A Natural Alternative Sweetener

Posted by Stephanie Gallagher Feb 2, 2007

I don't normally endorse artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes.

For one thing, I grew up just as studies came out linking saccharin to cancer.

Two, I hate the idea of eating food that's been created in a lab.

And three -- and most importantly -- studies conducted by Dr. Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating and director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, showed that people tend to consume more calories when they think they are eating something healthy.

Wansink's studies focused on low-fat foods and foods with health claims like "heart healthy," but the effect is the same: When we eat so-called "light" foods, we tend to eat more of them.

Eating six artificially-sweetened brownies may not give you sugar, but you're consuming more calories than if you just had one really good sugar-sweetened brownie. The end result: You gain weight.

In my mind, all of this can be prevented by just eating sugar in moderation.

But on occasion, something crosses my desk that passes my "first do no harm" test, and in this case, it's a sugar alternative called Zsweet.

Made from erythritol, a natural sugar alcohol that has been part of the human diet for thousands of years, Zsweet is not only completely natural, it has no calories, does not increase blood sugar and has a zero glycemic effect on the body. That makes it safe for diabetics. It's also free of digestive problems --something other sugar alcohols like Maltitol cannot claim.

And Zsweet is suitable for baking -- my chocolate raspberry browines and dark chocolate brownies with almonds turned out great with Zsweet.

My only caveat: If you're going to use Zsweet, treat it like sugar in your mind. Yes, cookies will have less calories when made with Zsweet, but they certainly aren't calorie-free. Especially if you eat three times as many as you would have if you thought they were made with sugar.

You can buy Zsweet online and at some Whole Foods Stores.