Caloric Sweeteners Research Articles

Stevia Beverage Consumption prior to Lunch Reduces Appetite and Total Energy Intake without Affecting Glycemia or Attentional Bias to Food Cues: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial in Healthy Adults

Stevia is a zero-calorie alternative to caloric sugars. Substituting caloric sweeteners with noncaloric sweeteners reduces available energy, but their effects on appetite, subsequent food intake, and neurocognitive responses are still unclear. The aim was to examine whether sweetness with or without calories influences food intake, appetite, blood glucose concentrations, and attentional bias (AB) to food cues. This was a randomized, controlled, double-blind crossover study. Healthy participants [n=20; aged 27±5y, 55% female; BMI (kg/m2): 21.8±1.5]completed 5 visits, consuming 5 study beverages: 330 mLwater (control, no sweet taste, no calories) and either 330 mLwater containing 40g glucose or sucrose (sweet taste; calories, both 160kcal), maltodextrin (no sweet taste; calories, 160kcal), or 240ppm stevia (sweet taste, no calories). Glucose and stevia beverages were matched for sweetness. Subjective appetite ratings and blood glucose were measured at baseline and at 15, 30, and 60min postprandially. At 15min participants performed a visual-dot probe task to assess AB to food cues; at 30min, participants were offered an ad libitum lunch; food intake was measured. Subjective appetite ratings showed that preload sweetness and calorie content both affected appetite. The total AUC for glycemia was significantly higher after the caloric beverages (mean±SD: maltodextrin, 441±57.6; glucose, 462±68.1; sucrose, 425±53.6mmol × min × L-1 ) compared with both stevia (320±34.2 mmol × min × L-1)and water (304±32.0 mmol × min × L-1)(all P<0.001). Total energy intake (beverage and meal) was significantly lower after the stevia beverage (727±239kcal)compared with water (832±198 kcal, P=0.013), with no significant difference between the water and caloric beverages (P=1.00 for water vs. maltodextrin, glucose, and sucrose). However, food-related AB did not differ across conditions (P=0.140). This study found a beneficial and specific effect of a stevia beverage consumed prior to a meal on appetite and energy intake in healthy adults. This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03711084.

A Review of the Environmental Fate and Effects of Acesulfame-Potassium.

ABSTRACTThe use of low and no calorie sweeteners (LNCSs) has increased substantially the past several decades. Their high solubility in water, low absorption to soils, and reliable analytical methods facilitate their detection in wastewater and surface waters. Low and no calorie sweeteners are widely used in food and beverage products around the world, have been approved as food additives, and are considered safe for human consumption by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and other regulatory authorities. Concerns have been raised, however, regarding their growing presence and potential aquatic toxicity. Recent studies have provided new empirical environmental monitoring, environmental fate, and ecotoxicity on acesulfame potassium (ACE‐K). Acesulfame potassium is an important high‐production LNCS, widely detected in the environment and generally reported to be environmentally persistent. Acesulfame‐potassium was selected for this environmental fate and effects review to determine its comparative risk to aquatic organisms. The biodegradation of ACE‐K is predicted to be low, based on available quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models, and this has been confirmed by several investigations, mostly published prior to 2014. More recently, there appears to be an interesting paradigm shift with several reports of the enhanced ability of wastewater treatment plants to biodegrade ACE‐K. Some studies report that ACE‐K can be photodegraded into potentially toxic breakdown products, whereas other data indicate that this may not be the case. A robust set of acute and chronic ecotoxicity studies in fish, invertebrates, and freshwater plants provided critical data on ACE‐K's aquatic toxicity. Acesulfame‐potassium concentrations in wastewater and surface water are generally in the lower parts per billion (ppb) range, whereas concentrations in sludge and groundwater are much lower (parts per trillion [ppt]). This preliminary environmental risk assessment establishes that ACE‐K has high margins of safety (MOSs) and presents a negligible risk to the aquatic environment based on a collation of extensive ACE‐K environmental monitoring, conservative predicted environmental concentration (PEC) and predicted no‐effect concentration (PNEC) estimates, and prudent probabilistic exposure modeling. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:421–437. © 2020 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC)

