American Fitness Professionals & Associates

Artificial Sweeteners or Sweet Nothing? by Scott Josephson

As millions of Americans cut down on carbohydrates

and sugar, the sales of artificial

sweeteners have been booming! Some people

worry about artificial sweeteners-possibly

because they are called “artificial”. Did you

ever wonder what’s in them? Should you?

These sugar substitutes exist in a greater array

than ever including newcomer’s sucralose,

(Splenda) asulfame k, (Sweet and Safe) neotame,

(Sunett) and Stevia. In addition, there’s

the old familiar aspartame, (Equal) saccharin,

(Sweet and Low) and the sugar alcohols

(xylitol). All of them have undergone life span

laboratory testing in rats, and short-term

human studies for toxicity, metabolism, reproductive

safety and pharmokenetic usage.

These non-nutritive sweetener’s provide

intense sweetening power, extremely low calories,

no energy and no effect on your insulin

levels. In 1961, the Joint Committee on Food

Additives introduced a formula known as the

Adequate Daily Intake (ADI). This is still currently

used to determine the safety consumption

of artificial sweeteners that would cause

no adverse effect if consumed on a daily basis

for a lifetime. So before you tear open that little

packet of sweetener and stir it into your

coffee or tea, let the debate begin!

WHAT IS SUCRALOSE?

Sucralose, also known as Splenda, is three

chlorine molecules (yeah chlorine) that replace

three hydroxol groups on the sugar molecule.

It passes through the body unabsorbed during

digestion, and is excreted in urine. It’s six hundred

times sweeter than table sugar yet contains

no calories. The FDA approved it as a

general-purpose sweetener in 1999. The little

yellow packets carry the

tagline “made from sugar

so it tastes like sugar”.

Some consumers and

health professionals have

interpreted this to mean

sucralose is less of a

chemical than other artificial

sweeteners. Sucralose has a long shelve

life and does not break down in high heat. It’s

used in products from cereal to yogurt that

uses high heat to manufacture. The success of

sucrolse has left its rivals struggling. It currently

enjoys 48% of the market share. The

Adequate Daily Intake (ADI) for sucralose is five

milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day.

WHAT IS ASPARTAME?

Aspartame, also known as Equal, is a nifty

chemical combination of aspartic acid,

methanol and phenylalanine. It’s two hundred

times sweeter than table sugar, and contains

four calories per gram. The FDA approved it

as a general-purpose sweetener in 1981 and it

does have a list of reported side effects.

Aspartic acid and methanol occur naturally in

tomato juice and skim milk at fairly high rates.

When released at 68 degrees Fahrenheit,

aspartame does break down to diketopiperzine

and loses stability for baking.

Additionally, it does have a warning label for

individuals with phenyketonurics (PKU) a rare

genetic condition usually diagnosed at birth.

These individuals lack the ability to process

one of the amino acids in aspartame. For

everyone else it’s safe according to exhaustive

research and reviews by the FDA, the World

Health Organization and other authorities.

Rumors have run wild that aspartame causes

headaches, dizziness, brain tumors and

almost every disease in the book, but there’s

no data to back these unsubstantiated claims.

It’s used in products world wide, and currently

has twenty four percent of the market share.

The Adequate Daily Intake for aspartame is

fifty milligrams per kilogram of body weight,

which is substantially higher than most other

sweeteners.

WHAT IS SACCHARIN?

Saccharin, also known as Sweet-N-Low, is a

combination of sodium, nitrogen and a hydrogen

dioxide molecule that’s three hundred times

sweeter than table sugar and contains no

calories. It’s extremely high heat stable, and

suitable for use in cooking and baking. Similar

to sucralose, it passes through the body unabsorbed

during digestion, and is excreted in

urine. Saccharin has been used to sweeten

foods and beverages since1900, and has

been approval by the FDA since 1970. In

1977 a ban was put on saccharin based upon

animal research that suggested it was a weak

bladder carcinogen. In the study, researchers

administered unrealistically high doses of

saccharin, equivalent to seven hundred cans

of soft drinks or ten thousand tablets per day,

every day, for a lifetime. The largest human

study in the United States showed no overall

association between saccharin consumption

and cancer. In addition, the current research

indicates the mechanism that causes cancer

when high levels of saccharin are consumed is

unique to male rats and not relevant to

humans. The FDA lifted the ban in 2002, as

saccharin is used in numerous products

worldwide. The Adequate Daily Intake for saccharin

is fifteen milligrams per kilogram of

body weight per day.

WHAT IS STEVIA?

Stevia is an herb-derived sugar substitute that

is widely used in South America and Japan,

but the FDA is not convinced of its safety. It’s

three hundred times sweeter than sugar, and

has a licorice type aftertaste. Additionally,

Stevia contains no calories and is unabsorbed

by the body. It is freely used by diabetics, and

has no effects on blood

glucose. In the 1980’s it

gained popularity as an

herbal tea sweetener.

Unlike other artificial products

it is naturally grown in

plant form. In 1986 the FDA

banned it as an unsafe

food additive, but under the dietary supplement

act its sold as a supplement in packet

form. It can’t be labeled as a sweetener or

added to commercially processed foods in the

United States, Canada or Europe. There are

several health claims and possible concerns

regarding potential carcinogenic properties,

fertility issues, and carbohydrate metabolism

with long-term use. Currently, there is insufficient

data to set tolerable upper limits and an

Adequate Daily Intake requirement. There is a

tremendous amount of information on websites

that promotes stevia as the sweetener of

the future, but as always the choice is ours.

Just remember that a teaspoon of sugar still

contains only sixteen calories, and has been

around long before us!

SCOTT JOSEPHSON, M.S.,

is the Director of Fitness and Dietician

at Hunters Run in Florida. Scott is

an Exercise Physiologist and practicing

dietician and specializes in healthy

weight achievement and overall

wellness. He is a contributing writer

for “Fitness Management” magazine

and “The ECA News”. Scott will be

presenting at ECA/Miami 2006

Nov 10-12th. www.ecaworldfitness.com