In Commonwealth English, sugar substitutes are often referred to as "sweeteners" (to the exclusion of sugar).
This may be seen in soft drinks such as cola labeled as "diet" or "light" or "economy" which contain artificial sweeteners and often have notably different mouthfeel; or in table sugar replacements which mix maltodextrins with an intense sweetener to achieve satisfactory texture sensation.
Saccharin was the first artificial sweetener and was originally synthesized in 1879 by Remsen and Fahlberg and its sweet taste was discovered by accident.
A tiny segment of the population is sensitive to one of the sweetener's byproducts and should restrict intake.
An early attempt to ban saccharin came in 1911 when a board of federal scientists called the artificial sweetener "an adulterant" that should not be used in foods.
Other "natural sweeteners" are available, but these are variations of table sugar and contain about the same amount of calories.
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