Obtención de ciruelas osmodeshidratadas bajas en calorías mediante un proceso dual de sustitución de azúcares

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; Se llevó a cabo el desarrollo de un alimento saludable reducido en calorías y de calidad diferencial: ciruelas D’Agen deshidratadas. Esto mediante un proceso osmótico dual (D3S) de sustitución de los azúcares naturales de la fruta por edulcorante no calórico Stevia complementado por secado. Se utilizó un diseño experimental factorial bajo la consideración del tiempo de pretratamiento en Etapa i (10, 20, 30 minutos), frecuencia de ultrasonido en Etapas i y ii (0,40 kHz), tiempo de tratamiento en Etapa ii (10, 20, 30 minutos), y concentración de solución de edulcorante Stevia (20, 25% p/p). El monitoreo del proceso se realizó al evaluar la evolución del contenido de sólidos solubles (SS), humedad (M) y peso de las muestras (W), así como las variables pérdida de sólidos solubles (SG), pérdida de agua (WL), y reducción de peso (WR), en cada etapa. Los resultados se analizaron mediante Anova (análisis de la varianza) y RSM (metodología de superficie de respuesta). El proceso dual óptimo que removió la mayor cantidad de azúcares calóricos e incorporó más edulcorante natural Stevia cero calorías (10,67%) a las ciruelas consistió en un pretratamiento de 22,8 minutos asistido por ultrasonido, seguido de inmersión en solución de Stevia del 20% p/p durante 22 minutos con aplicación de ultrasonido, mientras que para la optimización múltiple de SG y WL las condiciones operativas fueron solución al osmótica 23% p/p durante 24,6 minutos.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Low- and No- Calorie Sweeteners (LNCS): critical evaluation of their safety and health risks

Abstract The increase of the prevalence of type-2 diabetes as a consequence of overweight and obesity has stimulated public health authorities worldwide to develop strategies for its risk management and prevention. Among them, a reduction on the content of sugar in sugar-sweetened foods and beverages has been suggested, which led the food industry to replace partially sucrose with food additives, such as low- and no-calorie sweeteners (LNCS). As a consequence, there has been an increase of their consumption, which has made regulatory agencies to evaluate their exposure and possible consequences. At the same time, speculations about adverse effects, such as carcinogenicity, preterm delivery and metabolic changes involving appetite, weight increase and glucose intolerance, have been published. This scenario led ILSI Brasil to organize a meeting to update scientific knowledge on the safety of LNCS and to promote discussions among academia, regulatory bodies and food industries to clarify currently controversial information. The results of this initiative are presented in this review. It is suggested that LNCS, when used according to recommendations provided by scientific committees and regulatory authorities are considered safe. Further studies are required to evaluate the current level of exposure in general population and specific ones as children.

FORMULATION OF GUAVA (PSIDIUM GUAJAVA) AND PURPLE SWEET POTATO (IPOMOEA BATATAS L. POIR) VELVA WITH LOW CALORIE SWEETER AS AN ALTERNATIVE OF FUNCTIONAL FOOD

This study aims to determine the effect of low-calorie sweetener types on the characteristics of organoleptic and physicochemical characteristics and functional substances of guava velvet and purple sweet potato and. The research method uses a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) that is with one type of low calorie sweetener (stevia, honey and sorbitol). Each treatment is done 2 times and 2 times analysis. The results of this study indicate that the nutrient content of selected velva based on TKPI that the energy value of 33.33 kcal, protein 0.41 gr, fat 0.1 gr and carbohydrate 7.93 gr. Organoleptic test results from 9 velva products combined with guava and sweet potato obtained the best product was VU-A2 treatment (addition of 7.5% sorbitol). The results of the analysis of nutrient levels (proximate test) per 100 grams of selected velva products contain 0.53% protein, 0.05% fat, 85.03% water, 0.25% ash, and 14.1% carbohydrates. The physical analysis results per 100 gr of selected velva products contain 11 TPT (% brix). While the results of the analysis of functional substance levels per 100 grams of selected velva products contain 28.81 mg of IC50 antioxidants, 75.01 ppm anthocyanin and 0.84% crude fiber.

