60.
Artificial Sweeteners
Dangerous Neurotoxins - Taking A Devastating Toll
Forget aspartame and saccharin and the myriad other artificial sweeteners— they are worse than refined sugar. Countless
studies show that they are powerful health destroyers. Of course, the research that is conducted by the manufacturers of these chemicals never indicates any link to health concerns.
Research done by independent organizations that do not have a vested financial interest in these synthetic sweeteners links these products to many serious health problems, including birth defects, brain tumours, menstrual irregularities and premenstrual syndrome, migraines and headaches, epilepsy and seizures, psychiatric disorders, blindness, and even death. Which studies would you believe?
According to author Michelle Schoffro Cook, artificial sweeteners are synthetic chemicals your body has to break down, chemicals your body may find it impossible to break down, chemicals your body was never designed to digest. The manufacturers of these products know this information and twist it with slick marketing campaigns to make you think that something that travels through your body undigested (and therefore has no calories) is good for you. According to them, foods sweetened with these chemicals are just a fabulous way to eat sweets without paying the price. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
studies show that they are powerful health destroyers. Of course, the research that is conducted by the manufacturers of these chemicals never indicates any link to health concerns.
Research done by independent organizations that do not have a vested financial interest in these synthetic sweeteners links these products to many serious health problems, including birth defects, brain tumours, menstrual irregularities and premenstrual syndrome, migraines and headaches, epilepsy and seizures, psychiatric disorders, blindness, and even death. Which studies would you believe?
According to author Michelle Schoffro Cook, artificial sweeteners are synthetic chemicals your body has to break down, chemicals your body may find it impossible to break down, chemicals your body was never designed to digest. The manufacturers of these products know this information and twist it with slick marketing campaigns to make you think that something that travels through your body undigested (and therefore has no calories) is good for you. According to them, foods sweetened with these chemicals are just a fabulous way to eat sweets without paying the price. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
No matter what the slick advertisements or product packaging might suggest, there really is no such thing as a free lunch. Nature in its infinite wisdom designed your body to perform many functions on the food you ingest as part of the overall digestion process and there are many organs that interact with every morsel of food you ingest. Each one is designed to break that food down to extract any goodness it offers and eliminate the leftovers.
If something cannot be broken down, your body wastes energy in a futile effort to do its job. These chemical substances clog your body’s natural detoxification mechanisms and make them less effective.
And there are a whole bunch of sugar substitutes, increasingly in use around the world.
If something cannot be broken down, your body wastes energy in a futile effort to do its job. These chemical substances clog your body’s natural detoxification mechanisms and make them less effective.
And there are a whole bunch of sugar substitutes, increasingly in use around the world.
Non-nutritive Sweeteners
The use of non-nutritive sweeteners began with the need for cost reduction and continued on with the need for calorie reduction. It is interesting that artificial sweeteners were actually chemicals being developed for another purpose when the researcher tasted it, often accidently and found that it was sweet.
Since the 1950s, non-nutritive sweeteners have become a weight-loss wonder that allowed us to have our sweets without the calories and cavities. Between 1999 and 2004 more than 6,000 new products containing artificial sweeteners were launched. They are found in so many products now that people can be consuming them without even knowing it.
The National Household Nutritional Survey estimated that as of 2004, 15% of the population was regularly using artificial sweeteners. These non-nutritive sweeteners are also referred to as intense sweeteners, sugar substitutes, alternative sweeteners, very low-calorie sweeteners, and artificial sweeteners.
The names of the five FDA-approved nonnutritive sweeteners are saccharin, aspartame,
acesulfame potassium, sucralose, and neotame. Each of these is regulated as a food additive.
Since the 1950s, non-nutritive sweeteners have become a weight-loss wonder that allowed us to have our sweets without the calories and cavities. Between 1999 and 2004 more than 6,000 new products containing artificial sweeteners were launched. They are found in so many products now that people can be consuming them without even knowing it.
The National Household Nutritional Survey estimated that as of 2004, 15% of the population was regularly using artificial sweeteners. These non-nutritive sweeteners are also referred to as intense sweeteners, sugar substitutes, alternative sweeteners, very low-calorie sweeteners, and artificial sweeteners.
The names of the five FDA-approved nonnutritive sweeteners are saccharin, aspartame,
acesulfame potassium, sucralose, and neotame. Each of these is regulated as a food additive.
High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
Study after study are taking their place in a growing lineup of scientific research demonstrating that consuming high-fructose corn syrup is the fastest way to trash your health. It is now known without a doubt that sugar in your food, in all it’s myriad of forms, is taking a devastating toll.
And fructose in any form — including high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and crystalline fructose — is the worst of the worst.
Fructose is a major contributor to:
- Insulin resistance and obesity
- Elevated blood pressure
- Elevated triglycerides and elevated LDL
- Depletion of vitamins and minerals.
- Cardiovascular disease, liver disease, cancer, arthritis and even gout.
If you received your fructose only from vegetables and fruits (where it originates) as most people did a century ago, you’d consume about 15 grams per day — a far cry from the 73 grams per day the typical adolescent gets from sweetened drinks. In vegetables and fruits, it’s mixed in with fiber, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and beneficial phytonutrients, all which moderate any negative metabolic effects. It isn’t that fructose itself is bad — it is the massive doses of an artificial substance you’re exposed to that make it dangerous.
