Nutrition 101 Video Series: The Lowdown on Low-Calorie Sweeteners

This is the fourth installment of our video series in partnership with Osmosis, a group that focuses on health science education, highlighting the basics of several nutrition topics. The Nutrition 101 series also includes videos on dietary fats, carbohydrates, sugars and hydration. Most people love sweet foods. Originally, sweetness was nature’s way of identifying energy-dense foods that were safe to eat. This was particularly important throughout the long history of our species when food was scarce. But times have changed and nowadays, sweetness is mostly associated with the sugars added to foods and drinks. Unfortunately, many people consume too many calories from these sorts of added sugars. Over time, consuming more calories than the body needs can contribute to the onset of chronic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or cardiovascular disease. Low-calorie sweeteners can satisfy our taste buds while reducing the calories we eat from sugar. The good news is that randomized controlled trials have shown that replacing full-calorie foods and beverages with low-calorie sweetened versions can lead to modest weight loss, as long as the individual doesn’t overindulge on additional calories from other sources say, by ordering dessert because they had a diet soda with dinner. Low-calorie sweeteners don’t raise blood glucose or insulin levels, so they can help people with diabetes control their blood sugar and reduce the amount of total sugars they consume each day. Some low- and no-calorie sweeteners, like stevia and monk fruit extracts, come from plants. Others, like aspartame, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium are man-made. It’s important to note that all of them are sweeter than sugar, which means that only tiny amounts are needed to equal the sweetness of sugar. As a result, low-calorie sweeteners are often blended with carbohydrates like dextrose and maltodextrin or the sugar alcohol erythritol when […]

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Everything You Need To Know About Acesulfame Potassium

What is acesulfame potassium? Acesulfame potassium is a no-calorie sweetener that is used in foods and beverages to provide sweetness without the added calories contained in sugars. While some types of sweeteners are considered no-calorie (e.g., acesulfame potassium, monk fruit sweeteners, stevia sweeteners and sucralose) and others are low-calorie (e.g., aspartame), this category of ingredients is often collectively referred to as artificial sweeteners, high-intensity sweeteners, low-calorie sweeteners, low- and no-calorie sweeteners, nonnutritive sweeteners or sugar substitutes. Originally developed by German researchers in 1967, acesulfame potassium was first approved for use in Europe in 1983. Five years later, in 1988, it was approved in the U.S. Today, it is often used in combination with other low- and no-calorie sweeteners, such as aspartame and sucralose, to provide a more sugar-like taste than acesulfame potassium provides on its own. Like other low- and no-calorie sweeteners, acesulfame potassium is intensely sweet. It is about 200 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar), so only small amounts are used to match the sweetness provided by sugar. Acesulfame potassium retains its sweetness at a wide range of temperatures and in many food-processing conditions, which allows it to be used as an ingredient in a variety of food products, including baked goods, beverages, candies, chocolates, dairy products, desserts, and more. When acesulfame potassium is used as an ingredient in a packaged food or beverage, it will appear in the ingredient list for that product as either Ace-K, acesulfame K, or acesulfame potassium. Acesulfame potassium is also used as an ingredient in some tabletop sweeteners. The most common brand of sweetener in the U.S. that contains acesulfame potassium is Equal® Original. What happens to acesulfame potassium after consumption? Acesulfame potassium provides sweet taste quickly after it is consumed. Eventually, it is completely absorbed into our blood from the gut, […]

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Enjoy a Variety of Food? Thank a Pollinator.

Imagine a beautiful, orange Monarch butterfly flying around your garden. Do you know why it’s there? Do you know what would happen if it wasn’t there? Probably not. But, this beautiful butterfly can pollinate all of the flowers in your garden and make it possible for more flowers to grow! Pollination is how we get seeds. Seeds give us many of the flowers, fruits, vegetables and plants we love. The pollination process involves pollen from one type of flower (specifically from the flower’s anther, or male part) being transferred to another flower (specifically to the female stigma). The result is flowers producing seeds! How do pollinators pollinate? More than 20,000 wild bee species and countless species of butterflies, flies, wasps, moths, beetles, birds, bats, and many other animals are pollinators who help support the foundation of our food supply. When a pollinator such as the Monarch butterfly needs a meal, it flies over to the nearest flower to obtain nectar or protein-packed pollen that provides the butterfly with energy. Food (nectar and pollen) is the clear driver for a butterfly to visit a garden or field of flowers. However, many flowers may also use specific scents, colors, and petal shapes to attract pollinators. While the butterfly is eating, pollen grains can attach to the outside of the butterfly and stick to its body. When the butterfly flies away from the flower, it carries this pollen on itself and when it lands on another flower (of the same species) it is able to fertilize it via a pollen transfer. This type of pollination is called cross-pollination. So, fundamentally, when a pollinator takes pollen from the male anther of a flower to another flower, there is a chance that this pollen will fall off into the new flower’s stigma, which may result in […]

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2021 IFIC Food & Health Survey

The 2021 Food and Health Survey marks the 16th time the International Food Information Council (IFIC) has surveyed Americans to understand their perceptions, beliefs and behaviors around food and food purchasing decisions. This year’s survey continues an examination of issues related to health and nutrition, eating patterns, food production and food safety. It also explores timely issues such as the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating and shopping habits, viewpoints on environmental and social sustainability and shifting perspectives on what it means for a food or eating pattern to be “healthy.” Download the 2021 Survey Generational Profiles: View the 2021 Food & Health Survey Highlights on Sustainability and COVID-19: Past Survey Results: 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | Suggested citation for the 2021 Food and Health Survey: International Food Information Council. 2021 Food & Health Survey. 19 May 2021. [  

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Is Label Literacy a Key to Healthier Food Choices?

