This is an era when everyone is afraid of fat, "talking about fat discoloration" and "health first" are like two boosters, making the new generation of young consumers more and more sensitive to sugar, and "desugaring" has become the core trend of consumption in the food and beverage market, so this is also an era of sugar reduction trend.
Sugar reduction is an inevitable trend

In the past 100 years, with the development of the sugar industry and the food industry, the structure of human diet has changed rapidly, but genes have not yet fully adapted to this. The high intake of refined sugar has induced a number of health problems, including the growing number of people with obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and more. According to data from the 2016 Lancent Medical Journal, there are nearly 90 million obese people in China, including 43.2 million men and 46.4 million women, ranking first in the world. Among the world's obese population, 16.3% of men and 14.2% of women are Chinese, which means that nearly 100 million people in China are fat.
 It can be seen that the happiness that was once "sweet" has become a "sweet" killer today. How can you enjoy the joy of sweetness and avoid the trouble of obesity? "Sucrose substitutes" has become a major research focus of people's exploration. According to data from the China Business Industry Research Institute, 80% of consumers will pay attention to food and beverage ingredients, especially the proportion of sugar in beverages. Due to the fear of sugar caused by health concerns and the need for contemporary health shaping, the consumption of sugar-free and low-sugar foods has gradually become a healthy and trendy lifestyle, and sugar substitutes have also followed. Regarding sugar substitutes, in 1963, the United States approved xylose for use in food; In 1971, stevia sugar substitutes were produced in Japan; In 1991, Japan developed erythritol and put it on the market; In 1996, China approved the use of mogrosides as sugar substitutes. In the future, sugar substitutes, which are closer to the flavor and taste of sucrose, will be a hot spot for people to pursue. 

Future star - allulose

D-allulose (Allulose) is a kind of epimer of fructose, which is a rare monosaccharide that exists in nature but contains very little content, naturally occurring in sugarcane molasses, fruits and raisins, figs, kiwifruit and brown sugar and other foods, is a very small amount of rare sugar found in nature, and is known as the most potential sucrose substitute in United States.
 The sweetness of D-allulose is about 70% of sugar, and the sweetness time pulse is similar to that of sucrose, but the calories are 95% lower than that of sucrose, which can be used to develop low-calorie food and beverages. At the same time, because it is not a high-power sweetener, it can also react with amino acids or proteins in food, and has very good crystalline and powdery product characteristics, which is suitable for low-sugar foods that need to provide crystal structure from sucrose. 
Most of the D-allulose enters the body and is excreted directly through urine or feces. It is almost metabolized after intestinal absorption and does not provide calories, which is also its most prominent advantage as a sugar substitute. It has been clinically proven that the daily intake of 31-33g (based on average body weight) of D-allulose has no side effects, and can be used as an ideal substitute for sucrose in food, with functions such as regulating blood sugar and antioxidant. 

D-allulose, the "sugar" that can lose weight, helps prevent obesity

In a study published in Food Funct, scientists found that D-allulose can exert anti-obesity effects by regulating lipid metabolism. The researchers took Wistar rats as an animal model and divided them into five groups, randomly supplemented with a diet containing 5% different carbohydrates, such as glucose, fructose, cellulose, D-allulose, and a control diet, and analyzed the m-RNA levels of lipid metabolism-related genes in the rats after 4 weeks. The results showed that compared with other carbohydrates, D-allulose could significantly inhibit the expression of adipogenesis-related genes ACCα and liver fatty acid uptake genes FAS and SREBP-1c, and stimulate the expression of fatty acid oxidation-related genes, including AMPKα2, HSL and PPARα, thereby achieving weight loss.
 Published in the journal Nutrition, a joint study by Matsugu Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. of Japan and Nagasaki University of Japan found that the rare sugar D-allulose can also promote weight management by enhancing postprandial fat oxidation and reducing carbohydrate oxidation. After an overnight fasting period, 13 healthy participants randomly ingested 5g of allulose or 10g of aspartame, and exchanged ingestions after a one-week buffer period. Thirty minutes after ingestion of allulose and aspartame, participants consumed 1 standard breakfast, after which blood samples were drawn to assess relevant biomarkers and markers of energy metabolism. The results showed that D-allulose could oxidize more fat to convert it into energy, and aspartame intake oxidized more carbohydrates. After ingestion of D-allulose, the blood glucose content of the participants decreased significantly, and the content of free fatty acids increased significantly, which also indicated an increase in fat metabolism. However, D-allulose had no effect on the user's levels of insulin, total cholesterol and triacylglycerides. According to the researchers, low-dose D-allulose can help enhance the oxidation of postprandial fat and reduce carbohydrate levels in healthy adults, suggesting that the ingredient can be used as a new sugar substitute while also controlling and maintaining a healthy weight by enhancing energy metabolism. D-allulose can be used as a healthy alternative to traditional sugar substitutes without causing lipid metabolism disorders or weight gain, and has potential applications in the development of functional products for weight loss. 

Increasing market applications of allulose

In 2012, the United States Food and Drug Administration FDA approved D-allulose as a generally regarded as safe (GRAS) food, allowing D-allulose to be used as a dietary additive and an ingredient in some foods; In 2019, the FDA issued draft guidance on allulose claims on nutrition labels, which is intended to exclude allulose from the total sugar amount and added sugar labels at 0.4 kcal/g (1.6 kJ/g) per gram when "calories" are stated on the nutrition facts label. Although allulose is currently only legal in some countries, there is no doubt that it will become a "superstar" in the field of sugar substitutes in the future.
 With the increasing improvement of regulations, allulose, as a new type of functional rare sugar with low calorie and high sweetness, can replace traditional sugar substitutes and is widely used in food, health products, medicine and other fields. At present, the vast majority of allulose-related products on the market will be sold as health foods with labels such as vegetarian, gluten-free, keto-friendly, non-GMO, and low-carb water. Because it is close to sucrose in taste and character, allulose is a good substitute for sucrose, especially in coffee, cereals and baked goods. Allulose has also appeared in many products on the market. Quest Nutrition Caramel Vanilla Flavored Protein Bar contains 4 g of net carbs, 16 g of protein, 1 g of sugar, 170 calories per serving, using erythritol, sucralose, allulose as sugar substitutes; Duncan Hines Keto-Friendly Birthday Cake Mix Cup, 5g Net Carbs, 0 Added Sugars & 9g Protein Per Serving, Gluten Free, Sweetened with 21g Allulose Added, Almond Flour Instead of Flour; 
Revelé's plant-based yogurt popsicle, which uses allulose as a sugar substitute, has won the VegNews Best of Show Award at the 2019 Natural Nutrition & Health Products Show in United States (West). Allulose is similar in texture to sucrose and retains the same density as traditional high-calorie ice cream, helping to reduce weight, improve digestive health and avoid gastrointestinal upset.