Pros and Cons of Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial Sweeteners

• Artificial Sweeteners

  By Mary Kearl
  
  Americans Love Fake Sugar
  
  In 2004, about 180 million Americansused low-calorie and sugar-free foods and beverages, according to a Calorie Control Council survey. But just how safe are these artificial sweeteners and low-calorie sugar substitutes? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved five artificial sweeteners. How do they compare to sugar??Find out more here.

• Artificial Sweeteners

  Aspartame
  
  Brand name: NutraSweet and Equal
  Strength: About 180-220 times sweeter than sugar
  Acceptable Daily Intake: 3,500 milligram/person/day (mg/p/d), or around 18 to 19cans of diet soda
  Use for Baking?: No
  Take Note: Aspartame is not recommended for people with phenylketonuria (PKU), since theycannot metabolize it.
  
  *Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) is a measure selected by the FDA that represents the maximum amount considered safe to consume each day over a lifetime. ADIs are chosen based on extensive research and are set to be about 100 times less than the smallest amount that might cause health concerns. A person can consume more than the ADI on occasion, as long as they don't consistently go over the ADI throughout life.
  
  Read on to learn more.

• Artificial Sweeteners

  Saccharin
  
  Brand name: Sweet'N Low and Sugar Twin
  Strength: About 300 times sweeter than sugar
  Acceptable Daily Intake: 350 mg/p/d, or nine to 12 packets of sweetener, according to the Mayo Clinic
  Use for Baking?: Yes
  
  Read on to learn more.

• Artificial Sweeteners

  Sucralose
  
  Brand name: Splenda
  Strength: About 600 times sweeter than sugar
  Acceptable Daily Intake: 350 mg/p/d, or about 6 cans of diet soda, according to the Mayo Clinic
  Use for Baking?: Yes
  
  Read on to learn more.

• Artificial Sweeteners

  Acesulfame Potassium
  
  Brand name: Sweet One and Sunett
  Strength: About 200 times sweeter than sugar
  Acceptable Daily Intake: 1050 mg/p/d, or about 30 to 32 cans of diet soda, according to the Mayo Clinic
  Use for Baking?: Yes
  
  Read on to learn more.

• Artificial Sweeteners

  Neotame
  
  Brand name: Not associated with one
  Strength: About 8,000 times sweeter than sugar
  Acceptable Daily Intake: 1,260 mg/p/d
  Use for Baking?: Yes
  
  This is the most recently approved sweetener, but is already in some low-calorie juices, iced teas and sodas.
  
  Next: Discover the positive and negative effects artificial sweeteners can have on your diet and health.

• Artificial Sweeteners

  Plus: No Longer Associated with Cancer Risk
  
  Of the FDA-approved artificial sweeteners, saccharin and aspartame were the only associated with cancer risk. Studies conducted in the 1970s linked saccharin to bladder cancer in rats and questions of it causing cancer in humans were raised. No clear evidence of a risk for human bladder cancer was found, according the National Cancer Institute (NCI). After FDA approval, later studies suggested an increase rate in brain tumors in humans, and lymphomas and leukemias in rats might be associated with the aspartame consumption. No evidence supports these claims, however, says the NCI. Acesulfame K, Sulacrose and Neotame received FDA approval after more than 100 safety studies were conducted on each sweetener.

• Artificial Sweeteners

  Plus: Can Help Reduce Daily Calories
  
  The American Diabetic Association refers to these substances as "free foods" because they make food taste sweet, are essentially zero-calorie substances and do not raise blood sugar levels. Can they help shed pounds? Potentially. By subbing the sugary or calorie-containing version of your favorite snacks and drinks for diet or calorie-free versions, you can shave hundreds of calories from your meals.

• Artificial Sweeteners

  Minus: May Alter Metabolism
  
  New findings indicate that swapping sugar (calories) for fake sugar (no calories) may not be the best diet trick. Eating artificially-sweetened foods may actually make youeat more than you would have had you eaten the regular version. Experiments conducted at Purdue University Investigative Behavior Research Center found that a group of rats fed saccharin-sweetened yogurt ate more calories, gained more weight and put on more body fat than a group fed yogurt sweetened with sugar. The study's authors explain that artificial sweeteners may affect the body's ability to regulate calorie intake and metabolism.

• Artificial Sweeteners

  Plus: Can Aid Safe Weight Loss
  
  Chewing sugar-free gum may help you burn calories and lose weight, according to a Mayo Clinic study conducted in 1999. The results found that chewing sugar-free?gum at 100 chews per minute can raise a person's metabolic rate by approximately 20 percent, and someone chewing gum all day could be burning at a rate of 11 pounds a year.