There are two reasons fructose is so damaging:
1. Your body metabolizes fructose in a much different way than glucose. The entire burden of metabolizing fructose falls on your liver.
And fructose in any form — including high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and crystalline fructose — is the worst of the worst.
Fructose is a major contributor to:
- Insulin resistance and obesity
- Elevated blood pressure
- Elevated triglycerides and elevated LDL
- Depletion of vitamins and minerals.
- Cardiovascular disease, liver disease, cancer, arthritis and even gout.
If you received your fructose only from vegetables and fruits (where it originates) as most people did a century ago, you’d consume about 15 grams per day — a far cry from the 73 grams per day the typical adolescent gets from sweetened drinks. In vegetables and fruits, it’s mixed in with fiber, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and beneficial phytonutrients, all which moderate any negative metabolic effects. It isn’t that fructose itself is bad — it is the massive doses of an artificial substance you’re exposed to that make it dangerous.
There are two reasons fructose is so damaging:
1. Your body metabolizes fructose in a much different way than glucose. The entire burden of metabolizing fructose falls on your liver.
“There is every reason to believe that corn has succeeded in domesticating us.”
~Michael Pollan
2. People are consuming fructose in enormous quantities, which has made the negative effects much more profound.
Today, 55 percent of sweeteners used in food and beverage manufacturing are made from corn, and the number one source of calories is soda, in the form of HFCS.
Food and beverage manufacturers began switching their sweeteners from sucrose (table sugar) to corn syrup in the 1970s when they discovered that HFCS was not only far cheaper to make, it’s about 20 percent sweeter than table sugar.
As we saw in the last chapter, the average American consumes a staggering 149 pounds a year of sugar! And the very products most people rely on to lose weight — the low-fat diet foods — are often the ones highest in fructose.
Today, 55 percent of sweeteners used in food and beverage manufacturing are made from corn, and the number one source of calories is soda, in the form of HFCS.
Food and beverage manufacturers began switching their sweeteners from sucrose (table sugar) to corn syrup in the 1970s when they discovered that HFCS was not only far cheaper to make, it’s about 20 percent sweeter than table sugar.
As we saw in the last chapter, the average American consumes a staggering 149 pounds a year of sugar! And the very products most people rely on to lose weight — the low-fat diet foods — are often the ones highest in fructose.
Fructose Metabolism Basics
Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco, has been a pioneer in decoding sugar metabolism. His work has highlighted some major differences in how different sugars are broken down and used:
- After eating fructose, 100 percent of the metabolic burden rests on your liver. But with glucose, your liver has to break down only 20 percent.
- Every cell in your body, including your brain, utilizes glucose. Therefore, much of it is “burned up” immediately after you consume it. By contrast, fructose is turned into free fatty acids (FFAs), VLDL (the damaging form of cholesterol), and triglycerides, which get stored as fat.
- The fatty acids created during fructose metabolism accumulate as fat droplets in your liver and skeletal muscle tissues, causing insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Insulin resistance progresses to metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes.
- After eating fructose, 100 percent of the metabolic burden rests on your liver. But with glucose, your liver has to break down only 20 percent.
- Every cell in your body, including your brain, utilizes glucose. Therefore, much of it is “burned up” immediately after you consume it. By contrast, fructose is turned into free fatty acids (FFAs), VLDL (the damaging form of cholesterol), and triglycerides, which get stored as fat.
- The fatty acids created during fructose metabolism accumulate as fat droplets in your liver and skeletal muscle tissues, causing insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Insulin resistance progresses to metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes.
- When you eat 120 calories of glucose, less than one calorie is stored as fat. 120 calories of fructose results in 40 calories being stored as fat. Consuming fructose is essentially consuming fat!
- The metabolism of fructose by your liver creates a long list of waste products and toxins, including a large amount of uric acid, which drives up blood pressure and causes gout.
If anyone tries to tell you “sugar is sugar,” they are way behind the times. As you can see, there are major differences in how your body processes each one.
The bottom line is: fructose leads to increased belly fat, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome — not to mention the long list of chronic diseases that directly result.
- The metabolism of fructose by your liver creates a long list of waste products and toxins, including a large amount of uric acid, which drives up blood pressure and causes gout.
If anyone tries to tell you “sugar is sugar,” they are way behind the times. As you can see, there are major differences in how your body processes each one.
The bottom line is: fructose leads to increased belly fat, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome — not to mention the long list of chronic diseases that directly result.
Panic in the Corn Fields
As the truth comes out about HFCS, the Corn Refiners Association is scrambling to convince you that their product is equal to table sugar, that it is “natural” and safe.
Of course, many things are “natural” — cocaine is natural, but you wouldn’t want to use hundreds of pounds of it each year.
Of course, many things are “natural” — cocaine is natural, but you wouldn’t want to use hundreds of pounds of it each year.
Fructose is the number one contributing factor to the current obesity epidemic.
By now you are probably aware of the childhood obesity epidemic in America—but did you know about childhood hypertension?
Until recently, children were rarely diagnosed with high blood pressure, and when they were, it was usually due to a tumor or a vascular kidney disease.