Effect of sucralose and aspartame on glucose metabolism and gut hormones.

Non-nutritive sweeteners are thought to be useful replacements for caloric sweeteners in sweet food and beverages, since the reduction in energy and carbohydrate intake may lead to health benefits stemming from weight management and glycemic control. However, the potential effects of non-nutritive sweeteners on glucose metabolism and gut hormones have not been determined definitively. Here, the available evidence of the effects of aspartame and sucralose consumption on glucose metabolism and gut hormones is reviewed. A majority of studies have found that consumption of aspartame or sucralose has no effect on concentrations of blood glucose, insulin, or gut hormones; however, 2 trials have shown that aspartame consumption affects glucose, insulin, and glucagon-like peptide1 concentrations, while only a few trials have shown that sucralose consumption affects glucose, insulin, and glucagon-like peptide1 concentrations. One study found higher glucose concentrations after sucralose consumption, while 3 studies found lower concentrations and 33 studies found no change in glucose concentrations. Moreover, only 4 studies reported increased concentrations of glucagon-like peptide1. Three studies reported decreased insulin sensitivity following sucralose consumption, while 1 trial reported an increase in insulin sensitivity. In summary, the evidence from the clinical trials conducted to date is contradictory because of the different protocols used.

Anthocyanin Metabolites in Human Urine after the Intake of New Functional Beverages.

Sugar intake abuse is directly related with the increase of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and insulin resistance. Along this line, the development of new beverages using alternative sweeteners could help with combatting the pathophysiological disorders associated to the consumption of sugar. To provide evidence on this issue, in the present work, the bioavailability of anthocyanins was evaluated after the acute ingestion of a new maqui-citrus-based functional beverage rich in polyphenols, and supplemented with a range of sweeteners including sucrose (natural high caloric), stevia (natural non-caloric), and sucralose (artificial non-caloric), as an approach that would allow reducing the intake of sugars while providing bioactive phenolic compounds (anthocyanins). This approach allowed the evaluation of the maximum absorption and the diversity of metabolites excreted through urine. The beverages created were ingested by volunteers (n = 20) and the resulting anthocyanin metabolites in their urine were analyzed by UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS. A total of 29 degradation metabolites were detected: Caffeic acid, catechol, 3,4-dihidroxifenilacetic acid, hippuric acid, trans-ferulic acid, 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzaldehyde, trans-isoferulic acid, and vanillic acid derivatives, where peak concentrations were attained at 3.5 h after beverage intake. Sucralose was the sweetener that provided a higher bioavailability for most compounds, followed by stevia. Sucrose did not provide a remarkably higher bioavailability of any compounds in comparison with sucralose or stevia. The results propose two sweetener alternatives (sucralose and stevia) to sucrose, an overused high calorie sweetener that promotes some metabolic diseases.

Alternative Sweeteners Modify the Urinary Excretion of Flavanones Metabolites Ingested through a New Maqui-Berry Beverage.

Dietary sugar has been largely related to the onset of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity, among others. The growing awareness on the close relationship between the dietary habits and this health disturbance has encouraged the development of new beverages using alternative sweeteners that could contribute to combat the above referred pathophysiological disorders. To gain further insight into this issue, the present work, upon an acute dietary intervention, evaluated the urinary excretion of flavanones ingested through polyphenols-rich beverages composed of maqui berry and citrus, with the aim of establishing the highest urinary excretion rate and metabolite profiles. The functional beverages evaluated were supplemented with a range of sweeteners including sucrose (natural and high caloric), stevia (natural and non-caloric), and sucralose (artificial and non-caloric) as an approach that would allow reducing the intake of sugars and provide bioactive phenolics (flavanones). The juices developed were ingested by volunteers (n = 20) and the resulting flavanones and their phase II metabolites in urine were analyzed by Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography ElectroSpray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS). A total of 16 metabolites were detected: eriodyctiol, naringenin, and homoeriodyctiol derivatives, where peak concentrations were attained 3.5 h after beverage intake. Sucralose and stevia were the sweeteners that provided the highest urinary excretion for most compounds. Sucrose did not provide a remarkable higher elimination through urine of any compounds in comparison with sucralose or stevia. These results propose two alternative sweeteners to sucrose (sucralose and stevia), an overused, high caloric sweetener that promotes some metabolic diseases.

