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    SUGAR FREE TIPS


    Source of Recipe


    ???

    List of Ingredients




    Here are a few baking tips suggested by the makers of
    Splenda that
    may help you convert some of your favorite recipes for
    baking:

    * For recipes that call for creaming together butter and
    sugar, beat
    the mixture a little longer when using a substitute to
    incorporate
    lots of air, which results in a fluffier texture.

    * Store the baked products in a refrigerator. When well
    wrapped,
    they'll last longer.

    * Baked goods with little or no sugar will not brown in the
    same way.
    A tablespoon of molasses or cocoa powder per cup of
    substitute will
    help achieve a golden finish.

    * Recipes using a substitute will often cook more quickly.
    For cakes,
    check about 5 to 7 minutes sooner than the original recipe
    calls for
    and 2 to 3 minutes for cookies.

    * For cake recipes, add 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder for
    every cup
    of granular substitute.

    * For cookies, add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda for every cup of
    substitute
    used.

    * In muffins and quick breads, the addition of 1 to 2
    tablespoons of
    honey or molasses will add moisture as well as flavor.


    Recipe



    Artificial sweeteners aren't all calorie-free

    May 14, 2002

    BY JUDITH BLAKE
    SEATTLE TIMES

    "SUGAR-FREE," shouts the package of vanilla-cream sandwich
    cookies in the supermarket.

    So what makes them taste sweet? And does sugar-free mean the

    sweetener is calorie-free?

    Unless you're unusually tuned in to the world of sugar
    substitutes, you might not recognize one of the
    ingredients, maltitol syrup, as the sweetener in these
    cookies.

    And no, maltitol -- a sugar alcohol -- is not calorie-free,
    as you
    might expect, although it has somewhat fewer calories than
    sugar and won't rot your teeth.

    The estimated 163 million Americans who consume foods or
    drinks made with sugar substitutes could be excused for
    being a little foggy about those substitutes because
    they're numerous and often are hard to find in the
    ingredients list.

    But it doesn't hurt to clue yourself in about sweeteners,
    especially if you're among those who choose sugar-free
    treats over sugared ones to help control your weight or, if
    diabetic, your blood sugar.

    The varied traits of sugar substitutes affect how they're
    used in
    processed foods and in your kitchen, as well as their
    potential
    impact on health -- a point of long-running controversy in
    some cases.

    Soon, more nonsugar sweeteners could show up on store
    shelves. The FDA is reviewing two new ones, neotame and
    alitame, for possible approval -- as well as possible
    reinstatement of the once-approved, then banned, cyclamate.

    Of the three, neotame appears closest to approval, say
    knowledgeable observers, though the FDA does not reveal
    expected timing on such
    actions.

    Neotame is closely related to aspartame, an artificial
    sweetener used in thousands of food products, especially
    soft drinks. But because of a slight chemical difference --
    use of a different amino acid from
    one in aspartame -- the body metabolizes neotame
    differently.

    What's the difference?

    The difference is significant, says Adam Drewnowski,
    director of
    nutritional science at the University of Washington and a
    researcher
    in artificial sweeteners. Once in the body, he says, neotame
    does not
    break down into phenylalanine, an amino acid that's harmful
    to people
    with the rare disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) -- a problem
    with
    aspartame.

    Neotame is the sweetest of all known sweeteners -- 8,000
    times
    sweeter than sugar, Drewnowski says. "So you would use tiny,
    tiny,
    tiny amounts."

    To achieve the same level of sweetness in a can of
    carbonated soft
    drink containing 35,000 milligrams of sugar, he says, you'd
    need 186
    milligrams of aspartame or 124 milligrams of the sweetener
    saccharin,
    but fewer than 5 milligrams of neotame.

    As for the related sweetener alitame, the FDA has requested
    additional scientific documentation from its developers.

    The agency continues to review cyclamate, which was marketed
    in the
    1960s, then banned in 1970 as a possible cause of bladder
    cancer. The
    FDA says that because subsequent studies have not confirmed
    that
    link, it's considering a petition to re-approve cyclamate.

    Nutrition experts bring wide-ranging opinions to the subject
    of sugar
    and sugar substitutes. If you're diabetic, the American
    Diabetes
    Association no longer says you must completely avoid sugar,
    as long
    as you're able to maintain an appropriate blood-glucose
    level through
    overall diet, insulin or medications.

    Yet for diabetics with a sweet tooth, the ADA says
    artificial
    sweeteners can provide a pleasurable taste of sweet without
    sugar's
    blood-glucose-raising impact.

    Theoretically, calorie-free artificial sweeteners such as
    aspartame,
    saccharin, acesulfame-K and sucralose can help you control
    your
    weight. Yet in some treats, the calories from fat or other
    ingredients may offset the savings from avoiding sugar.

    As many have pointed out, Americans are growing more obese
    even as
    sugar-free foods proliferate.

    Drewnowski believes the best use of calorie-free sweeteners
    is in
    soft drinks, where there are no, or few, added calories from
    other
    ingredients.

    Dori Khakpour, research nutrition coordinator with the
    University of
    Washington's Diabetes Care Center, gives her vote to
    sweeteners that
    (unlike white sugar or artificial sweeteners) have at least
    some
    nutritive value. Among them: molasses and sucanat, a blend
    of
    molasses and evaporated sugar-cane juice. These aren't
    calorie-free,
    however, so limited use is the way to go, she says. They can
    also
    raise blood-glucose levels.

    Among artificial sweeteners, Khakpour prefers sucralose
    (brand name
    Splenda) because it's not absorbed by the body. She says
    this
    virtually eliminates any possibility of the headaches or
    other side
    effects some consumers tie to aspartame.




 

 

 


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