By Rosemary Black
Reviewed by QualityHealth's Medical Advisory Board

If you've got Type 2 diabetes, non-nutritive sweeteners can let you have your cake and eat it, too. It's easier than ever these days to satisfy a sweet tooth without spending a lot of calories as ordinary table sugar (or sucrose) has been joined by a staggering array of non-nutritive sweeteners. Some are mainly for sprinkling over cereal or stirring into coffee, while others can be used in baking. All of the sweeteners described here are considered safe to eat in moderation - they've all been approved by the FDA. Some are no-cal and others are low-cal, so be sure to read the labels on sweeteners so you'll know just what you are getting.

To give you some perspective on how many calories and carbs you're saving by using a no sugar or low sugar sweetener, keep in mind that a teaspoon of sugar has four grams of carbohydrates and 16 calories.

Is one non-nutritive sweetener better than another? "They are all safe, so it's really a personal choice," says Beverley Manganelli, RD, CDE, manager of community nutrition at Hunterdon Medical Center in Flemington, New Jersey. "Try a few and learn which you like the taste of."