Can you spot the artificial sweeteners in your food?

Avoiding artificial sweeteners is tougher than it sounds. Chemical sugar substitutes go by many names, and they can hide in surprising places.

Artificial sweeteners can be a tempting way to cut calories, but there’s some evidence that they actually contribute to obesity rather than help us lose weight. There is also a lot of debate about whether or not these white powders harm our health in other ways. If you’re a fan of the precautionary principle you’re best off getting your sweet fix from plain old sugar or from whole fruits.

Diet soda isn’t the only product where you’ll find artificial sweeteners. They also hide in foods like:

• gum
• ice cream
• cereal
• yogurt
• packaged granola bars

The best way to avoid these additives is to avoid packaged food or carefully read the label for artificial sweeteners. The trouble is that there are some less common names that you need to look out for. Check out our list of less common names for artificial sweeteners below.

Spot the Artificial Sweeteners

If you’re trying to avoid artificial sweeteners you know to look for names like Equal, Splenda, or aspartame. But they can also go by monikers that aren’t so well-known. Below are some other artificial sweetener names to keep a lookout for on food labels. How many of these were new to you?

• acesulfame potassium
• alitame
• Aminosweet
• cyclamate
• Dulcin
• Glucin
• kaltame
• mogrosides
• neohesperidin dihydrochalcone
• neotame
• Nutrinova
• saccharin
• Sweetmyx
• sucralose

Have you run across any other lesser-known names for artificial sweeteners? Share them with us in the comments!

Image Credit: Soda photo via Shutterstock