Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners are in nearly every "diet" product out there today - diet sodas and energy drinks, gum, breath mints, vitamins, laxatives, cereals, low and non-fat yogurt, "lite" baked goods, diet ice creams... and of course you can pluck up a few packets of pink, yellow, or blue "sugar" right next to the cocoa powder and non-fat milk at your favourite coffee shop. There is ongoing controversy about whether or not these artificial sweeteners are a danger to your health.

// aspartame dangers // saccharin dangers //sucralose dangers // weight loss aid? //

Aspartame Dangers
Typically known as Equal or Nutrasweet, Aspartame is currently the most popular artificial sweetener in the food industry. It has also been known to potentially cause cancer, behavioural changes, seizures, and even death in humans with regular use. It accounts for 75% of allergic reactions reported to the FDA and is considered one of the most dangerous additives in use.

Aspartame is made up of three parts - 40% Aspartic Acid, which is considered an "excitotoxin" which can stimulate neural cells to death; 50% Phenylalinine, which can build up in the brain; and 10% Methanol, a deadly, poisonous wood alcohol.

The more on uses and the longer one consumes aspartame, the more likely one is to suffer from its side effects, which include: headaches and migraines, dizziness, nausea, weight gain, muscle spasms, depression, heart palpitations, vision and hearing problems, anxiety attacks, vertigo, memory loss, joint pain, emotional disorders, multiple sclerosis, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, brain cancer, diabetes, parkinson's disease, alzheimer's disease, seizures and epilepsy, birth defects, and mental retardation.

Saccharin Dangers
Sold as Sweet'n'Low, this is the oldest artificial sweetener still on the market today. In 1977, the FDA required that all food containing saccharin contain a warning label: "Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin, which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals."

A study performed by the National Cancer Institute during 1978-79 concluded that heavy doses of saccharin could cause an increased risk for bladder cancer. "Heavy doses" were considered to be two more more saccharin-containing diet sodas per day, or 6 or more packets of sugar substitute per day.

Sucralose Dangers
Sucralose is chlorinated sucrose derivitive, made from sugar, typically sold as Splenda. It is generally considered safer than saccharine or aspartame. However, there have been NO long-term studies performed on it to classify it as safe; some believe it may be just as dangerous as its competitors.

Studies performed on research animals have shown the following side effects: chest pain, increased irritability and mood changes, confusion, fatigue, shrunken thymus gland, enlarged liver and kidneys, reduced growth rate, decreased red blood cell count, hyperplasia of pelvis, miscarriage, decreased fetal body weights, and diarrhea.

Do they help you lose weight?
According to WebMD, the use of artificial sweeteners may interfere with the body's natural ability to feel satiation and fullness based on sweetness signals; the natural sweetness of food is a cue to the body that it has gotten adequate calories and energy. Artificial sweeteners may trick the brain and ultimately derail dieting efforts. In a study published in the National Journal of Obesity, one group of rats was given water sweetened artifically and another group given water sweetened with real sugar. After 10 days the rats were offered a chocolatey snack in addition to their regular food. The rats who had been given the artificially sweetened water ate more of their regular food after the sweet snack than those who had had real sugar all along. Researchers suggest that the artificially-sweetened liquids had damaged the rats' natural ability to compensate for the calories in the snack; they may have learned that, since their water was sweet but held few calories, other sweet things must hold few calories, as well.

Additionally, when food manufacturers lower the sugar content of some foods, they often increase the fat content to compensate for lost flavour or changes in texture. Sugar-free ice cream, for expample, can contain more fat and more calories than regular ice cream.