Edulcorantes: tendências da indústria de alimentos na redução de açúcar – revisão de literatura.

Abstract

Obesity and the number of diabetes cases have grown in recent years due to over-consumption of sugar by the population coupled with an increase in caloric intake of food. That is why many people have sought to reduce sugar consumption as a way to reduce calories by using sweeteners to replace it, without affecting the sweet taste of food. There are natural and artificial sweeteners, and a good part of the population does not have the necessary knowledge when choosing the most suitable ones for their need. Many use them at random or even without a recommendation from a professional, unaware of the possible risks that sweeteners, especially artificial ones, can lead to health, including when consumed for a long time. The objective of this work was to perform a systematic review on sweeteners used by the food industry, mainly those ones allowed for use in Brazil. There is still no consensus as to how artificial sweeteners act in the human body, so that even diabetic and / or obese people can be harmed by making use of sweeteners that, even if they are of low calorie, can cause adverse effects when consumed wrongly. Based on the scientific evidence presented in the articles and considering the approaches to nutritional and non-nutritive sweeteners, it should be emphasized that the indiscriminate consumption of sweeteners should not be stimulated due to the need to use them only by specific groups and in predetermined amounts.