Artificial Sweeteners --Are They Bad
for Your Health?
January 29, 2009, Last Updated November 13,2012
By Susan M. Callahan, Associate Editor and Featured Columnist
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Most people have only 2 questions about artificial
sweeteners--what's in them and can they harm me?
Now that the world is divided into people who take their
sweeteners in blue, pink or yellow packs, here at Collective
Wizdom we thought it was time to answer these 2 basic
questions for our readers.
Artificial sweeteners are called "artificial" as opposed to table
sugar (sucrose) which is thought of as "natural", despite its
well known dangers to our waist lines and general health.
(Read more about the connection between so-called natural
sugar and disease.)
The research on artificial sweeteners is extensive and growing.
The problem is that most of the research has been motivated
by pro and anti groups, so you have to step carefully among
the thorns. However, from the numerous studies on all of the
sweeteners, 3 results have emerged. Some artificial
sweeteners appear to increase your risk for developing Type 2
diabetes. Second, one artificial sweetener --- saccharin--
triggers the insulin response in high doses and in very high
doses has been linked to increased risk of cancer. Third,
aspartame (blue) causes headaches in some people.
Update:
A fourth conclusion, this one positive, is starting to emerge
with respect to one sweetener, stevia. It appears that stevia,
unlike the other artificial sweeteners, may not in fact raise your
risk for developing diabetes. Read more below.
Here's the low-down on the pink, blue and yellow packets we
all can't seem to live without.
1. Saccharin-- the Pink Packets.
Benzoic sulfinide. Produced when anthranilic acid is mixed with
nitrous acid, sulfur dioxide, chlorine, and then ammonia to yield
saccharin.
What's In it?
Risks: Although saccharin has no food energy, it can trigger the
release of insulin in rats, apparently as a result of its taste.
In its acid form, saccharin is not water-soluble. The form used
as an artificial sweetener is usually its sodium salt. The calcium
salt is also sometimes used, especially by people restricting
their dietary sodium intake. Both salts are highly water-soluble:
0.67 grams per milliliter water at room temperature.
Early studies linked ingestion of high concentrations of
saccharin with increased risk of cancer. As a result, the US
Food and Drug Administration previously required that
saccharin packages carry a warning label to that effect.
Canada completely banned its use. However, the pro and anti
saccharin groups were unable to resolve the issue of whether
saccharine causes cancer, and the FDA has removed the
requirement of a warning label.
Update: You can still find Sweet& Low, in the pink packets in
Canada. However, it made from sodium cyclamate, not
saccharin.
2. Aspartame-the Blue Packets.
Aspartame is the methyl ester of the dipeptide of the natural
amino acids L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine. This is why
early marketing efforts described it as made from natural amino
acids. Aspartame (also marketed as Equal and NutraSweet) is
180 times sweeter than common white table sugar.
After you ingest it in your body, aspartame breaks down in
various chemicals. including aspartic acid, phenylalanine,
methanol, and further breakdown products including
formaldehyde, formic acid, and a diketopiperazine.
Yikes! Formaldehyde. That can't be good. In fact, aspartame
was criticized in the 1980's by various groups as a suspected
cause of brain cancer. The uproar caused the FDA to convene a
Public Board of Inquiry to examine the issue of aspartame's
link to brain cancer. That group concluded that aspartame does
not cause brain cancer. Subsequent battles between pro and
anti aspartame groups have never conclusively settled the
issue. The FDA has approved aspartame's use in beverages and
various foods.
From personal experience, I can say that when I drink too
many sodas with aspartame, I soon get a headache and feel
slightly off-balanced when I walk. When I stop drinking the
sodas with aspartame, the symptoms disappear after a few
days of drinking only water.
3. Splenda --the Yellow Packets.
Continue reading page 1 page2
Learn more about sugar and its health effects: Sugar The
Disease Connection/ Ideal Breakfast for Diabetics/ Foods That
Lower Your Blood Sugar/Top 10 Health Dangers of High
Fructose Corn Syrup
Break Through Your Diet Plateau
How Many Calories Do I Burn
Quinoa-The New Superfood?
Break Through Your Diet Plateau
How Many Calories Do I Burn
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