This modified sugar offers that same taste with significantly less calories and glycemic index

Image courtesy of Sweet Sense, Inc.

Sweet Sense, Inc. (Boston, MA), a joint venture between Global Biolife, Inc. and Quality Candy Company LLC, is bringing to market a new sweetening solution called Laetose. This sweetener is a low-calorie, low-glycemic naturally modified sugar meant to deliver the flavor and function of sucrose, without the negative impact on health.

“You can think of Laetose as Sugar 2.0. It is simply more than a low-calorie sugar, but rather a solution to sugar itself in that it was specifically formulated to fight disease,” said Daryl L. Thompson, director of scientific initiatives at Global Biolife, Inc., in a press release. “We’ve developed a formula that uses sugar the way nature intended. Laetose tastes and performs exactly like sugar as a food ingredient but it is better accepted by the body.”

This is accomplished by adding insulin-mimetic to sucrose. Insulin-mimetic, known as a chaperone molecule, is a naturally-occurring compound found in berries that when added to sugar is absorbed by the body as though it were sugar found naturally in a berry. This means that it does not have the same glycemic load as refined sugar, or create the same inflammatory response.

In research presented at Harvard Medical School’s annual Global Health Catalyst Summit, Laetose was found to have a glycemic index (GI) score of 53, compared to glucose that has a score of 100. Low GI diets have been found to have a positive impact on weight, heart health, energy during exercise, and cholesterol. Testing also found that Laetose halts the stimulation of lipopolysaccharide inflammation which leads to Metabolic Endotoxemia, the root of metabolic-driven disease.

“Laetose has great potential to be the solution for the problems sugar is causing around the world,” said Roscoe Moore, DVM, PhD, DSc, former Assistant Surgeon General of the United States and Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, who serves as a scientific advisor for the ingredient. “This is an affordable way to make healthier foods that help address health disparities and prevent diabetes for future generations.”

Laetose is 30% less sugar in terms of calories and glycemic index, while maintaining the same taste. Because it is simply modified sugar, the ingredient is also significantly less expensive to product than many other alternative bulk sweeteners, says Sweet Sense.

“Clinical trials are complete, patents have been filed and the product is ready for full-scale production,” said Thompson, in a press release. “Sweet Sense is looking to license Laetose to a major company with the ability to introduce Laetose into multiple food products around the world.”