Low and no calorie sweeteners, diet and health: an updated overview.

Introduction: currently, there is a great deal of controversy surrounding the potential health benefits and risks associated with the use of low and/or no calorie sweeteners (LNCS). Objective: in the present work, the objective was to briefly address the current role of LNCS consumption in the diet and its effects on health. Methods: a brief narrative review of the most recent tudies and policies available was carried out. Results: a limited number of representative studies on the consumption of LNCS and their effect on health are presently available. However, these mostly indicate that the consumption of LNCS can be a useful tool along with other nutritional strategies in the treatment of overweight, obesity, diabetes and the prevention of caries when used appropriately in the context of a balanced diet and physical activity. Still, it is necessary to be cautious with the consumption of certain sweeteners since the effects of LNCS on the intestinal microbiota or its effect on premature deliveries, among others, have not been fully elucidated. Conclusions: it is essential to carry out further studies in order to clarify/establish the safety and value of sweeteners as food ingredients/additives in the medium/long term, in a model of increasing consumption as a consequence of the reformulation of many foods.

Influência da Stevia rebaudiana na saúde bucal – revisão de literatura

Introdução: A Stevia rebaudiana é uma planta, nativa da América do Sul, da qual é extraída a stevia, um adoçante natural não calórico com potencial adoçante maior do que a sacarose, sem efeitos adversos e que tem demonstrado possuir muitos benefícios para a saúde sistêmica e, mais recentemente, para a saúde oral. O objetivo da presente revisão de literatura é apresentar os benefícios da Stevia como importante opção para substituição do uso da sacarose e dos adoçantes artificiais, principalmente no que se refere a saúde bucal. Discussão: Os estudos sobre a Stevia contribuem com importantes informações a respeito do potencial papel anti-cariogênico e antimicrobiano, oriundo de sua capacidade de reduzir a carga bacteriana, a formação de biofilme, evitando altas diminuições de pH e atuando como um agente anti-inflamatório. A Stevia pode se tornar um complemento aos cuidados de saúde bucal na forma de bochechos, cremes dentais, goma de mascar, saliva artificial, comprimidos mastigáveis, além de seu efeito benéfico para a saúde em geral, principalmente em paciente com obesidade, diabetes e hipertensão. Conclusão: Dessa forma, a Stevia apresenta vantagens quando comparada a outros adoçantes artificiais, além de ser uma excelente opção para substituir a sacarose.

Microinjection of urotensin II into the pedunculopontine tegmentum leads to an increase in the consumption of sweet tastants

The pedunculopontine tegmentum (PPTg) plays a role in processing multiple sensory inputs and innervates brain regions associated with reward-related behaviors. The urotensin II receptor, activated by the urotensin II peptide (UII), is selectively expressed by the cholinergic neurons of the PPTg. Although the exact function of cholinergic neurons of the PPTg is unknown, they are thought to contribute to the perception of reward magnitude or salience detection. We hypothesized that the activation of PPTg cholinergic neurons would alter sensory processing across multiple modalities (ex. taste and hearing). Here we had three aims: first, determine if cholinergic activation is involved in consumption behavior of palatable solutions (sucrose). Second, if so, distinguish the impact of the caloric value by using saccharin, a zero calorie sweetener. Lastly, we tested the UII-mediated effects on perception of acoustic stimuli by measuring acoustic startle reflex (ASR).Male Sprague-Dawley rats were bilaterally cannulated into the PPTg, then placed under food restriction lasting the entire consumption experiment (water ad lib.). Treatment consisted of a microinjection of either 1 μL of aCSF or 1 μL of 10 μM UII into the PPTg, and the rats were immediately given access to either sucrose or saccharin. For the remaining five days, rats were allowed one hour access per day to the same sweet solution without any further treatments. During the saccharin experiment rats were tested in a contact lickometer which recorded each individual lick to give insight into the microstructure of the consumption behavior. ASR testing consisted of a baseline (no treatment), treatment day, and two additional days (no treatment).Immediately following the microinjection of UII, consumption of both saccharin and sucrose increased compared to controls. This significant increase persisted for days after the single administration of UII, but there was no generalized arousal or increase in water consumption between testing sessions. The effects on ASR were not significant.Activating cholinergic PPTg neurons may lead to a miscalculation of the salience of external stimuli, implicating the importance of cholinergic input in modulating a variety of behaviors. The long-lasting effects seen after UII treatment support further research into the role of sensory processing on reward related-behaviors at the level of the PPTg cholinergic neurons.

