Sweeteners are sugar alcohols which do not fully or absorbs into the body at a much slower place, hence the calories taken up with these sweeteners are less than what your energy consumes with glucose.

Their chemical structure is different to carbohydrates, which influences the ability of enzymes in the gut to break them down and hence their digestion is slowed. They will be partially fermented within the small intestine, as side products, while small chain fatty acids and gas will be produced (Grabitske and Slavin, 2008).

Beside much lower calorie contents, sugar alcohols such as xylitol also do not affect blood glucose level in ways carbohydrates do thus they are commonly used in diabetic foods and products (Grabitske and Slavin, 2008, Pi-Sunyer and Wheeler, 2008).

Moreover their chemical structure also seems to be preventive of dental caries because with use of these sweeteners the damaging effects of carbohydrates on teeth are also reduced. Findings which showed that xylitol rich chewing gum could decrease the incidence on dental caries significantly led to suggestions to use this type of gum after recent caries treatment (Steinberg, 2007).

There is also ongoing research into pre-biotic effects of some sugar alcohols, yet current data is inconclusive and might just apply to specific sweeteners (American Dietetic Association, 2004).

There are several natural occurring sweeteners such as xylitol, which is found in fruits and vegetables and is produced economically from fibrous vegetation and hardwood trees (Greenly, 2003) and there are synthetic sweeteners which were designed in chemical laboratories. These sweeteners are now more and more commonly added to foods (Grabitske and Slavin, 2008) and found in products such as sucrose free chocolates (Afoakwa et al., 2007).

The energy provided by sugar alcohols is approximately half the energy per gram of energy provided by fully digestible carbohydrates (2kcal/gram) (Pi-Sunyer and Wheeler, 2008). Sweeteners have so far not been shown to be implicated in the development of cancer, yet due to their reactions in the gut they can have laxative effects, hence consuming large amounts may in cases lead to diarrhoea. Other gastrointestinal symptoms of over consumption include bloating, flatulence and abdominal discomfort. Yet there is a vast amount of factors which influences the amounts tolerated by individuals, which have to do with the time and amount of ingestion as well as means of ways of ingestion. Such as whether eaten together with solid foods or liquids (Grabitske and Slavin, 2008). Due to these laxative effects the suggested limits of consumption in the EU are 20 g per day (Afoakwa et al., 2007)

American Dietetic Association (2004) Position of the American Dietetic Association: Use of
Nutritive and Nonnutritive Sweeteners, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, , , 255-275

Grabitske, H.A. and J. L. Slavin (2008) Low-Digestible Carbohydrates in Practice, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 108, 10, 1677-1681

Greenly, L.W. (2003) A doctor’s guide to sweeteners, Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, 2, 2, 80-86

F. X. Pi-Sunyer and M. L. Wheeler (2008) Carbohydrate Issues: Type and Amount, Journal of  the American Dietetic Association,April, Supplement to the of the American Dietetic Association

Steinberg, S. (2007) Understanding and Managing Dental Caries: A Medical Approach, Alpha Omegan, 100, (3), 127-134

Afoakwa, E. O., Fowler, M. and A. Paterson (2007) Factors influencing rheological and textural qualities in chocolate e a review, Trends in Food Science & Technology,  18, 290-298

Andrea Zick, Esteem Fitness Nutritionist London