeria and strains that cause stomach ulcers.

All these natural alternatives and more are available at Vitality Health Store in Basingstoke town centre. Their stocks include:

In stock we have Xylitol, It is actively good for teeth, but cannot be used in bread making as it will nor raise the yeast. 

Fruisana, another fruit sugar, which has a GI of 19, is sweeter than normal sugar and so you need to use less.  Can be used in all cooking and baking. 

Barley malt extract from organic barley and organic malted barley contains a complex mix of carbs, trace elements and vitamins. Can be used in baking or as a soothing evening beverage stirred into hot milk. 

Rice syrup can be used in the same way as barley extract and is made by the traditional malting of cereal grains, producing a rich flavour and a good balance of maltose and complex sugars. 

Agave Syrup is from the agave cactus, and produced using only wind and solar power! 

We also have Date Syrup which can be used as a sweetener or to flavour ice cream, flapjacks and more.  

And good old maple syrup, tapped from North American Maple Trees. The sap is concentrated into a syrup that can be used on desserts, ice creams and pancakes.

Contact Vitality for more information 01256 331132, Wote Street, Basingstoke.