Special Foods & Sugar & Fat Substitutes
What special foods are available?
More people are concerned with their weight and their fat intake.
People are trying to eat more healthy and there are many special foods in the
grocery store now. These foods may be lower in calories, fat, saturated
fat, sugar or sodium than their usual products. Some examples are special
soups, frozen desserts, salad dressings, peanut butter, canned vegetables or
frozen dinners. These foods may be marked as 'lite' or 'low-fat'.
Some special foods are marked as dietetic and are grouped together in
a section of the store. Dietetic or diet foods have been changed in some
way from the regular products. You do not need to use these foods.
Some people may find them helpful but others do not want to pay the extra cost.
What is a free food?
Some foods are so low in calories that they are called free foods in a meal
plan. A free food will have less than 20 calories per serving.
Having one free food at a meal should not hurt your meal plan, but if you eat
several servings the calories will add up.
How do I choose special foods?
Special foods can add a variety to your meal plan. If you choose a
special or dietetic food be sure to read the full nutrition label. Compare
the label to the regular product.
What are substitutes for sugar?
Sugar is in food as sucrose, dextrose, glucose and lactose. They all
have calories. Sorbitol and fructose are sugars too. They may be
absorbed more slowly but they still have the calories.
Sweeteners like
saccharin, aspartame and acesulfame K are used in place of sugar. These
sweeteners have less calories than sugar and may have a different taste.
No-calorie sugar substitutes
Aspartame is a sweetener made from protein. Aspartame is called
NutraSweet or Equal. It will loose its sweetness when heated so can not be
used in cooking.
Saccharin is made from petroleum crude oil. It has been used for
more than 100 years.
Acesulfame K is made from vinegar and can be used in baking. It will
increase the sweetness of other sweeteners.
Sucralose is made from sugar but does not have any effect on blood
sugar. It can be used in cooking. It tastes the most like sugar.
Sugar substitutes with calories
Sorbitol and mannitol are sugar alcohols made from sugar.
They do have calories but enter the blood stream slowly. They are used in
some dietetic candy.
Fructose is another sweetener. It is a sugar in honey.
Fructose may not raise blood sugar as much as table sugar.
Are there substitutes for fat?
Some foods may contain a substitute for fat. Simplesse is made
from milk and egg protein. It has less calories than fat. It can be
used in frozen desserts but can not be heated. Caprenin is used to
replace cocoa in chocolate candy. It has about half the calories of fat.
Olestra is a fat molecule so big that it can not be digested. It
has no calories.