Question: what is the difference between equal and sugar?
Answer: Aspartame (Equal) is 200 times sweeter than sugar. It's what's called, chemically, it's a methyl ester of aspartic acid dialamine dipeptide. It was approved by the FDA in 1981 and in 1983 for soft drinks, and in 1986 as a general-use sweetener. So, it does have calories.