When the beverage is sweet, how does the liver feel?

The purpose of this paper is to both review the available data and also highlight the gaps in knowledge, regarding the link between pediatric NASH and different type of sweeteners including caloric sweeteners (CS) and non-caloric sweeteners (NCS). Studies have demonstrated that patients with NASH generally have had an unhealthy diet, characterized by on overconsumption of carbohydrates especially fructose. Mechanistically, a high-fructose diet reduces hepatic lipid oxidation, increases proinflammatory response, increases intestinal permeability and decreases microbiome diversity. Consumption and availability of NCS has therefore been increasing dramatically. Most NCS are not considered to be metabolized in the body and therefore thought to be safe for consumption. It was reported that pharmacological properties of rebaudioside, a type of NCS, as a potential hepatoprotector are through anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic mechanisms, associated with enhancing glucose-induced insulin secretion and inducing the difference of microbiome diversity. Diet is an important factor in the pathogenesis of NAFLD and popular dietary patterns are contributing to the increased replacement of natural sweeteners with NCS. Screening for NAFLD by pediatricians and counseling on the avoidance of sugar-sweetened beverages are recommended. We feel that the various NCS available to the consumer today merit further investigation, and may potentially have hitherto unknown effects on hepatic metabolic function.

Low Calorie Sweeteners Differ in Their Physiological Effects in Humans.

Low calorie sweeteners (LCS) are prevalent in the food supply for their primary functional property of providing sweetness with little or no energy. Though tested for safety individually, there has been extremely limited work on the efficacy of each LCS. It is commonly assumed all LCS act similarly in their behavioral and physiological effects. However, each LCS has its own chemical structure that influences its metabolism, making each LCS unique in its potential effects on body weight, energy intake, and appetite. LCS may have different behavioral and physiological effects mediated at the sweet taste receptor, in brain activation, with gut hormones, at the microbiota and on appetitive responses. Further elucidation of the unique effects of the different commercially available LCS may hold important implications for recommendations about their use for different health outcomes.

Influences of added sugar consumption in adults with type 2 diabetes risk: A principle-based concept analysis.

The aim of this study is to describe the concept added sugar in the context of type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk in adults. Dietary added sugars are associated with a greater risk for T2D; however, it is unclear if added sugars influence T2D risk directly or if their effects are mediated by excess caloric intake and weight gain. A principle-based concept analysis following the PRISMA guidelines was conducted to clarify the concept of added sugar. A systematic search was conducted using PubMed and Embase. Multidisciplinary, empirical evidence was appraised using four guiding principles outlined by the principle-based concept analysis method. Thirty-five publications were included in this concept analysis. The concept, added sugar in the context of T2D risk, was found to be epistemologically immature and lacked conceptual clarity. Added sugar is an immature concept warranting further refinement for conceptual advancement. To enhance conceptual clarity, the term "added sugar" should be used consistently in the scientific literature when discussing foods or beverages containing added sugars or caloric sweeteners. A clearer delineation of added sugar and its association with T2D risk in adults is critical to advance this concept within the scientific literature.

Non-Nutritive (Artificial) Sweetener Knowledge among University Students.

