This is Part 1 of a 2-part series exploring the origin of low- and no-calorie sweeteners and their impact on health. This article focuses on history of these sweeteners, types of sweeteners in use, and how Guiding Stars handles their inclusion in foods and bevereages. Part 2 focuses on the sweeteners’ health impacts.
Research shows that our delight in sweet tastes is universal. Infants can detect, and prefer, sweet tastes—even before birth. But our increasingly sweet food supply can have some decidedly sour health effects. Tooth decay, weight gain, and heart disease are all linked with a sugary diet. Those who yearn for sweet foods and drinks, but want to dodge added sugar have plenty of low- and no-calorie sweetened products from which to choose. Let’s take a look at these sweeteners.
What are Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners?
Low-calorie sweeteners and no-calorie sweeteners are sometimes referred to as “non-nutritive sweeteners” (NNSs) because they have few, if any, calories and no nutrients. Another moniker for some of these products is “high intensity sweeteners.” They are many times sweeter than regular sugar, so only very small amounts are needed to provide a sweet taste. NNSs have been used for many years as table-top sweeteners and in foods to replace regular sugar, honey, molasses, agave, corn syrup, and other caloric sweeteners. NNSs are frequently synthetic (or “artificial”), but there are a growing number of plant-based products that may be considered more “natural,” such as stevia or monk fruit sweetener. (Note that the FDA does not have a formal definition of the term “natural” as used on food labels at this time.)
A Brief History of Non-Nutritive Sweeteners in the U.S.
Accidentally discovered in 1879 by a chemist at Johns Hopkins University, saccharin became the first artificial sweetener commercially produced. It was used in products for people with diabetes, but during World War II, a lack of sugar resulted in the general public having access to it. Saccharin and other non-nutritive sweeteners weren’t widely used in the food system until the 1980s and 1990s. At that point, a variety of alternative sweetener options became available for food manufacturers to use in developing “diet” beverages and foods. Now, non-nutritive sweeteners are widely consumed in the U.S. and across the globe. Cutting calories by reducing sugar in consumables has been the driving force in developing low- and no-calorie sweeteners. It’s safe to say interest in lower calorie, sugar-free beverages and foods shows no signs of declining any time soon.
Which Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners Are Approved in the U.S.?
There are currently nine FDA-approved low- and no-calorie sweeteners in the U.S. Three of these are plant-based sweeteners.
- advantame: Approved for general purpose sweetening in 2014. It is heat-stable, making it suitable for use in baked goods.
- aspartame: Used in a wide variety of foods and beverages, it must be avoided by people with PKU—a rare genetic disorder.
- acesulfame potassium: “Ace-K” is commonly used in diet beverages, often in combination with other sweeteners.
- monk fruit extract: Also known as luo han guo, it’s been used in China for centuries and is often combined with other sweeteners.
- thaumatin: Isolated from a West African fruit, it is used in a variety of foods and beverages.
- neotame: Another heat-stable sweetener, it’s used in a variety of low-calorie foods and beverages.
- saccharin: The oldest approved sweetener in the list. It’s a table-top sweetener that’s also used in beverages, sugar-free candies, canned fruits, and jams.
- stevia glycosides: Extracted from the leaves of the stevia plant, it’s used in a wide range of foods and beverages as well as being a table-top sweetener. It’s typically combined with other sweeteners.
- sucralose: Found in many foods as well as being a table-top sweetener, it’s often used in combination with sugar.
How Does Guiding Stars Handle Non-Nutritive Sweeteners?
People are interested in lowering their sugar consumption, and food manufacturers have increased their use of low- and no-calorie sweeteners in both beverages and foods. And it’s no secret that both children and adults consume products that contain non-nutritive sweeteners. Guiding Stars is a nutrition navigation system aimed at helping you make healthy food choices more easily.So it makes sense for our algorithms to address the proliferation of products that include non-nutritive sweeteners. The Guiding Stars beverage algorithm already included a debit for non-nutritive sweeteners. And in 2024, after months reviewing the science, the Guiding Stars Scientific Advisory Panel decided to modify the general foods algorithm to debit items 1 star if those items containing a synthetic or artifical non-nutritive sweetener. There is no debit if a product contains one of the plant-based non-nutritive sweeteners, such as stevia or monk fruit. For more information on this change and its impacts, click here.