The laxative effect of xylitol is so pronounced in fact that it’s actually part of the chemical makeup of some over-the-counter laxatives. Even though these sweeteners have been on the market for decades, pregnant and breastfeeding women should select other natural sweeteners instead, since their safety is not known in these situations.

Select darker, grade B maple syrups, as they contain more beneficial antioxidants than the lighter syrups. Most people have heard about the benefits of coconut water, coconut milk, coconut flour and, of course, fresh coconut. Now, more and more people are using coconut sugar as their natural sweetener of choice because of its low glycemic load and rich mineral content. Another popular one is sucralose, which is 600 times sweeter than sugar and may contribute to an addiction for overly sweet foods and drinks. A study published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health found that cooking with sucralose at high temperatures can generate dangerous chloropropanols — a toxic class of compounds.If want to lose weight, or you’re trying to keep your blood glucose levels stable, you may want to know whether artificial sweeteners could help. If you browse around your local supermarket, you’ll see a huge range of sweeteners on offer, so it can be baffling to know which, if any, to go for. So in this section we'll take you through: Keep in mind that erythritol is much less likely to cause digestive issues than other sugar alcohols such as xylitol ( 8). One of the most useful ways of grouping sweeteners is to look at those that have nutritive value, ie nutritive sweeteners, and those without nutritive value, ie non-nutritive or ‘low-calorie’ sweeteners. Nutritive sweeteners We’re a cash and carry wholesale sweet provider, offering everything you can possibly imagine, from: boiled and fizzy sweets to candy canes and chocolate. Better still, we even offer sweets tailored to specific dietary requirements like halal, vegan, sugar-free and gluten-free to name a few. So no matter what you need, you’ll literally feel like a kid in a sweet-shop. Polyols are usually used in products marketed as ‘diabetic’ or ‘suitable for diabetics’and, as these products can be as high in fat and calories as standard products, Diabetes UK and the European Commission Regulations don’t recommend them. Consuming large amounts of polyols can have a laxative effect, causing bloating, flatulence and diarrhoea. Non-nutritive or artificial sweeteners

First, over-ripe bananas are the best to use when replacing refined sugar in recipes. They are sweeter and puree well. Although there’s limited research on the effects of monk fruit in humans, it’s generally considered safe and hasn’t been associated with any negative side effects ( 22).Sugar alcohols, also known as polyols, are a type of carbohydrate naturally found in fruits and vegetables ( 10).