They say life is sweet. Well that’s certainly the case for CrowdScience listener Trevor in Poland who wonders why he can’t stop reaching for the cookie jar.

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He grew up drinking fruit juice with added sugar but wonders whether his genes could be as important as his environment when it comes to his sweet tooth, especially since his wife seem to be satisfied with mainly savoury snacks.

The World Health Organization says added sugar should constitute a maximum of 5% of our daily energy intake because it can contribute to diabetes, heart disease and obesity. But that’s tricky when you consider it’s now in everything from salad dressings, to savoury sauces.

Manufacturers have been promoting sugar alternatives for decades but recreating the unique taste and feel of it in the mouth are a challenge.

Marnie Chesterton gets to try a brand new innovation – a so-called ‘rare’ sugar that has 70 per cent of the sweetness but almost none of the calories. In nature, allulose is found in figs, but one producer has discovered a way to make it in the lab.

Does it taste as good as it claims?

Download the CrowdScience podcast here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct1pqh

Check out more podcasts and videos on food habits around the world and our relationship with what we eat: https://www.youtube.com/playli....st?list=PLz_B0PFGIn4

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