In 2004, a study showed hypertension among children is four times higher than predicted: 4.5 percent of American children have high blood pressure. Among overweight children, the rate is 10 percent. It is thought that obesity is to blame for about 50 percent of hypertension cases in adolescents today.
—Johnson RJ and Gower T. (2009) The Sugar Fix: The High-Fructose Fallout That is Making You Sick and Fat,
The food and beverage industry doesn’t want you to realize how truly pervasive HFCS is in your diet — not just from soft drinks and juices, but also in salad dressings and condiments and virtually every processed food. The introduction of HFCS into the Western diet in 1975 has been a multi-billion dollar boon for the corn industry.
The FDA classifies fructose as GRAS: Generally Regarded As Safe, which pretty much means nothing and is based on nothing.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, there is plenty of data showing that fructose is not safe — but the effects on the people’s health have not been immediate. That is why we are just now realizing the effects of the last three decades of nutritional misinformation.
As if the negative metabolic effects are not enough, there are other issues with fructose that disprove its safety:
- More than one study has detected unsafe mercury levels in HFCS.
The FDA classifies fructose as GRAS: Generally Regarded As Safe, which pretty much means nothing and is based on nothing.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, there is plenty of data showing that fructose is not safe — but the effects on the people’s health have not been immediate. That is why we are just now realizing the effects of the last three decades of nutritional misinformation.
As if the negative metabolic effects are not enough, there are other issues with fructose that disprove its safety:
- More than one study has detected unsafe mercury levels in HFCS.
In the past 30 years, qualitative features of refined sugar consumption have changed concurrently with the quantitative changes. With the advent of chromatographic fructose enrichment technology in the late 1970s, it became economically feasible to manufacture high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in mass quantity. A rapid and striking increase in HFCS use has occurred in the US food supply since its introduction in the 1970s.
HFCS is available in 2 main forms, HFCS 42 and HFCS 55, both of which are liquid mixtures of fructose and glucose (42% fructose and 53% glucose and 55% fructose and 42% glucose, respectively). Increases in HFCS occurred simultaneously, whereas sucrose consumption declined. On digestion, sucrose is hydrolyzed in the gut into its 2 equal molecular moieties of glucose and fructose. Consequently, the total per capita fructose consumption (fructose from HFCS and fructose from the digestion of sucrose) increased from 23.1 kg in 1970 to 28.9 kg in 2000. As was the case with sucrose, current Western dietary intakes of fructose could not have occurred on a population-wide basis before industrialization and the introduction of the food-processing industry.
~Hanover LM, White JS. (Manufacturing, composition, and applications of fructose)
- Crystalline fructose (a super-potent form of fructose the food and beverage industry is now using) may contain arsenic, lead, chloride and heavy metals.
- Nearly all corn syrup is made from genetically modified corn, which comes with its own set of risks.
- Nearly all corn syrup is made from genetically modified corn, which comes with its own set of risks.
Aspartame - The Deadly Neurotoxin Nearly Everyone Uses Daily
Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by James M. Schlatter and it was later purchased by Monsanto. He was working on an anti-ulcer drug and accidentally spilled some aspartame on his hand. When he licked his finger, he noticed that it had a sweet taste. It is about 200 times as sweet as sugar. Aspartame is one of the most common artificial sweeteners in use today. It is sold under the brand names NutraSweet® and Equal®.
According to statistics published by Forbes Magazine, based on Tate & Lyle estimates, aspartame had conquered 55 percent of the artificial sweetener market in 2003. One of the driving factors behind aspartame’s market success is the fact that since it is now off patent protection, it’s far less expensive than other artificial sweeteners like sucralose (Splenda).
Today, the statistics on the aspartame market are being kept so close to the vest, it has proven to be virtually impossible to find current data on usage. By 1984, three years after its initial approval for use in tabletop sweeteners and dry food, U.S. consumption of aspartame had already reached 6.9 million pounds per year. This number doubled the following year, and continued to climb well into the 90’s. However, a 2009 Food Navigator article cites the current global market for aspartame as being roughly 37.5 million pounds and worth $637 million.
According to statistics published by Forbes Magazine, based on Tate & Lyle estimates, aspartame had conquered 55 percent of the artificial sweetener market in 2003. One of the driving factors behind aspartame’s market success is the fact that since it is now off patent protection, it’s far less expensive than other artificial sweeteners like sucralose (Splenda).
Today, the statistics on the aspartame market are being kept so close to the vest, it has proven to be virtually impossible to find current data on usage. By 1984, three years after its initial approval for use in tabletop sweeteners and dry food, U.S. consumption of aspartame had already reached 6.9 million pounds per year. This number doubled the following year, and continued to climb well into the 90’s. However, a 2009 Food Navigator article cites the current global market for aspartame as being roughly 37.5 million pounds and worth $637 million.
In the Anbarra Aborigines of northern Australia, average honey consumption over four 1 month periods, chosen to be representative of the various seasons, was 2 kg per person per year. In the Ache Indians of Paraguay, honey represented 3.0% of the average total daily energy intake over 1580 consumer days. Consequently, current population-wide intakes of refined sugars in Westernized societies represent quantities with no precedent in human history.
