Modified sugar Laetose has the potential to affect the world's sugar market and could help mitigate reactions by reducing the rate of glucose absorption throughout the body. (File photo)
SINGAPORE: Singapore eDevelopment Ltd (SeD) said that US biomedical subsidiary Global BioLife Inc has developed a breakthrough low-calorie, low glycemic index, natural, modified sugar Laetose – which has the potential to affect the world's sugar market.
Global BioLife has established a collaboration with top US candy manufacturer Quality Candy Company LLC for the development, manufacture and global distribution of Laetose.
Developed by Daryl Thompson, Global BioLife director of scientific initiatives, Laetose is a functional sugar with a 30 percent to 50 percent lower calorie-count than regular sugar, possesses low glycemic properties, and also assists in mitigating inflammatory responses.
According to a recent report by World Health Organisation (WHO), the number of obese children aged 5 to 19 rose globally more than ten-fold from 11mil in 1975 to 124mil in 2016. The WHO report said that countries should seek to reduce consumption of cheap, ultra-processed, calorie-dense nutrition-poor foods.
Studies have shown that excessive sugar consumption is the primary cause of modern diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Type-2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity. While sugar is not toxic, the human body perceives it as such and, in turn, initiates pro-inflammatory responses. Laetose could help mitigate such reactions by reducing the rate of glucose absorption throughout the body.
The market for a safe and affordable alternative to sugar is growing due to increasing awareness of health risks associated with the excessive consumption of refined sugar. Although Laetose is marketed as an alternative usable in everything from baking to cooking, and as a table top sweetener, the ultimate goal is to infuse Laetose into the multibillion-dollar beverage industry. Unlike other natural-based and artificial sweeteners widely used in beverages, Laetose's unique patent-pending formula has no aftertaste.
"In this day and age, we should be exploring ways to make smarter foods. Our Laetose modified sugar has been designed specifically for this purpose," said Global BioLife’s Thompson, a pioneering natural products scientist cited, amongst others, for his achievements in organic and carbohydrate chemistry.
"Cardiovascular disease, Type-2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity have become a global epidemic. SeD has invested in Global BioLife as a think tank designed to research and develop smarter consumer products to reverse or mitigate this growing trend," added Chan Heng Fai, executive chairman of SeD.
"Quality Candy has been on a quest for over a decade, looking for a natural sugar substitute. This product is finally the breakthrough our industry needed to improve existing reduced-calorie and sugar-free products and help consumers around the world live a healthier lifestyle," said Jim Gist, chief revenue officer of Quality Candy.
"Laetose is our first step in creating smarter foods. We have confidence that our collaboration with industry leader Quality Candy will enable us to accomplish our goal," said Peggy Tang, CEO, Global BioLife.
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