Retro reductions: the "2005 Prepared Foods R&D Trends: Weight Control Formulations Survey" suggests that as low-carb diets take a dip in popularity, reduced-fat and -calorie products are making a comeback. However, the supporting ingredients have remained the same

Prepared Foods, Feb, 2005 by Marcia A. Wade

More than a decade ago, low-fat and low-calorie weight-loss items dominated the grocery aisles. Unfortunately, these foods often were also low on taste. Their appeal soon went the way of heavy metal bands and M.C. Hammer pants. As it sometimes happens with fashion, diet fads also recycle.

Lauren Swarm was in junior high school when Robert C. Atkins M.D. introduced his first book, Dr. Atkin's Diet Revolution, in 1972. Revolve is indeed what low-carb diets have done. After Dr. Atkin's diet lost popularity to low-calorie and low-fat diets in the 1980s, it once again resurfaced during the 1990s and peaked with double-digit growth in late 2003.

According to the "2005 Prepared Foods R&D Trends: Weight Control Formulations Survey," 35.7% of the respondents consider low-carb diets to be a fad that will not last 6-12 more months. "Every couple of decades, low-carb gets re-introduced, which, for me, is proof that it's not a magic bullet," says Swarm, a registered dietitian and president of Concept Nutrition Inc., a nutrition consulting service to the food industry.

As many companies toss away warehouses full of low-carb pastas and bread mixes, Swann cautions that manufacturers not toss out the baby with the bath water. The baby--the many ingredients that made low-carb possible--also can assist in the formulation of low-fat and low-calorie products.

Much of the "innovation" attributed to low-carb foods really was not innovation at all, agrees Kevin Bauer, vice president of sales and marketing at a company that produces high-potency sweeteners.

"When it comes to formulating products with high-potency sweeteners, it doesn't matter if you brand your product low-calorie, low-carb or reduced-sugar; those categories are interchangeable," informs Bauer. They require the same ingredients to function.

Sweeteners

All high-potency sweeteners have benefited greatly from low-carb foods over the course of the last two years. "Some a little more than others," says Bauer. The prevailing sentiment that manufacturers should carry away from the low-carb era is the same thing they learned when low-fat dieting was popular: consumers will not sacrifice taste for nutrition.

Of the more popular high-potency sweeteners (which include saccharine and acesulfame potassium, besides sugar itself), aspartame is considered a gold standard sweetener by some. Composed of two naturally-occurring amino acids, L-phenylalanine and aspartic acid, which can be found in fruits, vegetables and dairy sources, aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar.

Having only debuted in 2002, neotame has not been on the scene long enough to benefit from low-carb forces. However, at 8,000 times the sweetness of sugar (thereby making it more cost effective), it likely will find huge success as low-calorie products take center stage. It is approved as a sweetener and flavor enhancer, and has the unique capability of taking vanilla, mint and citrus flavors and potentiating them, says one supplier.

All high-potency sweeteners have different taste characteristics, sweetness onset and lingering properties. "We've found that neotame has a shorter onset and lingers a little bit longer," relates Bauer.

Sugar alcohols or polyols also are nutritive sweeteners that hit the jackpot during the carb years. They reduce calories and do not promote tooth decay. Polyols especially are significant because of their ability to add bulk back to products--a functionality that is not possible with either aspartame or neotame.

The sugar alcohol xylitol has 2.4Kcal/g versus sugar's 4Kcal/g, but is 40% sweeter than sugar and--like other sugar alcohols--it is able to replace the bulk of sugar in a one-to-one substitution. It is a free-flowing, natural ingredient derived from birch trees in Scandinavia and corncobs in China. Xylitol has a cooling effect that can be useful in sugar-free gums, candies and mints.

Erythritol has only 0.2Kcal/g, though when analyzed in a lab, the number can be higher. This will pose a similar labeling concern for low-calorie products as it did for low-carb manufacturers who boasted net carbs, says Swann. "The nutrition label represents only the food composition, but it does not take into consideration how the body handles it."

Just as bacteria do not feed on xylitol or erythritol because of the carbon structure, yeast used to bake breads cannot feed on them, either. This impedes dough from rising due to reduced yeast fermentation, and stops the baked product from hardening. Fortunately, it does not affect cookies, cheesecake or brownies.

Most polyols are processed incompletely by the body and at a much lower rate. Unfortunately, sugar alcohols are not as suitable for beverages since large servings can cause digestive irregularities. Although xylitol is FDA-approved for use in unlimited quantities, the limit of consumption without intestinal distress is typically set at 90g/day.

Sucralose, the sweetener most closely associated with the low-carb diet, is a chlorinated sugar derivative that is 600 times the sweetness of sugar. Sucralose's success seems evident in its popularity and rumors indicate that a sucralose shortage, due to increased demand and limited resources, will increase the price in 2005.