~ Hawkes K, Hill K, (Why hunters gather: optimal foraging and the Ache of eastern Paraguay)
According to aspartame.org, diet soda accounts for 70 percent of the aspartame consumed. A 12 ounce can of diet soda contains 180 mg of aspartame, and aspartame users ingest an average of 200 mg per day.
However, it can be quite difficult to calculate just how much you’re really ingesting, especially if you consume several types of aspartame-containing foods and beverages. Dosing can vary wildly from product to product. For example, the amount of aspartame will vary from brand to brand, and from flavour to flavour. Some can contain close to twice the amount of aspartame as others, and some contain a combination of aspartame and other artificial sweeteners.
However, it can be quite difficult to calculate just how much you’re really ingesting, especially if you consume several types of aspartame-containing foods and beverages. Dosing can vary wildly from product to product. For example, the amount of aspartame will vary from brand to brand, and from flavour to flavour. Some can contain close to twice the amount of aspartame as others, and some contain a combination of aspartame and other artificial sweeteners.
Ajinomoto, one of the leading aspartame manufacturers in the world next to NutraSweet, actually rebranded aspartame to
AminoSweet last year, in order to dissociate itself from the negative associations of aspartame.
It also wanted to “remind the industry that aspartame tastes just like sugar, and that it’s made from amino acids - the building blocks of protein that are abundant in our diet,” - as opposed to a concoction of chemicals never before consumed by man, some ingredients of which are more toxic than others. They will probably deceive some consumers with this newer, more sweetly innocent name that does not bear the same controversial past as the word “aspartame.”
Aspartame can already be found in some 6,000 food products and beverages, and the list is about to get even longer. Recently Ajinomoto announced a global R&D alliance agreement with Kellogg Company.
AminoSweet last year, in order to dissociate itself from the negative associations of aspartame.
It also wanted to “remind the industry that aspartame tastes just like sugar, and that it’s made from amino acids - the building blocks of protein that are abundant in our diet,” - as opposed to a concoction of chemicals never before consumed by man, some ingredients of which are more toxic than others. They will probably deceive some consumers with this newer, more sweetly innocent name that does not bear the same controversial past as the word “aspartame.”
Aspartame can already be found in some 6,000 food products and beverages, and the list is about to get even longer. Recently Ajinomoto announced a global R&D alliance agreement with Kellogg Company.
Your Brain And Aspartame
In a video entitled Sweet Misery, Dr. Russell Blaylock, a recently retired neurosurgeon and author of the book Excitotoxins - The Taste That Kills, says, because aspartame is “a poison that affects protein synthesis; affects how the synapses operate in the brain, and affects DNA, it can affect numerous organs. So you can get many different symptoms that seem unconnected.”
He’s referring to a Department of Health and Human Services report that categorizes 10,000 adverse reaction reports logged by the FDA. (Department of Health and Human Services Quarterly Report on Adverse Reactions Associated with Aspartame Ingestion, DHHS, Washington, DC, October 1, 1986).
I found out about the side effects of artificial sweeteners about 24 years ago. When diet pop first came out, I started drinking large amounts of it. I was 13. By the time I was fifteen I was having Grand Mal seizures. On new years eve at age 16, I had a really big seizure (body arched for fifteen minutes followed by convulsions and remained unconscious until the next day). It was absolutely terrible. Shortly following this incident my Aunt called me saying she had read an article in a health magazine all about the dangers of Aspartame. She informed me one of the things it could cause was seizures. I stopped ingesting anything with aspartame in it and have not had a seizure since. I have had a couple of times where I have ingested it by accident and felt like I was going to faint and have a seizure, so now I am extremely careful to check every label. As other artificial sweeteners have come out I have avoided them as well and do not allow my children to ingest anything with artificial sweeteners.
The effects of these poisons has been known for a very long time! Sadly our government seem to care more about the big corporations than they do for the health of the common people.
~ Lizz, Edmonton, Alberta, 01/21/2010
Two years prior to that, a CDC report dated November 2, 1984, discusses several hundred adverse reaction reports received, and at that time, the majority - 67 percent - of complainants also reported neurological/behavioral symptoms.
Some of the most commonly reported neurological symptoms include:
- Headaches
- Changes in behavior or mood
- ‘Fuzzy’ thinking
- Seizures
- Depression
A 1987 study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives states:
“If only 1% of the 100,000,000 Americans thought to consume aspartame ever exceed the sweetener’s ADI (acceptable daily intake), and if only 1% of this group happen coincidentally to have an underlying disease that makes their brains vulnerable to the effects of an aspartame-induced rise in brain phenylalanine levels, then the number of people who might manifest adverse brain reactions attributable to aspartame would still be about 10,000, a number on the same order as the number of neutrally related consumer complaints already registered with the FDA and other federal agencies.”
Some of the most commonly reported neurological symptoms include:
- Headaches
- Changes in behavior or mood
- ‘Fuzzy’ thinking
- Seizures
- Depression
A 1987 study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives states:
“If only 1% of the 100,000,000 Americans thought to consume aspartame ever exceed the sweetener’s ADI (acceptable daily intake), and if only 1% of this group happen coincidentally to have an underlying disease that makes their brains vulnerable to the effects of an aspartame-induced rise in brain phenylalanine levels, then the number of people who might manifest adverse brain reactions attributable to aspartame would still be about 10,000, a number on the same order as the number of neutrally related consumer complaints already registered with the FDA and other federal agencies.”
