New Diet Sweetener 

Chemists have concocted a new sugar substitute that promises to sweeten like sugar without all the calories.

But how does it taste?

This new product was created by re-arranging sugar molecules so that most of it could pass through the body without being absorbed.  The process doesn't sound very appetizing. But what about the product?  We put the latest artificial sweetener to the test!

First, they gave you sweet-n-low, then came equal also known as Nutri Sweet, now there's a new sweetener set to hit the market...  it's called Sucralose.

If you want to quench your thirst without widening your waist, you will soon have a new choice.  The battle of the bulge is turning into the battle of the sweeteners.

For years, NutraSweet has dominated the diet beverage market.  But now, the maker of a new diet sweetener is hoping to lure diet-conscious consumers with a sweet sensation of their own.

It's called Sucralose.  And it's 100-times sweeter than sugar.
But how does it taste?
We put it to the test. Diet Snapple with Nutra-Sweet verses diet Very Fine with Sucralose.

Peter Wojcik/likes Very Fine better - "I like this better, it's got more of a fruity tang to it."

Carolyn Obermeyer/likes Snapple better - "I like the Snapple better."

George & Irene Stefan/like very fine better - "It has no aftertaste, and it's sweet, we like that."

Tenetia Moore/likes Snapple better - "No! What does no mean? It's nasty!"

Like it or not, 20 years and 100 studies later, the FDA has given Sucralose the go ahead. And diet very fine is the first product in the US to use the new low calorie sweetener as an ingredient.  The possibilities for Sucralose are unending.

Melinda Marynink/registered dietician - "It's actually made from sugar, so it's very similar to sugar in the way you can use it, bake with it."

And compared to sugar which can add at least 150 calories to a recipe Sucralose will only add 5 to 15.

Sam Rowse/President Very Fine Products, Inc. - "You're talking about somewhere around 10 percent or less of the total calorie count so literally you can drink as much as you want."

And even more promising, experts say it doesn't appear to have any side effects, and it's not restricted to children, pregnant women, or people with diabetes.

So in the world of calorie counting, drink-up -- because the choices are getting sweeter.
 

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