ZSWEET

promises to reduce the tummy-trouble side effects of other artificial sweetener brands. The main ingredient is erythritol, a sugar alcohol that's more easily digested.

Zsweet has been favorably mentioned in the New York Times best selling book, "The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet" written by Nicholas Perricone, M.D. According to Dr. Perricone, artificial sweeteners and hidden sugars, such as fructose corn syrup, commonly found in beverages, are causing a host of serious health problems including obesity. To combat obesity and other such health problems, Perricone identifies Zsweet as an alternative all natural sweetener. ZSWEET is a (tm) of Ventana Health Inc.

Artificial Sweeteners

"Anything that can help people cut back on excess calories is good," says Adam Drewnowski, Ph.D., director of nutritional science at the University of Washington. He emphasizes that weight loss is complex and can't be attributed to any one food product. But existing studies, some of which he has conducted, show that sugar substitutes can help certain people maintain a weight loss."

Because sugar substitutes, also called artificial sweeteners, are many times sweeter than sugar, it takes much less of them to create the same sweetness. The resulting calorie count of the amount used is negligible.

ZSWEET INFO

Tim Avila toiled for months in his San Juan Capistrano kitchen concocting a diet food using an old favorite: sugar.

A consultant with no academic training in food science, Avila set out in 2001 to create an all-natural, zero-calorie sweetener using erythritol, a little-known sugar alcohol. Avila, chief executive of Ventana Health Inc. in San Clemente, eventually formulated Zsweet and began selling the diet sweetener this month online and at health-food stores in five states, including Florida.
 
Avila and his partners raised nearly $1 million in capital to form Ventana in 2004. It plans to manufacture and market diet smoothies and nutrition bars made with Zsweet. The company is making a grab at health-conscious dieters who have long complained of a lack of natural, zero-calorie sugar substitutes on store shelves.

"Zsweet was developed to enhance the healthy and balanced lifestyle of our community with a nutritious product of the highest integrity and quality without sacrificing taste," says Tim Avila, creator of Zsweet and chief executive officer of Ventana Health Inc. "Our goal was to produce a sweetener that was sweet in taste and good for the body," explains Avila.

Zsweet is made with a blend of Erythritol, a natural sugar alcohol, and food extracts commonly found in fruits and vegetables. Zsweet does not use herbal extracts or dietary supplements and does not chemically alter any ingredients.

Benefits from Zsweet are numerous especially since Erythritol has been shown not to increase blood sugar levels and is healthy for diabetics. In addition, tests have displayed that the basic ingredient in Zsweet has the highest level of digestibility and tolerability of the sugar alcohols. Studies have also revealed that Erythritol prevents dental cavities.

"Unlike other sugar substitutes such as Splenda, Equal and Sweet ‘n' Low, Zsweet uses no caloric or carbohydrate fillers," says Avila. "Zsweet does not contain any chemically altered materials, not even in trace amounts."

Zsweet can be used like sugar in equivalent measurements in hot or cold beverages, blended drinks, over cereal, and in a wide variety of recipes.

At this time, Zsweet is only available online and will have distribution throughout the US in 2006. For more information about the Zsweet™, please visit www.Zsweet.com

Source: Zsweet Press Relases - editor's comments

The granddaddy of all artificial sweeteners is saccharin. Discovered in 1879, it was used during both world wars to sweeten foods, helping to compensate for sugar shortages and rationing. It is 300 times sweeter than sugar.