When you think of something sweet, you might not immediately think of “low calorie”. However, thanks to the introduction of low- and no-calorie sweeteners, you can achieve sweetness without all of the calories. Which of these sugars and sweeteners have the least calories?
Artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols, and natural no-calorie sugar substitutes have the least calories, including:
- Acesulfame potassium
- Advantame
- Allulose
- Arabitol
- Aspartame
- Erythritol
- Isomalt
- Mannitol
- Monk fruit sweetener
- Neotame
- Saccharin
- Stevia
- Sucralose
Find out more about these 13 low- and no-calorie sweeteners below!
Calories in sweeteners
Unless it’s an artificial sweetener or low-calorie sugar substitute, most sweeteners have calories. These calories come from carbohydrates (carbs), primarily sugars.
If you’re watching your calorie or sugar intake, you might be looking for the sugars and sweeteners with the least calories. These sweeteners (not technically sugars) are considered artificial, natural no-calorie sweeteners, and sugar alcohols, and we’ll review them all next!
13 lowest-calorie sugars and sweeteners
- Acesulfame potassium (0 calories per serving)
- Also called Ace-K, acesulfame potassium is also used in the artificial sweetener Equal.
- Advantame (0 calories per serving)
- Around 20,000 times sweeter than sugar, so a little goes a long way!
- Allulose (0 calories per serving)
- Allulose occurs naturally (but in small amounts) in certain foods like raisins and figs.
- As a sweetener, allulose is made by converting the fructose in corn starch into allulose via enzymatic action.
- Arabitol (0 calories per serving)
- A sugar alcohol (sugar alcohols’ names generally end in -ol) that isn’t widely used or very popular compared to other sweeteners on this list.
- Aspartame (0 calories per serving)
- One of the most popular artificial sweeteners, aspartame is sold under the brand name Nutrasweet and is combined with Ace-K (#1 on this list) to make Equal.
- Erythritol (0 calories per serving)
- A favorite among keto dieters, erythritol is a sugar alcohol that is used in many sugar-free and reduced-sugar products.
- Isomalt (8 calories per teaspoon)
- Most regular sweeteners (like table sugar) contain 15 calories per teaspoon, so isomalt is a lower-calorie sweetener.
- Isomalt is a sugar alcohol made from beet sugar.
- Mannitol (8 calories per teaspoon)
- If you’ve ever opened a stick of chewing gum and noticed a fine white powder, that’s probably mannitol! Mannitol is resistant to melting and is not only used to keep chewing gum from sticking to the wrapper but it’s also used in chocolate coatings.
- Monk fruit sweetener (0 calories per serving)
- This sweetener is considered natural (not artificial) making it popular among people who don’t like artificial sweeteners.
- Monk fruit sweetener is around 100-250 times sweeter than regular sugar and is believed to have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties.
- Neotame (0 calories per serving)
- Considered a high-intensity sweetener, neotame is around 8,000 times sweeter than table sugar.
- Neotame is stable at high temperatures, so it can be used in baked goods.
- Saccharin (0 calories per serving)
- Sold under the name Sweet’N Low, saccharin is around 500 times sweeter than table sugar.
- Some people describe saccharin as having a bitter aftertaste.
- Stevia (0 calories per serving)
- Like monk fruit sweetener, stevia is a natural no-calorie sugar substitute and is made from the leaves of the stevia plant.
- Stevia is around 200-350 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar).
- Sucralose (0 calories per serving)
- Sold under the brand name Splenda, sucralose is one of the most popular artificial sweeteners on the market.
- Sucralose is around 600 times sweeter than sugar and is made from real sugar (but doesn’t provide any calories).
Nutritional comparison of lowest-calorie sweeteners
Sweetener (per serving) | Calories | Carbs | Sugars |
Acesulfame potassium | 0 | 0 g | 0 g |
Advantame | 0 | 0 g | 0 g |
Allulose (5 g) | 0 | 0 g | 0 g |
Arabitol | 0 | 0 g | 0 g |
Aspartame | 0 | 0 g | 0 g |
Erythritol (2 tsp.) | 0 | 0 g | 0 g (8 g sugar alcohols) |
Isomalt (1 tsp.) | 8 | 4 g | 4 g |
Mannitol (1 tsp.) | 8 | 4 g | 4 g |
Monk fruit sweetener | 0 | 0 g | 0 g |
Neotame | 0 | 0 g | 0 g |
Saccharin | 0 | 0 g | 0g |
Stevia | 0 | 1 g | 0 g |
Sucralose | 0 | 0 g | 0 g |
FAQs:
Stevia and monk fruit sweetener are some of the most popular no-calorie sweeteners on the market. They aren’t artificial sweeteners, yet don’t contribute calories or sugar to your diet.
Several sweeteners are considered zero-calories, including a variety of artificial sweeteners (e.g. aspartame and sucralose) and sugar alcohols.
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