We are born to love sweetness – a biological cue that has endured since our caveman days. In today’s world, we may get too much of the sweet stuff, often adding up to unneeded calories.
So scientists developed artificial sweeteners to fool our taste buds. The burning question: Are they safe?
Throughout the years, you may have heard the media sound alarms that some sweeteners raise the risk of certain cancers. However, after reviewing scientific studies, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has assured the public that those little pink, blue and yellow packets are safe. That’s good considering how much these substances can help people control weight, cut calories and manage chronic conditions such as diabetes.
Five artificial sweeteners have been studied by the FDA and other respected institutions: aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, acesulfame-K and neotame.
“If you need to use artificial sweeteners, you should probably opt for Splenda® (sucralose),” says Lindsey Stromberg, a registered dietitian from the Food and Nutrition Department at Cooper University Hospital. “It’s derived from sugar, but isn’t digested by your body and doesn’t have the aftertaste that some of the other sweeteners have.”
Here’s the low-down on your favorite sweeteners:
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Aspartame (NutraSweet® and Equal®) is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Aspartame was approved by the FDA in 1981 after the agency reviewed numerous studies showing the additive did not cause cancer or other problems in laboratory animals. In the mid 1990s, a researcher voiced concerns that a rise in brain cancer in the U.S. may be linked to the additive. The FDA and the National Toxicology Program conducted studies in mice and did not find a connection. People with a rare genetic disorder called phenylketonuria should avoid aspartane because their bodies cannot break down phenylalanine, the amino acid that aspartame contains.
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Saccharin (Sweet’N Low®, Sweet Twin® and Necta Sweet®) is 200 to 700 times sweeter than sugar. The substance was discovered in 1879 and generally recognized as safe until the 1970s when scientists learned that rats developed bladder cancer after receiving high doses of saccharin. Congress passed a law requiring that products with the substance bear a health risk warning. However, the National Cancer Institute later found the chemical did not cause cancer in humans and the tumors in rats were related to a mechanism that is unique to these animals. Federal legislation subsequently reversed the law.
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Sucralose (Splenda)
is 600 times sweeter than sugar. Although sucralose is made from table sugar, the substance doesn’t add calories because the body cannot digest it. The FDA reviewed more than 110 animal and human studies before approving sucralose in 1998.
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Acesulfame-K (Sunett® and Sweet One®) is 200 times sweeter than sugar and was first approved in 1998. The FDA and the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives reviewed more than 90 studies that found the substance was safe.
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Neotame is 7,000 to 13,000 times sweeter than sugar, depending on how it is used in food and doesn’t have calories. The FDA looked at more than 100 animal and human studies on neotame and determined that the substance was
safe. Neotame is still fairly new having been approved in 2002, so its availability is limited.
Still, if you are a healthy person without diet restrictions or concerns, some sugar is fine. Just be mindful of how much you consume. Also, don’t forego nutritious drinks, such as low-fat milk and juice.
“Sugar is OK and even tastes better. With some sweeteners like aspartame, there is a pretty strong aftertaste,” Ms. Stromberg says. “So for foods like yogurt, you may want to choose those with natural sugars. But just be sure they are low-fat.”