FOR RELEASE: 10 a.m. EST, January 24, 2018 Download the Survey (PDF) (Washington, D.C.) —Health-related factors have a significant impact on the foods people buy. With the seemingly overwhelming number of products on shelves, a new survey offers insights into which information on food labels is most influential — and on how additional information might lead to healthier dietary choices. According to the survey, conducted by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation and the American Heart Association, almost all Americans (95 percent) report that they always or sometimes look for healthy options when food shopping. Consumers say they are more likely to consult food labels for healthfulness when buying a product for the first time. However, there is a gap between consumers’ desire to find information about healthy foods and their ability to do so. Only a little more than one-quarter (28 percent) say it’s easy to find healthy foods, while 11 percent say it’s difficult, and the remainder report it is only moderately easy. “We know consumers are making efforts to eat healthier,” said Joseph Clayton, CEO of the IFIC Foundation. “But our research indicates that their ability to locate the information they find most helpful can be a barrier to making healthier choices. Even subtle changes to food labels could have a positive impact on public health.” When it comes to the wide array of sources where consumers get information about the healthfulness of foods—whether in-store, online or in other marketing statements—the Nutrition Facts panel was the top source (69 percent), followed by the ingredients list (67 percent), according to the survey. More consumers primarily consulted labels for ingredients they were seeking (45 percent) than for ingredients they were avoiding (31 percent). Consumers indicate they pay a lot of attention to health-related iconography currently on food labels, […]

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What You Need to Know About Farmers Markets and Food Safety

Summer time calls for barbecue, time at the pool and beach vacations. For any of these occasions, you may want to enjoy a nice slice of watermelon, a big bowl of strawberries, or a tall glass of lemonade. Where can you get the foods you need to have these summer delicacies? Why your local farmers market, of course! Farmers markets are quite popular across America with more than 8,500 farmers markets listed in USDA’s National Farmers Market Directory. While local supermarkets and shopping centers offer a wide variety of fruits and vegetables (fresh, canned and frozen), in the summer, many folks like to visit a neighborhood farmers market to support local farmers and shop for seasonal goodies. If food safety concerns are keeping you from enjoying the bounty of a farmers market, look no further. We’ve got the answers to some questions you may have about shopping at a farmers market.   Do I need to take the same, less, or more precaution when buying produce from a farmers market versus a supermarket? The same precautions should be taken when buying produce from a farmers market as when you make similar purchases at the supermarket. Whether a farmers bounty is sold at the grocery store or the supermarket, farmers must follow United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safety regulations to grow and harvest crops. Safe food handling is an important practice for consumers no matter where they buy their fruits and veggies. Dr. Judy Harrison, professor at the University of Georgia, states,  “It is important to remember that whether food is grown in your own back yard or whether it is grown thousands of miles away, it must be handled in a way that keeps it safe all the […]

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Contributions of Processed Foods to Dietary Intake in the US from 2003-2008: A report of the Food and Nutrition Science Solutions Joint Task Force of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Society for Nutrition, Institute of Food Technologists, and International Food Information Council

Processed foods are an integral part of American diets, but a comparison of the nutrient contribution of foods by level of processing with the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans regarding nutrients to encourage or to reduce has not been documented. The mean reported daily dietary intakes of these nutrients and other components were examined among 25,351 participants ≥2 y of age in the 2003-2008 NHANES to determine the contribution of processed food to total intakes. Also examined was the percent contribution of each nutrient to the total reported daily nutrient intake for each of the 5 categories of food that were defined by the level of processing. All processing levels contributed to nutrient intakes, and none of the levels contributed solely to nutrients to be encouraged or solely to food components to be reduced. The processing level was a minor determinant of individual foods’ nutrient contribution to the diet and, therefore, should not be a primary factor when selecting a balanced diet. Eicher-Miller HA, Fulgoni VL 3rd, Keast DR. Contributions of processed foods to dietary intake in the US from 2003–2008: A report of the Food and Nutrition Science Solutions Joint Task Force of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American Society for Nutrition, Institute of Food Technologists, and International Food Information Council. J Nutr. 2012;142(11):2065S-2072S. doi:10.3945/jn.112.164442.

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Questions and Answers About Fructose

What is fructose? Fructose is a monosaccharide, or single sugar, that has the same chemical formula as glucose but a different molecular structure. Sometimes called fruit sugar, fructose is found in fruit, some vegetables, honey, and other plants. Fructose and other sugars are carbohydrates, an important source of energy for the body. What other types of sugars are there? The food supply contains a variety of sugars called monosaccharides (single sugar units like fructose and glucose) and disaccharides (two monosaccharides linked together). Glucose is the main source of energy for the body because most complex sugars and carbohydrates break down into glucose during digestion. Starches contain many single sugar units linked together. The various sugars perform different functions in the body, but they all can provide energy. Sucrose is a disaccharide that contains equal parts of glucose and fructose. Known as table or white sugar, sucrose is found naturally in sugar cane and sugar beets. Other sugars in foods and beverages include: Lactose Disaccharide containing glucose and galactose Naturally occurring in milk Maltose Disaccharide containing two glucoses Crystallized from starch Dextrose Another name for glucose Crystallized from sugar cane, sugar beets and starches Corn Syrup Primarily single glucose units Produced from corn starch High Fructose Corn Syrup Primarily a mixture of glucose and fructose single units Produced from corn starch Is fructose safe? High fructose corn syrup and all other sugars are “generally recognized as safe” by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health, the National Academy of Sciences report Diet and Health, and Healthy People 2000: National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services support this conclusion. In a 2002 scientific statement on sugar and cardiovascular disease, the American Heart Association concluded that, for […]

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