Sugar Alcohols

Sugar alcohols, a class of polyols, are commonly added to foods because of their lower caloric content than sugars. However, they are also, in general, less sweet, and are often combined with sugar substitutes. Excessive consumption can result in the need for excessive quality time in the bathroom, so pay careful attention to that Halloween candy you'll get in a few days.

This week, a look at sugar alcohols.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered." - Sir Tom Stoppard, (British Academy Award winning screenwriter and Tony Award winning playwright, 1937 - )

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Sugar Substitutes

The first artificial sweetener, saccharin, was discovered in 1878 by a scientist who failed to wash his hands before dinner and noticed that his fingers tasted sweet. Other sugar substitutes have also been discovered simply because scientists licked their fingers while testing a new drug or smoked a cigarette that was placed near a sweet-tasting compound. Poor personal hygiene has been the dieting industry's windfall.

Since then, a bevy of others have been produced and used around the world. The consumption of low-calorie sweeteners continues to increase, with consumer demand for low-calorie foods and beverages the major force behind this growth. The increasing interest in a health-conscious lifestyle and advances in food technology are pushing the development of more and better tasting low-calorie foods and beverages.

Depending on whom you talk with, sugar substitutes also go by the terms low-calorie sweeteners, non-nutritive sweeteners, intense sweeteners, high intensity sweeteners, high potency sweeteners, artificial sweeteners or alternative sweeteners. So many names, so little time.

This week, a look at sugar substitutes.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "There is no formula for success, except perhaps an unconditional acceptance of life and what it brings." - Arthur Rubinstein (Polish-American pianist who is widely considered as one of the greatest piano virtuosi of the 20th century, 1887 - 1982)

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Caloric Sweeteners

Ingredients added to foods and beverages for the sweetness they impart also add functionality. From altering the mouth feel and viscosity to enhancing flavor and humectant properties, sweeteners offer a range of function for every conceivable food or beverage product. Sweetness is something people crave and seek out, and manufacturers are more than willing to supply it.

While probably not many consumers spend much time contemplating their intake of sucrose versus other caloric sweeteners, there are many technical differences and functional considerations regarding the various types of sweeteners available for food and beverage use. We’ll break it down three ways: caloric, sugar substitutes and polyols (better known as sugar alcohols).

Thirty years ago, sugar was the primary sweetener in America’s kitchens and in the products that lined the pantry. This week, we look at caloric sweeteners.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "No man or woman who tries to pursue an ideal in his or her own way is without enemies." - Daisy Lee Gatson Bates (American civil rights leader, journalist, publisher, and author, 1914 - 1999)

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An Inconvenient Bag

The green giveaway of the moment -- the reusable shopping bag -- is a case study in how tricky it is to make products environmentally friendly. Just as digital music downloads were the giveaway of choice last year, reusable shopping bags are the new "it" freebie. The Sundance Institute gave out 12,000 fabric bags at its annual film festival earlier this year. Elisa Camahort Page, cofounder of BlogHer, an online community for women bloggers, says she even gave away 150 reusable bags to guests at her wedding last year.

But where do these bags come from? And are they as good for us as they seem? This week, we look at reusable shopping bags.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." - Leonardo da Vinci (an Italian polymath, having been a scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer, 1452 – 1519)

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The Smell of Coffee

It's amusing to discover that coffee was once touted as a ground-breaking treatment for the Plague in 18th century Europe. Okay, so it didn't work, but look at what it can do.

Its been nothing but roses over the last year for us coffee drinkers needing a scientific reason to validate our habit. The past 365 days have yielded no less than four separate studies on the beneficial health effects of drinking coffee: reducing the risk of liver cancer, protection from age-related memory decline, cutting the risk of colon cancer in half, and caffeine plus exercise might contribute to lower risk of skin cancer.

This week, we look at a study that shows even just the smell of freshly brewed coffee can help relieve stress, something I've known all along.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative." - H. G. Wells (English author, historian, & utopian, 1866 - 1946)

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