Sweeteners

Natural / Minimally Processed Sweeteners

Nutritive Sweeteners (NS) chart

Use in moderation since too much sugar can be detrimental to your health

The "old fashioned" nutritive sweeteners

Nutritive sweeteners consist of varying proportions of the 3 monosaccharides (glucose, fructose and galactose). Sucrose (table sugar) is a glucose molecule bonded to a fructose molecule, similarly, lactose (milk sugar) is a glucose + galactose, and maltose is a glucose + glucose.

Sugar's building blocks

To be able to make better sugar choices for health and weight control, it helps to know what happens to them after they enter your body:

Sugar absorption and metabolism

All nutritive sugars can be harmful to teeth and cause health problems if consumed to excess. They should therefore be used in moderation.

Cane sugar is preferable to beet sugar. Over 98% of beet sugar grown in N. America is now GMO.

Calculations in chart

This chart enables you to compare sugars based on their glycemic index (GI) / glycemic load (GL) and how many calories are consumed compared to 1 metric teaspoon of table sugar (sucrose)to obtain the equivalent amout of sweetness. (Table sugar has 15 calories and a Sweetness Index (SI) of 1)

Equivalent calories to equal 1 metric tsp. of sucrose sweetness is calculated as:

Cals./ tsp. (i.e. g/tsp * cals / g) Ã· Food's sweetness index (SI)

E.g. Equiv. cals for honey = 7.1 g/tsp. * 3 cals /g ÷ .94 = 21.3 cals / tsp ÷ .94 = 23

Equivalent # of teaspoons to equal 1 tsp. of sucrose sweetness is calculated as:

Equiv. cals. to equal sweetness of 1 tsp sucrose ÷ Cals. / tsp

E.g. Equiv. # of tsps. of honey = 23 equiv. cals. ÷ 21.3 cals / tsp. = 1 "good" tsp. 😊

Glycemic Load (GL) is calculated as:

Food's GI * (Grams of carbohydrates / serving size) /100

E.g. GL of sucrose = 65 * 4g /100 = 2.6

"Sugars" in last column gives the percentage of total sugars in the specific sweetener, not including moisture content.

Sucrose is the standard to which all other sweeteners are compared.

How is SI determined? The simplest method uses the discrimination method , which asks the tester to choose the sweetest between two samples (2-alternative forced choice or 2-AFC). This has not unexpectedly yielded different results from different test sources. The following chart lists the average findings.

Humans can recognize sweetness in about 1 or 2% sucrose solution. Coffee is typically sweetened to about the level of 5% sucrose. Soft drinks are usually about as sweet as 10% sucrose.

There are 4.02 grams (nutrition facts generally round this down to 4 g / tsp.) in 1 U.S. / metric teaspoon (5cc or 5 ml) of granulated table sugar. BTW - the Brits' definition of a teaspoon is whatever comes out of the cutlery drawer to stir their tea :)

A web search reveals varying figures for amounts of calories in sugar comparisons. This is mainly because people have different ideas on teaspoon size, do not account for different densities of sugars (which determines calories / teaspoon), and also round off numbers. Here, the calculations are specified.

The "Calorie" mentioned on a food package is actually a kilocalorie, or 1,000 calories. A Calorie (really kcal) is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius.

