Non Nutritive Sweeteners

I told you I would fill you in on the Non-Nutritive Sweenters, a.k.a. Splenda, Equal, etc., so here goes.

These sweeteners are made from aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame K, saccharin, neotame, and others. They are intended to provide a sweet taste without the calories. All of them are considerably more sweet than sugar or fructose and can contribute to "Sweetness Overload". It can cause you to crave sweets. You know when you have a diet soda and then have a piece of fruit, the fruit never tastes good. That's because you are experiencing a sweetness overload from the diet pop and the fruit can't compete. It just doesn't taste as sweet, because it isn't. Diet pop also prohibts you from drinking the healthy beverages your body needs, i.e. WATER and Green Tea

ASPARTAME - a.k.a. Nutrasweet, Equal, Sugar Twin - contains Phenylalanine. Some people can't have Phenylalanine. That's why there is a warning label on these packets. It has no glycemic response. It was approved for limited use by the FDA in 1981 and has been approved in over 100 other countries. It's used in over 6000 different products and the US leads the world in sales. It does decompose in high heat and loses its sweetening power. I found it interesting to know that it is a product of Monsanto. If you don't know about this company keep reading because I'll speak about them in an upcoming blog.

HEALTH ISSUES - Aspartame is metabolized to aspartic acid, methanol, and phenylalanine. The assertions are this could cause numerous disorders such as obesity, neurological disorders, lupus, cancer, and brain damage. Some people claim allergic reactions, i.e. swelling of the tongue and throat, headaches, rashes, breathing problems, and neurological impairments.

Aspartic Acid occurs naturally in meats, milk, fruits, and vegetables. Methanol occurs naturally in meats, milk, fruits, and vegetables, too. Phenylalanine also occurs naturally in foods, however there is a concern for people with PKU. They will need to adjust the amount of Aspartame they consume.

According to the FDA we can safely consume 50 mg of Aspartame a day. That would mean a 125lb woman could drink 15 cans of diet soda per day.

SUCRALOSE - a.k.a. Splenda - 3 Chlorine molecules replace 3 Hydroxyl groups on the Sugar molecule. That's how they get by with saying it is sugar. Well, it's sugar with a little Chlorine added. According to research Chlorine passes through the body and is not absorbed. Chlorine at low exposure rates is not toxic. Sucralose is 600 times sweeter than sugar and is stable in cooking. It was FDA approved in 1998 for limited use. According to the FDA we can safely consume 5 mg a day.

HEALTH ISSUES - it is so new to the market we don't know of the potential health related problems.

ACESULFAME K - a.k.a. Sunett, Sweet & Safe - it's 200 times sweeter than sugar. The K refers to Potassium. It is excreted and unabsorbed by our systems. It was first approved in 1988 and according to the FDA we can consume 15 mg per day. It is typically blended with other sweeteners due to its taste. It is stable at high heat.

HEALTH ISSUES - There is some concern regarding long term use and cancer. It can contribute to "sweetness overload".

NEOTAME - Made by NutraSweet and is 7,000 - 13,000 times sweeter than sugar. It's composed of Phenylalanine and aspartic acid. It's similar to Aspartame. It's newly approved by the FDA in 2003. Supposedly, we can safely consume 2 mg per day. It is heat stable.

HEALTH ISSUES - It metabolizes at higher levels of methanol, aspartic acid, and phenylalanine than Aspartame. Major "sweetness overload" potential.

SACCHARIN - a.k.a. Sweet and Low, Sweet Twin, Necta Sweet. It is 200 to 700 times sweeter than sugar. It's the most used non-nutritive sweetener in the world. It is made from Sodium, Nitrogen, Hydrogen molecule discovered over 100 years ago. The use of saccharin has declined since the 1970's cancer scare and it does have a health warning label on the packet. It is heat stable.

HEALTH ISSUES - There is debate regarding saccharin and cancer. At high doses, saccharin is cancer causing, but supposedly safe at FDA approved intake levels.

Now that you have the FDA version of these products check them out for yourself. It would take me too long to list all of the potential health related risks from these sweeteners. Do some research, type in the names of these sweeteners and see what you find out. Most importantly, know what you are putting into your body. If you feel the benefits outweigh the risks - ok. At least you are informed. I look at it like this - if these "no calorie" sweeteners are so great and have eliminated so many calories - why are people fatter than ever????????? It's something to think about:)

Eat Intentionally!