Aspartame can be useful on the keto diet, adding some sweetness to your food while providing only 1 gram of carbs per 1-gram serving packet. As it doesn’t raise your blood sugar, it likely won’t affect ketosis.

Acesulfame-K (Ace-K) is one of the major low-calorie artificial sweeteners in the modern diet. Although its toxicity data reported to date are considered inadequate [19], previous studies have found that Ace-K is genotoxic and can inhibit glucose fermentation by intestinal bacteria [20, 21].

Share on Pinterest Acesulfame potassium may be an ingredient in a number of beverages. Acesulfame potassium — also known as acesulfame K, or ace K — is an artificial sweetener. It is around 200 times sweeter than sugar and is used to give food and drinks a sweet taste without adding calories ( 2 ).

It’s up to 200 times sweeter than table sugar, but acesulfame potassium has a sour reputation. Also known as acesulfame K or Ace-K, the ingredient is a calorie-free sweetener found in sugar-free products.

Acesulfame K contains the carcinogen methylene chloride. Long-term exposure to methylene chloride can cause headaches, depression, nausea, mental confusion, liver effects, kidney effects, visual disturbances, and cancer in humans.

Effects of Artificial Sweeteners on Your Teeth Unlike regular sugar, artificial sweeteners are considered non-cariogenic, meaning that they don’t contribute to tooth decay, as the IJBCP study points out. An article in the British Dental Journal also notes that sucralose, in particular, has no effect on tooth decay.

Acesulfame-K — “safe It’s a good artificial sweetener to bake with, because it can retain its sweetness even at high temperatures. And it’s 200 times sweeter than sugar. According to the FDA, more than 90 studies suggest that Acesulfame-K is safe for general use.

Structurally, acesulfame potassium contains a sulfite (SO3) moiety, and the subject has a history of hypersensitivity to (sulfite containing) red wine, sulfonamides, presumeably taurine, and various foods.

Stevia is probably the healthiest option, followed by xylitol, erythritol, and yacon syrup. Natural sugars like maple syrup, molasses, and honey are less harmful than regular sugar and even have health benefits.

Sparkling ICE is bad for you. It contains toxic ingredients that negatively affect the body. Carbonation causes additional problems, such as bowel irritation, heartburn, and aggravating stomach ulcers.

The best and safest sugar substitutes are erythritol, xylitol, stevia leaf extracts, and neotame—with some caveats: Erythritol: Large amounts (more than about 40 or 50 grams or 10 or 12 teaspoons) of this sugar alcohol sometimes cause nausea, but smaller amounts are fine.

Though widely available throughout the world, in 1991 stevia was banned in the U.S. due to early studies that suggested the sweetener may cause cancer. In December 2008, the FDA accepted this argument, declared stevia GRAS, and allowed its use in mainstream U.S. food production.

In terms of taste, stevia is 200-300 times sweeter than regular table sugar. Stevia’s advantage over regular table sugar or artificial sweeteners are similar to the advantages of monk fruit – zero calories, zero carbs, zero sugars.

Top sugar substitutes and sweeteners

• Coconut sugar.
• Honey.
• Monk fruit extracts (brand names: Nectresse, PureLo)
• Date paste.
• Maple syrup.
• Stevia extracts (brand names: Pure Via, Truvia, SweetLeaf)
• Sucralose (brand name: Splenda) Type: Artificial sweetener.
• Xylitol (brand names: XyloSweet, Ideal, PolySweet) Type: Sugar alcohol.

The worst sweeteners include artificial sweeteners like sucralose, saccharin and aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, agave, and brown rice syrup. It’s best to avoid these sweeteners, if possible.

The stevia plant contains several sweet-tasting compounds known as steviol glycosides, which have been estimated to be 200-300 times as sweet as sugar. This includes brand names like Truvia and Stevia in the Raw (made by the manufacturer of Sweet’N Low) and specialty drinks like Zevia.

Monk Fruit Taste Most people find monk fruit to have a fruity taste and describe it as less bitter than other natural sweeteners, like Stevia.

“Allulose allows stevia to reach higher sugar reduction levels, and it improves taste quality and can reduce overall sweetener costs.” High-intensity sweeteners (HIS) like stevia tend to plateau in sweetness intensity and concentration, he added.

Erythritol side effects typically include digestive problems and diarrhea. It may also cause bloating, cramps, and gas. Additionally, erythritol and other sugar alcohols frequently result in more water in the intestines, causing diarrhea. Nausea and headaches may occur as well.

Although stevia may support beneficial bacteria, it appears that erythritol promotes neither “good” nor “bad” intestinal bacteria. See also: What is Gut Microbiota? Researchers found that erythritol is resistant to fermentation by a range of microbiota from human guts.

In the case of monk fruit sweeteners, there are no known side effects. The Food and Drug Administration has deemed monk fruit “generally recognized as safe (GRAS)” for everyone, including pregnant women and children.

Some studies have shown that having high levels of erythritol in your blood can lead to an increase in overall weight, belly fat, and changes in body composition.

Some research has even suggested these low-calorie or zero-calorie alternative sweeteners may have the unintended side effect of causing an increase in body weight. One of the most recent sugar substitutes to come out on the wrong side of a medical study about weight loss is erythritol.

Non-nutritive sweeteners, also called sugar substitutes, contain few or no calories and sugar. This means they won’t raise your blood sugar or impact ketosis,” says Sofia Norton, RD and writer. The best non-nutritive sweeteners are natural ones like stevia, monk fruit, and erythritol.

Refined stevia preparations (Pure Via, Truvia, others) are considered nonnutritive sweeteners — they have virtually no calories — and so may appeal to people trying to lose weight. If you eat too many sugar-free foods, you can still gain weight if these foods have other ingredients that contain calories.

No Calories or Cavities Stevia itself, as well as Truvia, has virtually no calories. Additionally, because stevia is many times sweeter than table sugar and most other sweeteners, you’ll use much less. No calories means that stevia-based products could be a helpful part of a weight loss plan.

Newer sweeteners, such as stevia (Truvia, Pure Via) have been approved as “generally recognized as safe” in the isolated chemical form. The FDA has not approved stevia leaves or “crude stevia extracts” for use as food additives.

Adding too much Truvia to foods may cause an upset stomach in some people. More importantly, Truvia may alter the body’s natural metabolic response to sweets. That is, when you consume Truvia, the sweet taste can activate sugar receptors to prime your body to metabolize or break down the sweetener.

Truvia is an almost calorie-free sweetener that does not affect blood sugar or insulin levels and exhibits few — if any — side effects for most people. In that regard, it is arguably better for your health than sugar.