Artificial sweeteners: all worked up over nothing? (part 1)

What are artificial sweeteners?

Artificial sweeteners are low-calorie substances used to replace sugar and other caloric sweeteners. Some common artificial sweeteners include: Aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet), Acesulfame K (Sunette, Sweet One), Saccharin, Sucralose (Splenda), Xylitol, Sorbitol and Maltitol.

Where are artificial sweeteners found?

Artificial sweeteners are found in many foods. Some common products that contain artificial sweeteners include, but are not limited to, chewing gum (some gums contain three or four artificial and non-artificial sweeteners), chewable vitamins, drinks, toothpaste, mouthwash, cereals, candy and “sugar-free” items. Check your ingredient labels.

Why should I avoid artificial sweeteners?

Saccharin has had a very controversial past. The FDA tried to ban it in 1977 because some animal studies showed that it caused cancer (mainly bladder cancer, but also uterine, ovarian, skin and others). Saccharin stayed on the market because of pressure from the diet food industry (and the dieters themselves). However, it carried a warning label that stated it had been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals until the late 1990s.

In 2000, the National Cancer Institute [NCI] stated that people who were heavy saccharin users (six or more servings of saccharin or two or more eight-ounce servings of diet drink daily) had “some evidence of an increased risk of bladder cancer, particularly for those who heavily ingested the sweetener as a tabletop sweetener or through diet sodas.” Because of this study and other research with laboratory animals, it was decided that saccharin was not a major risk factor for bladder cancer in humans. We cannot explain this “logic.”

Research in animals has shown that Sucralose, commonly known as Splenda, can cause many problems, such as shrunken thymus glands (up to 40 percent shrinkage), enlarged liver and kidneys, atrophy of lymph follicles in the spleen and thymus, reduced growth rate, decreased red blood cell count, hyperplasia of the pelvis, extension of the pregnancy period, aborted pregnancy, decreased fetal body weights and placental weights and diarrhea.

References

• Ecologist Online, “Life After Aspartame,” Sept. 8, 2005

• Food and Drug Administration, “Final Rule” for Sucralose, 21 CFR Part 172, Docket No. 87F-0086

• Lord GH, Newberne PM. Renal mineralization – a ubiquitous lesion in chronic rat studies

• Food Chem Toxicol 1990 June; 28:449-55

• Labare MP, Alexander M. Microbial co-metabolism of sucralose, a chlorinated disaccharide, in environmental samples. Applied Microbiology Biotechnology. 1994 Oct.; 42:173-8

• Hunter BT. Sucralose. Consumers’ Research Magazine, Oct. 90, Vol. 73, Issue 10, p8, 2p

• Sucralose – a new artificial sweetener. Medical Letter on Drugs & Therapeutics, 07/03/98, Vol. 40, Issue 1030, p67, 2p

1. This article is for educational purposes only.

2. Your individual health status and any required treatments can only be properly addressed by a professional healthcare provider. We encourage you to make your own health decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified healthcare professional of your choice.