Published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2008, a South African study offers the same conclusions about the potential workings of aspartame on human brain and concludes that excessive aspartame ingestion might be involved in the pathogenesis of certain mental disorders and also in compromised learning and emotional functioning.
H.J. Roberts, MD, coined the term “aspartame disease” in a book filled with over 1,000 pages of information about the negative health consequences of ingesting aspartame. Dr. Roberts reports that by 1998, aspartame products were the cause of 80% of complaints to the FDA about food additives. Aspartame users have reported side-effects like fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains, numbness in legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, joint pain, depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss.
H.J. Roberts, MD, coined the term “aspartame disease” in a book filled with over 1,000 pages of information about the negative health consequences of ingesting aspartame. Dr. Roberts reports that by 1998, aspartame products were the cause of 80% of complaints to the FDA about food additives. Aspartame users have reported side-effects like fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains, numbness in legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, joint pain, depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss.
This monster sweetner is a creation of another monster, Monsanto, who knows how deadly it is. Monsanto funds the American Diabetes Association, American Dietetic Association, Congress, and the Conference of the American College of Physicians. The New York Times, on November 15, 1996, ran an article on how the American Dietetic Association takes money from the food industry to endorse their products. Therefore, they can not criticize any additives or tell about their link to Monsanto.
Saccharin
Saccharin was the first artificial sweetener and was originally synthesized in 1879 by Remsen and Fahlberg. Its sweet taste was also discovered by accident. It is 300 to 500 times as sweet as sugar (sucrose) 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.
Fear about saccharin increased when a 1960 study showed that high levels of saccharin may cause bladder cancer in laboratory rats. In 1977, Canada banned saccharin due to the animal research. In the United States, the FDA considered banning saccharin in 1977, but Congress stepped in and placed a moratorium on such a ban. The moratorium required a warning label and also mandated further study of saccharin safety.
Fear about saccharin increased when a 1960 study showed that high levels of saccharin may cause bladder cancer in laboratory rats. In 1977, Canada banned saccharin due to the animal research. In the United States, the FDA considered banning saccharin in 1977, but Congress stepped in and placed a moratorium on such a ban. The moratorium required a warning label and also mandated further study of saccharin safety.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, “Saccharin and its salts were downgraded from Group 2B, possibly carcinogenic to humans, to Group 3, not classifiable as to carcinogenicity to humans.
In 2001 the United States repealed the warning label requirement, while the threat of an FDA ban had already been lifted in 1991. Most other countries also permit saccharin, but restrict the levels of use, while other countries have outright banned it.
The EPA has officially removed saccharin and its salts from their list of hazardous constituents and commercial chemical products. In a December 14, 2010 release the EPA stated that saccharin is no longer considered a potential hazard to human health.
In 2001 the United States repealed the warning label requirement, while the threat of an FDA ban had already been lifted in 1991. Most other countries also permit saccharin, but restrict the levels of use, while other countries have outright banned it.
The EPA has officially removed saccharin and its salts from their list of hazardous constituents and commercial chemical products. In a December 14, 2010 release the EPA stated that saccharin is no longer considered a potential hazard to human health.
Sucralose
Sucralose is a chlorinated compound that is about 600 times as sweet as sugar, twice as sweet as saccharin, and 3.3 times as sweet as aspartame. It is used in beverages, frozen desserts, chewing gum, baked goods, and other foods. Unlike other artificial sweeteners, it is stable when heated and can therefore be used in baked and fried goods. It belongs to a class of chemicals called organochlorides, some types of which are toxic or carcinogenic. It is nothing like sugar even though the marketing implies that it is.
Common brand names of sucralose-based sweeteners are Splenda, Sukrana, SucraPlus, Candys, Cukren and Nevella. Sucralose can be found in more than 4,500 food and beverage products.
Sucralose was discovered in 1976 by scientists from Tate & Lyle, at Queen Elizabeth College, London. While researching ways to use sucrose as a chemical intermediate in non-traditional areas, Phadnis, a scientist was told to ‘test’ a chlorinated sugar compound. Phadnis thought that he has been asked to ‘taste’ it, so he did. He found the compound to be exceptionally sweet.
These scientists were in fact trying to create a new insecticide. It may have started out as sugar, but the final product is anything but sugar. According to the book Sweet Deception, sucralose is made when sugar is treated with trityl chloride, acetic anhydride, hydrogen chlorine, thionyl chloride, and methanol in the presence of dimethylformamide, 4-methylmorpholine, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, acetic acid, benzyltriethlyammonium chloride, and sodium methoxide, making it unlike anything found in nature. If you read the fine print on the Splenda web site, it states that “although sucralose has a structure like sugar and a sugar-like taste, it is not natural.”
Common brand names of sucralose-based sweeteners are Splenda, Sukrana, SucraPlus, Candys, Cukren and Nevella. Sucralose can be found in more than 4,500 food and beverage products.
