All about Artificial Sweeteners

By offering the taste of sweetness without any calories, artificial sweeteners seem like they could be one answer to effective weight loss.

Today artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes are found in a variety of food and beverages; they're marketed as "sugar-free" or "diet," including soft drinks, chewing gum, jellies, baked goods, candy, fruit juice, and ice cream and yogurt.

Reasons for use

• To assist in weight loss– some people choose to limit their food energy intake by replacing high-energy sugar or corn syrup with other sweeteners having little or no food energy. This allows them to eat the same foods they normally would while allowing them to lose weight.
• Dental care – Carbohydrates and sugars usually adhere to the tooth enamel, where bacteria feed upon them and cause tooth decay. A sweetener mainly xylitol, tends to prevent bacteria from adhering to the tooth surface, thus preventing plaque formation and eventually decay.
• Diabetes mellitus– Sugar intake needs to be restricted in these people. Artificial sweeteners allow them to eat sweet tasting food without increasing blood glucose.

 Health effects

Weight gain and insulin response

In response to artificial sweeteners, even if blood sugar does not increase, there can be increased hypoglycemia or hyperinsulinemia and increased food intake the next time there is a meal. Furthermore, the natural responses to eating sugary foods (eating less at the next meal and using some of the extra calories to warm the body after the sugary meal) are gradually lost.

Artificial sweeteners may exacerbate, rather than prevent, metabolic disorders such as Type 2 Diabetes and also obesity. Artificial sweeteners can increase the blood sugar levels in humans by altering the composition and function of the gut flora.

Cancer

It is still unclear if artificial sweeteners affect the risk of cancer. Studies have linked saccharin to bladder cancer in laboratory rats. But numerous research studies confirm that artificial sweeteners are generally safe in limited quantities.

Comparison to sugar

Aspartame

It is about 200 times as sweet as sugar and can be used as a tabletop sweetener or in frozen desserts, gelatins, beverages, and chewing gum. When cooked or stored at high temperatures, aspartame breaks down into its constituent amino acids making it undesirable as a baking sweetener. It may also not taste exactly like sugar. Because it is so intensely sweet, relatively little of it is needed to sweeten a food product.

People having Phenylketonuria (PKU) should avoid aspartame. Aspartame also has some negative side effects in normal people including headaches, dizziness, mood variations, vomiting and/or nausea, abdominal pain and cramping, changes in vision, diarrhea, memory loss, and fatigue.

It is generally marketed in the name of NutraSweet, Equal and Sugar Twin.

Cyclamate

FDA banned the sale of cyclamate after lab tests in rats involving a 10:1 mixture of cyclamate and saccharin causes bladder cancer. Cyclamates are still used as sweeteners in many parts of the world, including Europe (e.g. UK and Russia).

It is generally marketed in the name of SweetnLow.

Saccharin

Saccharin is 300 to 500 times as sweet as sugar and is often used to improve the taste of toothpastes, dietary foods, and dietary beverages. The bitter aftertaste of saccharin is often minimized by blending it with other sweeteners.

High levels of saccharin may cause bladder cancer in laboratory rats by a mechanism not found in humans. Effects on humans is unclear.

It is generally marketed in the name of Sweet ‘N Low, Sweet Twin and Necta Sweet.

Stevia

Stevia is an herbal plant. Its leaves have two glycosides– stevioside and rebaudioside.  Stevioside is sweet but also has a bitter aftertaste while rebaudioside is better tasting, sweet and less bitter. Stevioside has some medicinal properties too.

However Not All Stevia product are Equal!

There are three main categories:

1. Green Leaf Stevia– This is the least processed. The leaves have basically been dried and ground into powder form. This stevia is sweet, slightly bitter. This type of stevia is about 30-40 times sweeter than sugar.

This is the type of stevia is the best option, but still should be used in moderation.

2. Stevia Extracts– Some brands of stevia extract the sweeter and less bitter part of the stevia leaf (rebaudioside) which doesn’t have the health benefits found in stevioside.  This type of stevia may be a better option than other regular sweeteners. This type of stevia is about 200 times sweeter than sugar.
3. Altered Stevia and Truvia– This is the type of stevia that you want to stay away from and in reality isn’t stevia at all. These stevia products are highly processed and have added ingredients.

United States patent for the Coca-Cola Company, Truvia goes through a 42 step process to make this processed sweetener.  First, the rebaudioside is extracted from the stevia leaf then, chemical solvents are added including acetonitrile which is toxic to the liver and is a carcinogen.  They then add in a GMO corn derivative erythritol.

Truvia or rebaudioside stevia products are about 400 times sweeter than sugar.

Also, many other stevia products contain additives such as sugar and dextrose that come from genetically engineered corn.

Sucralose

Sucralose is a chlorinated sugar that is about 600 times as sweet as sugar. It is used in beverages, frozen desserts, chewing gum, baked goods, and other foods. It is stable when heated and can therefore be used in baked and fried foods. About 15% of sucralose is absorbed by the body and most of it passes out of the body unchanged.

According to the Sucralose Toxicity Information Center, the absorbed sucralose and its metabolites (chemically altered substances) concentrate in the liver, kidney, and gastrointestinal tract. Sucralose may be more like ingesting small amounts of chlorinated pesticides like DDT.

It is generally marketed in the name of Splenda.

Acesulfame potassium

Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) is 200 times sweeter than sugar. It has a slightly bitter aftertaste. It is often blended with other sweeteners, which give a more sucrose-like taste. Ace-K is stable under heat, and moderately acidic or basic conditions, thus can be used in baking or in products that require a long shelf life. In conjunction with other sweeteners it is used in carbonated drinks, protein shakes, pharmaceutical products, especially chewable and liquid medications.  One of the chemicals found in Ace-K is the carcinogen methylene chloride. Long-term exposure to methylene chloride is linked to visual disturbances, headaches, depression, liver effects, nausea, mental confusion, kidney effects and cancers in humans.

It is generally marketed in the name of Sunett, Sweet One, and Sweet & Safe.

Mogrosides

Mogrosides (extracted from monk fruit) is not (yet) a permitted sweetener in the EU, although it is allowed as a natural flavor at concentrations where it does not function as a sweetener. Some of the products incorporating it are Nestle's Milo and certain Kellogg cereals. It is also the basis of tabletop sweetener Nectresse in the U.S. and Norbu Sweetener in Australia.

Sugar alcohols

Maltitol and sorbitol are often used, frequently in toothpaste, mouth wash, and in foods such as "no sugar added" ice cream. Erythritol is replacing other sugar alcohols in foods as it is much less likely to produce gastrointestinal distress when consumed in large amounts. In many other countries, xylitol, cyclamate, and the herbal sweetener stevia are used extensively.

So, what should you use? Best is to use real sugar, pure stevia or pure stevia drops in moderation. There’s virtually no health advantage to using honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, raw sugar or agave nectar. They are all metabolized as sugar and are isocaloric to sugar.