SUCRALOSE
Found in: Splenda, Canderel Yellow, Sainsbury’s granulated sweetener, diet drinks such as Tesco No Added Sugar Cloudy Lemonade.
Sucralose is derived from sugar but is up to 650 times sweeter. It has little aftertaste and stands up to heat well so can be used in baking. Powdered sucralose products are typically the same sweetness as sugar.
So a teaspoon of either is equally sweet but whereas the sugar teaspoon weighs 5g and has 20 calories, the sucralose one weighs only 0.5g and has two calories.
STEVIA
Found in: Canderel Green, Truvia, Hermesetas Stevia Sweet, Coca-Cola Life, Trop50 juice drink.
The newest low-calorie sweetener, stevia comes from the leaves of the plant species Stevia rebaudiana which looks a bit like mint.
As with aspartame and sucralose, most varieties that come in granular form are the same sweetness spoon for spoon as sugar but with a tenth of the calories.
Stevia can also be used for cooking and the attraction for most users is its naturalness. It can have a slight liquorice taste though so some recipes work better than others.
Photo: Dr. Alan Cooper
Source: Angela Dowden