Sucralose was discovered in 1976 by scientists from Tate & Lyle, at Queen Elizabeth College, London. While researching ways to use sucrose as a chemical intermediate in non-traditional areas, Phadnis, a scientist was told to ‘test’ a chlorinated sugar compound. Phadnis thought that he has been asked to ‘taste’ it, so he did. He found the compound to be exceptionally sweet.
These scientists were in fact trying to create a new insecticide. It may have started out as sugar, but the final product is anything but sugar. According to the book Sweet Deception, sucralose is made when sugar is treated with trityl chloride, acetic anhydride, hydrogen chlorine, thionyl chloride, and methanol in the presence of dimethylformamide, 4-methylmorpholine, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, acetic acid, benzyltriethlyammonium chloride, and sodium methoxide, making it unlike anything found in nature. If you read the fine print on the Splenda web site, it states that “although sucralose has a structure like sugar and a sugar-like taste, it is not natural.”
The name sucralose is misleading. The suffix -ose is used to name sugars, not additives. Sucralose sounds very close to sucrose, table sugar, and can be confusing for consumers. A more accurate name for the structure of sucralose was purposed. The name would have been trichlorogalactosucrose, but the FDA did not believe that it was necessary to use this so sucralose was allowed.
The presence of chlorine is thought to be the most dangerous component of sucralose. Chlorine is considered a carcinogen and has been used in poisonous gas, disinfectants, pesticides, and plastics. The digestion and absorption of sucralose is not clear due to a lack of long-term studies on humans. The majority of studies were done on animals for short lengths of time. The alleged symptoms associated with sucralose are gastrointestinal problems (bloating, gas, diarrhea, nausea), skin irritations (rash, hives, redness, itching, swelling), wheezing, cough, runny nose, chest pains, palpitations, anxiety, anger, moods swings, depression, and itchy eyes. The only way to be sure of the safety of sucralose is to have long-term studies on humans done.
This blend is increasingly found in restaurants, including McDonald’s, Tim Hortons and Starbucks, in yellow packets, in contrast to the blue packets commonly used by aspartame and the pink packets used by those containing saccharin sweeteners.
Sucralose was first approved for use in Canada in 1991. Subsequent approvals came in Australia in 1993, in New Zealand in 1996, in the United States in 1998, and in the European Union in 2004. By 2008, it had been approved in over 80 countries, including Mexico, Brazil, China, India and Japan.
The disease tsunami sweeping the world has a definite correlation with the introduction of these synthetic food additives in the public diet.
The presence of chlorine is thought to be the most dangerous component of sucralose. Chlorine is considered a carcinogen and has been used in poisonous gas, disinfectants, pesticides, and plastics. The digestion and absorption of sucralose is not clear due to a lack of long-term studies on humans. The majority of studies were done on animals for short lengths of time. The alleged symptoms associated with sucralose are gastrointestinal problems (bloating, gas, diarrhea, nausea), skin irritations (rash, hives, redness, itching, swelling), wheezing, cough, runny nose, chest pains, palpitations, anxiety, anger, moods swings, depression, and itchy eyes. The only way to be sure of the safety of sucralose is to have long-term studies on humans done.
This blend is increasingly found in restaurants, including McDonald’s, Tim Hortons and Starbucks, in yellow packets, in contrast to the blue packets commonly used by aspartame and the pink packets used by those containing saccharin sweeteners.
Sucralose was first approved for use in Canada in 1991. Subsequent approvals came in Australia in 1993, in New Zealand in 1996, in the United States in 1998, and in the European Union in 2004. By 2008, it had been approved in over 80 countries, including Mexico, Brazil, China, India and Japan.
The disease tsunami sweeping the world has a definite correlation with the introduction of these synthetic food additives in the public diet.
Cyclamate
Cyclamate, an artificial sweetener, is 30–50 times sweeter than sugar, making it the least potent of the commercially used artificial sweeteners.
Cyclamate was discovered in 1937 at the University of Illinois by graduate student Michael Sveda. Sveda was working in the lab on the synthesis of anti-fever medication.
He put his cigarette down on the lab bench, and, when he put it back in his mouth, he discovered the sweet taste of cyclamate.
Cyclamate was discovered in 1937 at the University of Illinois by graduate student Michael Sveda. Sveda was working in the lab on the synthesis of anti-fever medication.
He put his cigarette down on the lab bench, and, when he put it back in his mouth, he discovered the sweet taste of cyclamate.
On October 18, 1969, the Food and Drug Administration banned its sale in the United States with citation of the Delaney Amendment after reports that large quantities of cyclamates could cause liver damage, bladder cancer, birth mutations and defects, reduce testosterone or shrivel the testes. In the same month, cyclamate was approved for use in the United Kingdom and is still used in low-calorie drinks; it is still available without restriction in the UK and Europe. As cyclamate is stable in heat, it was and is marketed as suitable for use in cooking and baking. Commercially, it is available as Sucaryl™.
Cyclamate is approved as a sweetener in over 55 countries, including those in Europe.
In Taipei, Taiwan, a city health survey in 2010 found nearly 30% of tested dried fruit products failed a health standards test, most having excessive amounts of cyclamate, some at levels 20 times higher than the legal limit.
