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What You Need To Know About 9 Types Of Sweeteners

Which has more calories, xylitol or honey? How sweet is sucralose? The low-down on sugar's many doppelgängers.
By Diana Duong
What You Need To Know About 9 Types Of Sweeteners

Image, Casie Wilson.

Sugar, by many other names

Sucralose

An artificial sweetener 600 times sweeter than sugar. Has no calories.

What You Need To Know About 9 Types Of Sweeteners

Corn syrup

Made from cornstarch. It’s essentially 100 percent glucose.

What You Need To Know About 9 Types Of Sweeteners

Date sugar

Made from ground dried dates. It doesn’t dissolve or melt.

What You Need To Know About 9 Types Of Sweeteners

Honey

Essentially a sugar solution. It has more calories than table sugar.

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What You Need To Know About 9 Types Of Sweeteners

Xylitol

A sugar alcohol with one-third fewer calories than sugar. It’s often found in breath mints and gum.

What You Need To Know About 9 Types Of Sweeteners

Agave nectar

Derived from the plant that also produces tequila. It contains up to 90 percent fructose.

What You Need To Know About 9 Types Of Sweeteners

Aspartame

Often rumoured to be poisonous and carcinogenic, but studies have found it safe, except for people with a rare genetic disease.

What You Need To Know About 9 Types Of Sweeteners

Saccharin

One of the first artificial sweeteners, but approved as an additive by Health Canada only in 2014.

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What You Need To Know About 9 Types Of Sweeteners

Coconut palm sugar

Made from sap from the coconut tree. It has a lower glycemic index than sugar but the same number of calories.

What You Need To Know About 9 Types Of Sweeteners

More:
Sugar and diabetes: What you should know
6 easy ways to cut sugar from your diet — and still be happy The Difference Between Sweet and Sour Cherries

 

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