A pile of sweeteners, and a ton of foods containing extremely popular high-fructose corn syrup, crowd store shelves

Time was, sugar was sugar or sometimes honey.

Today it’s not that simple. Dozens of sweeteners line store shelves — some synthetic, some from nature, some hidden in products no one would expect. They’re not necessarily any better for you than sugar itself — and in some cases, many experts believe, they’re worse.

"Sugarized crap," for example, is the phrase Ashland physician Laura Robin uses to describe high-fructose corn syrup, today the nation’s most widely consumed sweetener.

"It’s horrible. It’s full of stuff that’s bad for you," says Robin. "It’s in so many things. I was eating low-fat graham crackers the other day, and there it was again. It’s highly processed and has no nutrients."

Others are less critical but still wary.

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"A little (high-fructose corn syrup) is fine," says Kimberly Wienke, a dietitian at Providence Medford Medical Center. But she notes the sweetener, a processed, liquified mix of sugars from fruit and corn, has the same number of calories as sugar and in many diets displaces calories from natural sources like fruit.

Americans’ consumption of it far surpasses "a little": High-fructose corn syrup didn’t exist until the 1970s. By 2001, U.S. residents consumed 62.6 pounds per person every year.

The science behind the sweetener is damning, says Ashland nutrition author and pharmacist Ross Pelton. It "vastly accelerates" insulin insensitivity, so you’re generating increasing amounts of insulin (the hormone that metabolizes fats, carbohydrates and sugars) as your body works to keep blood sugar from getting too high.

"You get an accelerated aging process, elevated blood glucose, obesity and higher risk of heart disease," says Pelton. "It’s the No. 1 cause of non-traumatic amputation and blindness (from type 2 diabetes)."

What’s the alternative? Dozens of sweeteners are on the market today, some readily available and others difficult to find or available only in certain forms. Here’s a list of some of the most common ones, along with local experts’ opinions about their use:

Sugar: Sucrose, or table sugar, is popular but an "empty food" that can hurt the immune system, says Pelton. "You drink a 12-ounce soda pop, and you take in 32 grams of sugar, which is about eight teaspoons," he says. "It suppresses your immune system for 24 hours and overwhelms your insulin receptors."

Molasses: Molasses is made by boiling down sugar cane — and in pioneer days, it was the sweetener of choice in most homes. Such sweeteners have B vitamins, iron and other minerals. Though it does contain minerals, says Medford dietitian Christy Morrell, it is 65 percent sucrose, or sugar, and has sugar’s drawbacks.

Brown sugar: A dark sugar results from mixing white sugar crystals and molasses. It’s still sugar.

Turbinado sugar: This is raw sugar that has been partially processed, where only the surface molasses has been washed off. It’s still fairly refined sugar and not good for your blood sugar, says Morrell.

Sucanat: Sucanat is a brand name for organically grown, dehydrated cane juice. Its average sugar content is 85 percent, with complex sugars, minerals and molasses retained in its making, according to the International Starch Institute. "It’s pretty refined and is hard on your system," says Morrell.

Stevia: This herb is not approved by the government as a sweetener but can be purchased at health food stores as a food. It comes from a Paraguayan shrub and is 300 times sweeter than sugar. It contains almost no calories and has a low glycemic index rating, meaning its carbohydrate molecules take a long time to break down in the body. It won’t give consumers a sugar "high" as some other sweeteners do, says Ken Newfield of All’s Well Herb and Vitamin Shop in Ashland. Says Robin: "It’s very safe and you don’t need much of it."

Xylitol: This powdered sweetener occurs naturally in many fruits and vegetables. It has the same sweetness and bulk as sucrose, with a third fewer calories. It doesn’t affect your blood sugar, says Morrell.

Agave nectar: Agave nectar comes from cactus and is mild on your blood sugar, says Morrell.

Barley malt and brown rice syrup: These liquids are made from fermenting their sprouted grains, producing a natural sweetener with complex carbohydrates. Says Morrell, they’re "way less sweet" than sugar and a lot easier on blood sugar.

Sucralose: Marketed as Splenda, this artificial sweetener can be added to coffee or used in baking. It is made from sugar but not recognized by the body as sugar, nutrition experts say. Says Robin: "It’s the one most tolerated by the body and causes the least problems." Says Wienke: "We’re telling people it’s reasonable if you want to avoid sugar. It has good flavor and you can bake with it."

Saccharin: Saccharin is about 300 times sweeter than table sugar and has no calories. It has had a stormy past, however. In the late 1970s, the Food and Drug Administration contracted with the National Academy of Sciences to study cancer-causing agents and toxic substances in foods, including saccharin. NAS reports showed that saccharin is a potential cancer-causing agent in humans.

Aspartame: About 200 times sweeter than table sugar, the sweetener (sold as Nutrasweet or Equal) has the same number of calories per teaspoonful. Some people have reported that they are sensitive to it, although such a sensitivity has not been confirmed by scientific studies. It takes a beating from local experts such as Robin. "Aspartame is implicated in hives, allergies, migraines," she says. "I tell people, take it out of your diet."

John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland.E-mail him at jdarling@jeffnet.org.

The effects of some common sweeteners