This study determined non-nutritive sweetener (NNS; artificial sweetener) depth of knowledge among university health and science students. An online survey was delivered to 1248 science students and completed by 493 respondents (19.0 ± 2.2 years old), evaluating ability to provide an NNS description/definition, examples of NNS from memory, and evaluate NNS word familiarity with a click-drag-box to identify six NNS by chemical name (CN) and six NNS by trade name (TN), relative to six decoy NNS, six caloric sweeteners, and six food items (mean ± standard deviation). NNS definitions contained 1.1 ± 1.1 of four previously defined elements suggestive of knowledge depth, with highest scores among self-described non-NNS users and food ingredient label users. Knowledge depth was not correlated with gender, age, American College Test score, or history of weight loss attempts. Without prompting, respondents could name 0.9 ± 1.1 NNS from memory, with highest scores among self-described non-NNS users (1.4 ± 0.8) and food ingredient label users (1.4 ± 0.8). NNS example memory was not correlated with gender, age, ACT score, or history of weight loss attempts. With the click-drag-box exercise, NNS were correctly identified 4.9 ± 1.0 times by TN and significantly less by CN (3.9 ± 1.9 times). Decoy NNS were incorrectly identified as being a real NNS 4.7 ± 1.3 times, while caloric sweeteners and food items were incorrectly identified as NNS 1.7 ± 1.7 times and 1.0 ± 1.5 times, (TN and Decoy NNS > CN > caloric sweetener and food item). NNS knowledge among university students may be inadequate for understanding what NNS are, if they consume NNS, or whether NNS are important for dietary health.

Evaluation of Sweetener Synergy in Humans by Isobole Analyses.

The chemical senses and pharmaceuticals fundamentally depend on similar biological processes, but novel molecule discovery has classically been approached from vastly different vantage points. From the perspective of ingredient and flavor companies, there are countless ingredients that act via largely unknown mechanisms, whereas the pharmaceutical industry has numerous mechanisms in search of novel compounds. Mixtures of agonists can result in synergistic (superadditive) responses, which can be quantified via isobole analysis, a well-proven clinical approach in pharmacology. For the food and beverage industries, bulk (caloric) sweeteners like sugars are a key ingredient in sweetened foods and beverages, but consumers also desire products with fewer calories, which has led to the development of sweet enhancers and sweetener blends intended to achieve synergy or superadditivity. Synergistic mixtures are highly attractive targets commercially as they enable lower usage levels and enhanced efficacy. Although the psychophysical literature contains numerous prior reports of sweetener synergy, others have also noted that classical additive models fail to account for nonlinear dose-response functions. To address this shortcoming, here we systematically apply the isobole method from pharmacology to quantify the presence or absence of psychophysical synergy for binary pairs of sweeteners in a series of 15 separate experiments, each with ~100 adult volunteers (total n = 1576). Generally, these data support the hypothesis that structurally similar sweeteners acting as agonists will not synergize, whereas structurally dissimilar sweeteners binding to overlapping or distal sites can act as allosteric agonists or agonist-antagonists, respectively.

U.S. sweeteners: Combating excess consumption with an excise tax?

AbstractObesity is a public health problem in the United States that has been linked to excess sweetener consumption. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends no more than 6–9 teaspoons/capita/day, while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends 200 calories/capita/day of caloric sweetener consumption. Both recommendations are well below the reported 2016 sweetener consumption levels. We quantify the input tax rates needed to reduce the current excess sweetener consumption level to the AHA and FDA recommended standards. We calculate the joint tax in the United States on two major sweeteners, sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), to be 31 and 24 cents per pound, respectively, based on the AHA standard, and 19 and 17 cents per pound, respectively, using the FDA standard. These taxes would be roughly the magnitude of the existing sugar and HFCS prices. In both cases, the tax incidence on producers is much smaller than on consumers. Our focus is very different from past studies in that it deals with the effect of taxes on inputs to meet the recommended target rather than a selective tax (sugar‐sweetened beverage tax). If a sweetener tax were implemented, U.S. sugar and HFCS producers would lose US$398–US$489 and US$683–US$844 million per year, respectively.