In the Philippines, Magic Sugar, a brand of cyclamate, has been banned. It was placed in coconut juices by local street-side vendors.
In Taipei, Taiwan, a city health survey in 2010 found nearly 30% of tested dried fruit products failed a health standards test, most having excessive amounts of cyclamate, some at levels 20 times higher than the legal limit.
In the Philippines, Magic Sugar, a brand of cyclamate, has been banned. It was placed in coconut juices by local street-side vendors.
Acesulfame K
Acesulfame K has been an approved sweetener since 1988, and yet most people are not even aware that this is an artificial sweetener being used in their food and beverages. It is listed in the ingredients on the food label as acesulfame K, acesulfame potassium, Ace-K, or Sunett. It is 200 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar) and is often used as a flavor-enhancer or to preserve the sweetness of sweet foods. The FDA has set an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of up to 15 mg/kg of body weight/day.
The problems surrounding acesulfame K are based on the improper testing and lack of long-term studies. Acesulfame K contains the carcinogen methylene chloride. Long-term exposure to methylene chloride can cause headaches, depression, nausea, mental confusion, liver effects, kidney effects, visual disturbances, and cancer in humans. There has been a great deal of opposition to the use of acesulfame K without further testing, but at this time, the FDA has not required that these tests be done.
The problems surrounding acesulfame K are based on the improper testing and lack of long-term studies. Acesulfame K contains the carcinogen methylene chloride. Long-term exposure to methylene chloride can cause headaches, depression, nausea, mental confusion, liver effects, kidney effects, visual disturbances, and cancer in humans. There has been a great deal of opposition to the use of acesulfame K without further testing, but at this time, the FDA has not required that these tests be done.
Neotame
In 2002, the FDA approved a new version of aspartame called Neotame. It is much sweeter than aspartame with a potency of approximately 7,000 to 13,000 times sweeter than sugar.
Neotame is also being promoted for use as a flavor enhancer that “accentuates and lifts the flavors in food.” The neotame web site states that it’s safe for use by people of all ages, including pregnant or breastfeeding women, teens and children, and can be used in cooking. The FDA has set an acceptable daily intake (ADI) at 18 mg/kg of body weight/day.
Neotame entered the market much more discreetly than the other artificial sweeteners. While the web site for neotame claims that there are over 100 scientific studies to support its safety, they are not readily available to the public. Opponents of neotame claim that the studies that have been done do not address the long-term health implications of using this sweetener. The chemical similarity that it has to aspartame may mean that it can cause the same problems that are associated with that. Without scientifically sound studies done by independent labs, there is no way to know if this is safe and for whom it is safe.
Neotame is also being promoted for use as a flavor enhancer that “accentuates and lifts the flavors in food.” The neotame web site states that it’s safe for use by people of all ages, including pregnant or breastfeeding women, teens and children, and can be used in cooking. The FDA has set an acceptable daily intake (ADI) at 18 mg/kg of body weight/day.
Neotame entered the market much more discreetly than the other artificial sweeteners. While the web site for neotame claims that there are over 100 scientific studies to support its safety, they are not readily available to the public. Opponents of neotame claim that the studies that have been done do not address the long-term health implications of using this sweetener. The chemical similarity that it has to aspartame may mean that it can cause the same problems that are associated with that. Without scientifically sound studies done by independent labs, there is no way to know if this is safe and for whom it is safe.
Sugar Alcohols
If you spend any time looking at nutrition labels, you’ve probably noticed some intriguing ingredients in sweet foods that are touted as diet-friendly, sugar-free, low-carb, or even formulated for people with diabetes. One ingredient, known as sugar alcohol, is a special type of sugar replacement that is frequently found in soft drinks, gums, cookies, and sugar-free candy. Ever wonder what sugar alcohol is doing in these supposedly healthy foods?
The term “sugar alcohol” is very misleading. Sugar alcohols get their name from their unique chemical structure, which resembles both sugar and alcohol. But they’re neither sugars nor alcohols. In fact, sugar alcohols are a type of carbohydrate that sweetens foods, but with half the calories of sugar. There are several specific types of sugar alcohols (usually ending with the letters “-ol”). When reading a food label, the following ingredients are actually sugar alcohols:
- Erythritol
- Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates
- Isomalt
- Lactitol
- Maltitol
- Mannitol
- Sorbitol
- Xylitol
You’ll find sugar alcohols in a wide variety of foods (gums, pancake syrups, candies, ice creams, baked goods, and fruit spreads), health and beauty products (toothpastes, mouthwashes and breath mints), and even medicines (cough syrups, cough drops and throat lozenges). Also they are found in pie fillings, cake frostings, canned fruit, beverages, yogurt and tabletop sweeteners.
The term “sugar alcohol” is very misleading. Sugar alcohols get their name from their unique chemical structure, which resembles both sugar and alcohol. But they’re neither sugars nor alcohols. In fact, sugar alcohols are a type of carbohydrate that sweetens foods, but with half the calories of sugar. There are several specific types of sugar alcohols (usually ending with the letters “-ol”). When reading a food label, the following ingredients are actually sugar alcohols:
- Erythritol
- Hydrogenated starch hydrolysates
- Isomalt
- Lactitol
- Maltitol
- Mannitol
- Sorbitol
- Xylitol
You’ll find sugar alcohols in a wide variety of foods (gums, pancake syrups, candies, ice creams, baked goods, and fruit spreads), health and beauty products (toothpastes, mouthwashes and breath mints), and even medicines (cough syrups, cough drops and throat lozenges). Also they are found in pie fillings, cake frostings, canned fruit, beverages, yogurt and tabletop sweeteners.
