Who does not have a sweet craving when happy or when in stress? The truth is, we all feel like eating something sweet when stressed out or too happy. This is a general tendency of humans because consuming sweets gives pleasure to our satiety center and makes us feel better. Even on hearing the mouth watering Indian sweets name or a reference to a sweet, salivation is often a common result, especially if you have a sweet tooth.
But alas, when we visit a dietician for weight management, sweets names are the first things they eliminate from the diet. No wonder the added calories that refined sugar induces in the body are potentially harmful to us. With the growing incidences of Diabetes Mellitus, it has become almost like a mandate to avoid consuming sweets.
Truth About Sugar-Free Sweets
But what about our insatiable wish to consume something sweet and feed the soul and body with pleasure? Yes, something healthy yet tasty in sweets and sweets names has finally come up, and that is called sugar-free sweets. Taking sugar-free sweets names and sugarless candies are among some of the most revolutionary food items sneaking at our tables.
Sugar-free sweets are composed of artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes. They create a sweet sensation in the mouth but do not use refined white sugar. We experience the sweetness in our mouths that fill our minds and soul with satisfaction, pleasure, and inevitable happiness. Sugar substitutes in sugar-free sweets and candies are low in calories and carbohydrates. Yes, they successfully eradicate the problems with white sugar. But, unlike what they claim, these artificial sweeteners are not totally calorie or carbohydrate-free.
You might be thinking, what is it that tastes like sugar but doesn’t force calories or carbs in your body? Well, the answer is there are a couple of artificial sweeteners that are most commonly used in preparing these sugar-free sweets and sweets name are: Saccharin, Aspartame, Sucralose, and some other types of sugar alcohols like maltitol, lactitol xylitol, and sorbitol. Recently, another popular sugar substitute has come our way called Stevia. It is a non-alcoholic and artificial sugar substitute prepared from the leaf extracts of a plant called the Candy Leaf plant.
Sweets prepared with sugar substitutes are not all good for your health. Some of them contain carbohydrates, while some do not contain any calories or carbohydrates. The ones with traces of carbs can get converted into sugars when they enter the body. The best way to avoid mishaps is to always check the product’s labels before purchasing.
Most sugar-free sweets contain sorbitol or xylitol. These are not harmful to the body because they do not increase blood sugar. However, a few others may contain carbohydrates and can enhance the blood sugar level on consumption.
How Does Artificial Sweeteners Affect Our Body?
One prevalent misconception about sugar-free sweets is that sugar-free sweets and candies mean unlimited consumption. This is one of the biggest myths. Sugar-free sweets should be consumed only when you cannot resist your cravings for sweets, which is once in a while, and never regularly. Though sugar-free sweets do not contain sucrose, they contain high doses of calories and trans fat. Saturated trans-fat is extremely harmful to the body in all respects. You must also pay attention to the sweets name and their serving size of the sugar-free.
This is not healthy food. Fruits, vegetables, pulses, and animal and plant-based proteins obtained from organic sources are healthy foods. Anything that is processed is already labeled as unhealthy. You cannot consume a lot of such sweets simply because they are sugar-free. No food comes without macronutrients. Consuming such food can be highly unhealthy if you are on a weight management journey.
On the other hand, artificial sweeteners or sugar-free sweets also have sound effects on the body. They prevent sudden blood glucose spikes and are a better option to meet sugar cravings. They are also good for preventing tooth decay, which is a serious side effect of sweets..
Do Sugar-Free sweets make the Sweet Lovers Happy?
One pertinent problem many people face with artificial sweeteners is that there is hardly any satisfaction after eating sugar-free sweets. You will often hear people saying that they are not enjoying it. The core reason is that artificial sugar substitutes cannot activate the food reward pathway. So, they are not able to stimulate the satiety center properly. Artificial sweeteners also enhance appetite and can lead to overconsumption of food which is harmful causing unnecessary weight gain.
Indian sweets’ names are known for their incredible taste. In India, it is customary to consume sweets during special or auspicious days. Since a majority of the Indian population is down with Diabetes mellitus, there is a huge demand for sugar-free sweets. Using sugar substitutes in the sweets does not make Indian sweets any healthier.
The primary reason is that the basal constituent of Indian sweets is refined flour and clarified butter, both of which are bad for health. Not only do they pose a serious threat to your body fat percentage, but they are also laden with carbohydrates which becomes detrimental to health. Sweets and sweet names are not good for the body; there is no greater truth than this. However, this does not imply that we can never consume them. But you have to get rid of the extra calories by exercising or skipping carbs for the next few days. Sugar-free sweets are beneficial for health but have certain major side effects and limitations.