Xylitol's Health Benefits beyond Dental Health: A Comprehensive Review.

Xylitol has been widely documented to have dental health benefits, such as reducing the risk for dental caries. Here we report on other health benefits that have been investigated for xylitol. In skin, xylitol has been reported to improve barrier function and suppress the growth of potential skin pathogens. As a non-digestible carbohydrate, xylitol enters the colon where it is fermented by members of the colonic microbiota; species of the genus Anaerostipes have been reported to ferment xylitol and produce butyrate. The most common Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species do not appear to be able to grow on xylitol. The non-digestible but fermentable nature of xylitol also contributes to a constipation relieving effect and improved bone mineral density. Xylitol also modulates the immune system, which, together with its antimicrobial activity contribute to a reduced respiratory tract infection, sinusitis, and otitis media risk. As a low caloric sweetener, xylitol may contribute to weight management. It has been suggested that xylitol also increases satiety, but these results are not convincing yet. The benefit of xylitol on metabolic health, in addition to the benefit of the mere replacement of sucrose, remains to be determined in humans. Additional health benefits of xylitol have thus been reported and indicate further opportunities but need to be confirmed in human studies.

Variation in dietary intake and body fatness by socioeconomic status among women in the context of Costa Rican nutrition transitions.

The Nutrition Transition model posits that vegetable oils, animal source foods (ASFs) and caloric sweeteners contribute to increases in adiposity and hence body mass index. Body mass index (BMI) is increasing more rapidly among Latin American populations of low versus high socioeconomic status (SES). The objectives of this study among Costa Rican women were to: (1) compare indicators of adiposity and dietary intake by SES and (2) evaluate the relationship between intake of foods high in vegetable oils, ASFs or caloric sweeteners and body fatness. This cross-sectional study, conducted in 2014-2015, included 128 low-, middle- and high-SES non-pregnant, non-lactating women aged between 25 and 45 years with 1-4 live births. Anthropometry was used to assess BMI, body composition and body fat distribution. Dietary recalls (n = 379) were used to assess dietary intake. Percentage body fat was greater in low- versus high-SES women (31.5 ± 3.9 vs 28.2 ± 4.7%). Skinfold measurements at four sites on the upper and lower body were greater in low- versus high-SES women. Body mass index did not vary in low- versus high-SES women. Intake frequency of foods high in vegetable oils was greater in low- and middle- (1.8 and 1.8 times/day, respectively) versus high- (1.1 times/day) SES women. For individual foods, intake frequency varied significantly by SES for high-fat condiments, fried vegetables, dairy, sweetened coffee/tea and pastries and desserts. Intake frequency of Nutrition Transition food categories was not associated with percentage body fat after adjustment for energy intake. Indicators of body composition provide additional information beyond BMI that are useful in understanding SES-adiposity associations in Latin America. Approaches to understanding diet and adiposity in Latin America that focus on vegetable oils, ASFs and caloric sweeteners should consider within-country variation in the pace of the Nutrition Transition, especially when explaining variation in adiposity by SES.

Potential consumer exposures to low/no calorie sweeteners: a refined assessment based upon market intelligence on use frequency, and consideration of niche applications

ABSTRACT Data on current use levels of E950 acesulfame K, E952 cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts, E954 saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts, E955 sucralose and E957 thaumatin, have been collected by the European food and drink industry in response to an EFSA call for data in support of its upcoming review of low/no calorie sweeteners (LNCSs). Careful evaluation of these data is necessary to allow for reasonably realistic estimations of consumer intake. Consumer patterns of product use and in particular of “niche” products, which are not likely to represent general LNCS exposure, are important to consider. Market survey data can identify food categories where the frequency of use of a given LNCS is so low as to represent a niche use of the product. The subsequent incorporation of information about these niche products can provide a relevant improvement in obtaining realistic exposure calculations. Using this approach, estimates of exposure are found to be comparable with previously published papers on intake and show levels generally below current ADIs, for most population groups.