Chart of some natural Nutritive Sweeteners
SWEETENER	Equiv cals. to = 1 tsp. of sucrose sweetness	g/ tsp	Cal /g	Sweetness Index (SI): Sucrose = 1	Glyc. Index (GI)	Glyc. Load (GL)	Notes	Sugars / Production
Sucrose (Table sugar) (Domino's granulated; demerara brown)	15 cals (1 tsp. or 5cc)	4	3.75	1	65 +/-4	2.6	In honey, maple syrup, fruit, veg; Used in candies, desserts	Glycosidic/covalent bond links glucose and fructose molecules 50% glucose /50% fructose; from sugar cane or beet;
Confectioners sugar	16 cals	2.54	3.99				Used in candies, cakes etc.
Glucose (Dextrose; Grape sugar)	18 cals ( ~1 1/3 tsp)	4	3.33 3.8	0.74	100	5.2	Adds sweetness and texture to food; Used in hospital drips, vit C prod.	Monosaccharide; C₆H₁₂O₆ ; Body's main fuel;
Fructose (fruit sugar)	10 cals (~2/3 tsp)	4	3.66	1.5	19	0.5	In fruit/veg, HFCS; used in relatively minor amounts;	Monosaccharide; Digested differently to other sugars (excessive intake linked to several health problems); mostly From modified corn starch;
Galactose	38 cals (2 1/4 tsp)	4	4.2	0.44 0.3 .35 .6 .4-.6	25		In milk and dairy	Monosaccharide;
Lactose (milk sugar)	88 cals	4	4.2	0.19 0.15 .2 .16 .2-.3	45		In milk (but almost none in butter, cheese and yogurt)	Disaccharide; (glycosidic bond: glucose+galactose)
Maltose	56 (1/3 tsp)	4	4.2	0.3 .3-.5 .5 .32 .3-.4	105		In beer; used in bread-making; sold as syrup;	Disaccharide; glycosidic bond: (glucose+glucose) from germinated barley;
Trehalose (glucose+glucose)	37 cals (~ 1/2 tsp)	4	4.2	0.45	70		In mushrooms, honey, bread, beer, wine, 20% in shiitake mushrooms and baker's yeast; cocoon of the beetle Trehala manna (likely source of manna in OT);
Dehydrated/Evaporated natural sugar cane juice	16 cals (1 tsp)	4		1	43		Rapidura®; Sucanat® (contraction of sugar cane natural); burnt caramel taste;	Unrefined, crystallized cane sugar;
Muscovado Sugar							Moist; strong molasses flavor	Unrefined cane sugar w/ high molasses content
Turbinado sugar							light caramel flavor	from 1st pressing of sugar cane, retains some molasses;
Brown sugar								Brown sugar is refined white sugar w/ molasses added back in;
Demerara sugar							Crunchy grains; Toffee flavor	Boiled /dehydrated first-pressed sugar cane juice; retains some molasses
Coconut sugar
SWEETENER	Equiv cals. to =1 tsp. of sugar's sweetness	g/ tsp	Cal /g	Sweetness Index (SI): Glucose = 1	Glyc. Index (GI)	Glyc. Load (GL)	Notes	Sugars / Production
Raw Honey - "Natural antibiotic"	23 cals (~1 tsp) ( 7.1g/tsp * 3 cals/g =21.3 cals/tsp then Ã· .94 = 23) Equiv. tsp. is 23 Ã· 21.3	7.1	3	.94	55 +/-3	4		Natural sugar; Produced by bees from nectar; sugars: 43% glucose / 49% fructose /5% disaccharides (sucrose, maltose, isomaltose, maltulose, turanose and kojibiose)
Maple syrup	13 cals (1 tsp)	5	2.6	1 0.6	54			Natural sugar; boiled/evaporated maple sap; ~ 50% glucose /50% fructose
Blackstrap Molasses	17 cals (1 1/4 tsp)	7.1	2	0.85	55			Sugar extract
Barley malt syrup	40.6 (2 tsp)	7.1	2.86 3.2	0.5	45 42			Sugar extract; germinated barley;
Turbinado cane sugar								Natural sugar
Date sugar		4.56	3.3					Natural sugar
Golden syrup			1.1		60		Tate and Lyles Golden Syrup	49% fructose/49% glucose/10% other
Invert sugar					50		Used in food industry; soft centers of candies, marzipan, liqueurs; helps preserves foods; prevents crystallization /drying out;	Made from sucrose; draws water; 45% glucose /45% fructose (unbound) /10% other;

Chart of Highly-refined / MODIFIED sugar (Enzyme-converted starch) Nutritive sweeteners
SWEETENER	Equiv cals to =1 tsp. of sugar's sweetness	g / tsp	Cal / g	Sweetness Index (SI): Glucose = 1	Glyc. Index (GI)	Glyc. Load (GL)	Found /Used in	Sugars / Production
High fructose corn syrup						1		Made from corn starch
HFCS-42 42% fructose	27	6.75	4	1	58		Beverages, processed foods, cereals, baked goods	42% fructose / 52% glucose
HFCS-55 55% fructose	24	6.75	4	1.1	68		soft drinks	55% fructose / 41% glucose
Corn syrup /glucose syrup				30-40	100			Glucose + oligoglucose (short chains of glucose)
Corn syrup solids				23-40	100			Dehydrated corn syrup
Agave syrup / nectar	13.5 (1/2+ tsp)	7.1	2.86	1.5	12.5			Up to 92% fructose; highly refined
Brown rice syrup	32		4 2.6	0.5	25-98			Enzymes used to breakdown starch in cooked brown rice; metabolizes to 100% glucose
Maltodextrin				6-21	100		Additive in processed foods	Longer glucose chains than corn syrup; Made from corn, potato starch, rice, wheat

References

https://www.aqua-calc.com/calculate/food-volume-to-weight

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