WHAT'S THAT STUFF?: ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERSNo-calorie sugar substitutes provide options for enjoying the sweet life

QUOTING FROM A POPULAR SONG by U.S. rap group the Beastie Boys, "I like my sugar with coffee and cream." In other words, my morning Java has to be sweet! Most days my coffee is accompanied by packets of artificial sweetener instead of spoonfuls of sucrose—the compound we call sugar. But what exactly are the no-calorie sugar substitutes that help me keep my figure while satisfying my sweet tooth? "Sweeteners are not no-calorie per se, but you use so little of them," says Diane Stadler, research assistant professor and bionutritionist at Oregon Health & Science University, in Portland. "You only need minuscule amounts to reach the same sweetening power as sucrose," so sweeteners are considered virtually noncaloric. Of the five sweeteners currently approved as food additives by most national health agencies, saccharin and aspartame have the longest history on the market and have received perhaps the most attention in the health and safety debate. ...