Stevia
Stevia is a type of leaf from the Sunflower family. Stevia has been used as a natural sweetener in countries like Japan for decades and in South America for centuries without any side effects. It is interesting to note that the powerful food industry has made it illegal to sell natural stevia as a sweetener in USA.
On December 17, 2008, the FDA did grant GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status to rebaudioside which is one component of the whole stevia plant, and this specific purified component of stevia may be used as a food additive and sold as an alternative sweetener. Examples include Truvia and Purevia. The jury is still out, however, on whether consuming this one component of stevia is as safe as consuming extract from the whole plant, as all the synergistic, protective factors have been removed in these refined products.
On December 17, 2008, the FDA did grant GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status to rebaudioside which is one component of the whole stevia plant, and this specific purified component of stevia may be used as a food additive and sold as an alternative sweetener. Examples include Truvia and Purevia. The jury is still out, however, on whether consuming this one component of stevia is as safe as consuming extract from the whole plant, as all the synergistic, protective factors have been removed in these refined products.
Agave Syrup
Agave syrup is 1.4 to 1.6 times sweeter than sugar. Agave nectar is often substituted for sugar or honey in recipes. Because it dissolves quickly, it can be used as a sweetener for cold beverages such as iced tea. It is added to some breakfast cereals as a binding agent.
Avoid agave syrup since it is a highly processed sap that is almost all fructose. Your blood sugar will spike just as it would if you were consuming regular sugar or HFCS. Agave’s meteoric rise in popularity is due to a great marketing campaign, but any health benefits present in the original agave plant are processed out.
Agave nectar syrup is a triumph of marketing over science. True, it may have a low-glycemic index, but so does gasoline -- that doesn’t mean it’s good for you.
Avoid agave syrup since it is a highly processed sap that is almost all fructose. Your blood sugar will spike just as it would if you were consuming regular sugar or HFCS. Agave’s meteoric rise in popularity is due to a great marketing campaign, but any health benefits present in the original agave plant are processed out.
Agave nectar syrup is a triumph of marketing over science. True, it may have a low-glycemic index, but so does gasoline -- that doesn’t mean it’s good for you.
Artificial Sweeteners - The Myth of Weight Loss
The majority of the people who use these products often do so in order to save calories to lose or maintain weight. We are told that this is why we need to consume them and it would be upsetting to find out that they have actually been a part of the problem and not the solution.
The research that shows weight gain with artificial-sweetener consumption has been around since the 1970s. The Nurses’ Health Study in 1970 found weight gain over eight years in 31,940 women using saccharin. In the early ‘80s, the American Cancer Society’s study of 78,694 women found that after one year 2.7% to 7.1% more regular artificial-sweetener users gained weight compared to nonusers. The San Antonio Heart Study followed 3,682 adults over eight years on the early ‘80s. Those who consumed more artificial sweeteners had higher body mass index (BMIs), and the more they consumed, the higher the BMI.
In some studies where they replaced sugar-sweetened beverages with artificial sweetened ones, no difference in weight loss was shown. The possible cause of this could be that artificial sugar actually increases sugar cravings. The theory is that our bodies sense the sweetness of the food and expect the calories. When you consume the artificial sweetener without the calories, your body continues to crave the calories so you end up eating more calories later on.
In rat studies, rats fed diets with artificial sweeteners ate more calories all day then those fed meals with sugar. There may also be a connection with a complex food reward pathway that drives our desire to eat. The sweetness without the calories interferes with the normal process of this pathway causing an increased craving for sweets.
Take a two-week sugar sabbatical and see how different you feel.
The research that shows weight gain with artificial-sweetener consumption has been around since the 1970s. The Nurses’ Health Study in 1970 found weight gain over eight years in 31,940 women using saccharin. In the early ‘80s, the American Cancer Society’s study of 78,694 women found that after one year 2.7% to 7.1% more regular artificial-sweetener users gained weight compared to nonusers. The San Antonio Heart Study followed 3,682 adults over eight years on the early ‘80s. Those who consumed more artificial sweeteners had higher body mass index (BMIs), and the more they consumed, the higher the BMI.
In some studies where they replaced sugar-sweetened beverages with artificial sweetened ones, no difference in weight loss was shown. The possible cause of this could be that artificial sugar actually increases sugar cravings. The theory is that our bodies sense the sweetness of the food and expect the calories. When you consume the artificial sweetener without the calories, your body continues to crave the calories so you end up eating more calories later on.
In rat studies, rats fed diets with artificial sweeteners ate more calories all day then those fed meals with sugar. There may also be a connection with a complex food reward pathway that drives our desire to eat. The sweetness without the calories interferes with the normal process of this pathway causing an increased craving for sweets.
Take a two-week sugar sabbatical and see how different you feel.