Sugars or sweeteners: towards guidelines for their use in practice report from an expert consultation +

With the aim of suggesting recommendations regarding the practical implementation of sweeteners from a nutritional point of view for different groups of consumers, based on present scientific knowledge, the Swedish Nutrition Foundation (SNF) arranged a workshop focusing on the use of sugars and sweeteners in relation to obesity, diabetes, dental health, appetite, reward and addiction. The discussions and conclusions are summarized in this article. It was concluded that restrictions to keep the intake of refined sugars within the recommendations (10E%) should be achieved by limited intake of foods high in sugars, e.g. sweet drinks and candies, rather than other foods that provide less significant amounts of sugars. From a practical point of view it may be useful to restrict the intake of foods high in sugars, especially drinks, to a small amount and to a limited number of occasions, e.g. once or twice a week. Regarding sweeteners, the present intake is considered t o be safe from a toxicological point of view. Non-caloric intense sweeteners may be useful for lowering the energy content of liquid and semi-solid foods. Sweeteners may also provide tooth-friendly alternatives within certain food categories, but do not reduce the erosive potential of acidic foods. Keywords: appetite; dental health; diabetes; obesity; reward; weight regulation