Sugar-free food does not equal sugar-free
In the international concept, sugar-free food refers to food that does not contain sucrose and starch sugar, but must add sweeteners such as sugar alcohols and oligosaccharides as sugar substitutes.
"National Food Safety Standard Prepackaged Food Nutrition Labeling General Rules" stipulates that when the sugar content of 100g solid food or 100mL liquid food is less than or equal to 0.5g, it can be marked as sugar-free or sugar-free. Therefore, even if it is a sugar-free food, it is not completely sugar-free, but the sugar content is 0.5% or less.
Sugar-Free Foods Can Be Sweet
Sugar-free food contains no sugar or very low sugar content, but still tastes very sweet, not even inferior to ordinary sugar-sweetened food. This is because sugar alcohols, oligosaccharides, and high-intensity sweeteners are usually added to sugar-free food. Other sugar substitutes.
Sugar alcohols are similar in structure to sugar and are easily soluble in water. They are widely used in sugar-free foods, such as xylitol in chewing gum, maltitol in moon cakes, and sorbitol in bread.
The sweetness of oligosaccharides is 40% to 60% of that of sucrose. Because of its soft and natural sweetness, it is often used as a nutritional supplement in infant food. Like sugar alcohols, oligofructose also has the advantages of low calorie and no sugar.
High-intensity sweeteners are divided into natural sweeteners and synthetic sweeteners, and their sweetness is tens to thousands of times that of sucrose, and they are called high-intensity sweeteners.
Pay attention to four points, choose sugar-free food correctly
Look at the ingredient list. When shopping for food, give preference to foods with added sugar alcohols as natural sugar substitutes and functional oligosaccharides.
Nutrition Facts are important. For foods that claim "sugar-free", "sugar-free" and "zero (0) sugar", according to regulations, "sugar" should be marked in the Nutrition Facts Table, and the content of each 100g or 100ml must be marked as "0".
The role of starch cannot be ignored. When choosing sugar-free foods, diabetics should pay attention to the use of foods with high starch content such as sweet potatoes and potatoes.
Eat rationally, don't be greedy. Adding sweeteners to sugar-free foods can make the food taste better, and sometimes eat more and take in more energy.