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Imagine a world in which you could enjoy a sweet dessert without the negative impact that comes with consuming added sugar. Soon, you might be able to. Scientists at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering are working towards creating an enzyme to add to sugary foods that will help the body better process and breakdown sugar.

The catch? So far there is none from a consumer standpoint. The brownie would taste normal and the enzyme would limit the amount of sugar being absorbed in the bloodstream. Better yet, it would even transform the sugar into a fiber that is beneficial for the bacteria in the gut.

“The brownie would taste normal and the enzyme would limit the amount of sugar being absorbed in the bloodstream.”

Most people understand that a sweet treat, such as a brownie, is expected to come with higher amounts of added sugar, but nowadays the amount of added sugar does not stop there. Sugar sneaks into so many processed foods that it has become increasingly more difficult to avoid. It’s not just glucose or sucrose being added to make products sweeter, but it also includes sugar sources such as high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup has sneaked its way into many foods that are not typically considered to be “sweet” because it offers a cost-effective way to add volume to the food, enhance the flavor, and helps preservation. Added sugars include all sources of sugars that are added when foods are being processed, no matter if it is intended to sweeten the food or for other benefit.

The average American’s daily added sugar consumption exceeds the CDC’s current recommendation. But the blame isn’t entirely on the consumer. Commonly consumed foods, such as ketchup, have unexpectedly high amounts of added sugar and most consumers might not even be aware as to how much sugar they are eating throughout the day.

“Commonly consumed foods, such as ketchup, have unexpectedly high amounts of added sugar and most consumers might not even be aware as to how much sugar they are eating throughout the day.”

With sugar being added to so many processed foods, it makes it seem nearly impossible to quit consuming it entirely without having to be hyper aware of everything that you eat. It might even feel daunting to just lower sugar consumption in general. While you could attempt to be highly health conscious and intentionally avoid foods with added sugar, cutting back is not always easy, especially since the withdrawals from sugar have been compared to those of drug abuse.

There is a clear problem with superfluous amounts sugar being added to food in America. Beginning around 2016, U.S. food regulators began to put more regulations in place to avoid food companies using excessive amounts of added sugar, such as high fructose corn syrup. Nowadays, companies are required to disclose the specific amount of added sugar that is in their product. In the past, it was more vague as to if the high levels of sugar were from a natural source such as fruit or dairy. Furthermore, if the amount of added sugar is excessive, they are requiring companies to state that their products are high in sugar on the front of their packaging.

While not everyone is ultra health conscious and a warning label may not deter them from eating added sugar, the general consensus is that sugar is deemed harmful to the body and has the potential to lead to diabetes, obesity, and other health problems. Food companies want to avoid getting a bad reputation for adding unhealthy amounts of sugar to their products, so they have been trying to cut back as a result. One company in particular is Kraft Heinz, the parent company to many popular food brands.

As these companies are cutting back on added sugar, they are also seeing a cut back on their sales. Kraft Heinz lost revenue when they attempted to reduce the amount of sugar in the popular juice drink, Capri Sun. They attempted to decrease sugar content by 40% by switching it for the natural alternative, monk fruit. While this successfully changed the amount of sugar being added to their product, it also changed the well-known taste of the drink. Many consumers did not like this change, which highlights a clear drawback to natural sweetener alternatives such as stevia or monk fruit. Granted these alternatives are able to maintain a sweet flavor, they do come with an after taste. Additionally, they lack the ability to act as a preservative, add bulk and texture, and create the caramel color in foods like sugar. They do have the potential to work as an alternative, but they are not the ideal solution that most food companies are hoping to find.

Thus, comes the need to further experiment. The scientists at Harvard University have been experimenting to create an enzyme that will be activated once it reaches the intestine and reduce the amount of sugar being absorbed by 30%– or even more. The ability of this enzyme to turn sugar into fiber would also be a major appeal since most American’s do not get enough fiber in their diet.

“The scientists at Harvard University have been experimenting to create this enzyme that will be activated once it reaches the intestine and reduce the amount of sugar being absorbed by 30%– or even more.”

Kraft Heinz initially funded this project since it has the potential to be a major game changer for food companies. They would be able to simply add it to their products without having to change the well-known taste or modify their long-standing recipes being used. While there are no seemingly clear drawbacks to the consumer, the companies face more of a challenge. When it comes to cost, the enzyme is 100 times more expensive than raw sugar, making it an unrealistic solution for large quantities of food.

Outside of the Wyss Institute, other companies have also been attempting to resolve America’s sugar problem. A startup in San Francisco called Biolumen recently launched a powdered supplement product that could help prevent sugar from reaching the bloodstream. Biolumen’s product is listed as “generally recognized as safe” by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but the supplement industry is essentially unregulated, which may cause some concern when it comes to knowing if the product truly is safe. That said, there have been no gastrointestinal side effects from the product seen in their clinical trials. A better understanding is needed about the product since Biolumen is still unsure as to what exactly happens to the sugar and where it goes once absorbed.

While these high-tech solutions are in the works, food companies are relying on alternative options in the meantime to keep their products tasting sweet without the harmful side effects of excess added sugar. The startup Magic Spoon has created a cereal with the natural sugar alternative, allulose. Allulose is a sweetener that is about 70% as sweet as sugar and mimics the taste, color, and bulk of sugar, but has the ability to pass through the body without being metabolized . It is rapidly absorbed in the small intestine and then excreted from the body via urine within 24 hours.

While allulose is also “generally recognized as safe” by the FDA, it is still a fairly new sweetener alternative and there are some concerns as to just how safe it is. The downside to allulose is that it has been shown to potentially promote the growth of poor gut bacteria, such as, Klebsiella pneumonia, a notorious human pathogen which some research suggests could be associated with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) among other health issues. Furthermore, allulose can cause gastrointestinal symptoms, such as gas and bloating. The negative effects it may cause to the gut shows that it is not a perfect replacement to sugar, but consuming allulose in moderation is fine.

The solution to America’s excessive consumption of added sugar seems so obvious: just cut back on sugar, starting early in life when taste preferences develop. However, the solution becomes far more complex when taken into consideration that sugar is highly addictive and simultaneously being added to so many commonly consumed foods. With the new technology in the works, adding a gut-friendly enzyme to foods to help the body breakdown and metabolize sugar could very realistically be the future, provided that scientists are able to make the cost realistic and accessible.