Choose Your Sweetener Wisely! (Part 1)

Saccharin (C₇H₄NO₃S), Benzosulfimide, Gluside

The "granddaddy" of artificial sweeteners. In 1951 research suggested this substance to be a carcinogen. Studies have linked it to bladder tumors, tumors else where in the body and bladder cancer. (Nutrition Action Health Letter, April 1998)

Buyer Information: Marketed primarily under the brand Sweet'N Low™. It can be found in toothpaste, mouthwash, cough syrups, chewing gum and other products. In the United States it is generally found in restaurants as a pink paper or plastic packet.

Facts by Wikipedia:

• Saccharin was accidentally discovered as a sweetener when Ira Remsen (professor at Johns Hopkins University) and Constantin Fahlberg were working with coal tar derivatives (coal tar is what is produced from the conversion of coal into coke for use in foundry furnaces). Remsen discovered saccharin's sweetness at dinner after not thoroughly washing his hands.
• Saccharin is 500 times sweeter than normal sugar (sucrose).
• Canada banned the use of Saccharin in 1977, but the United States did not because of intense opposition by diabetic groups - instead opting to force a warning label on all saccharin containing products stating that the product may be carcinogenic.
• In 1991, the United States FDA withdrew its proposed ban, and in 2000 the United States Congress repealed the law requiring warning labels on saccharin containing products - despite continuing and conflicting studies about the carcinogenic nature of saccharin.

Aspartame (C₁₄H₁₈N₂O₅)

Converts to formaldehyde and formic acid when ingested, a class A carcinogen. Some documented symptoms includes: Headaches, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, insomnia, blindness, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulty, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, lost of taste, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), memory loss, joint pain are just to name a few. Extremely poisonous to children. (Flying Safety Magazine, May 1992)

Buyer Information: Marketed under the brands Equal™, Nutrasweet™, Canderel™ and Spoonful™. Found in children multiple vitamins, cool aid, yogurt, cough syrups, chewing gum, cereal, diet colas and almost anything else that is commercially stated to be "sugar free". In the European Union aspartame can be found under additive code (E number) E951.

Facts by Wikipedia:

• Aspartame is approximately 180 times sweeter than sugar.
• Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by James M. Schlatter, a chemist working for G.D. Searle & Company. Schlatter had synthesized aspartame in the course of producing an anti-ulcer drug candidate. He discovered its sweet taste serendipitously when he licked his finger, which had accidentally become contaminated with aspartame.
• Aspartame's stability when dissolved in water depends markedly on pH. At room temperature, it is most stable at pH 4.3, where its half-life is nearly 300 days. At pH 7 however, its half-life is only a few days. Most soft-drinks have a pH between 3 and 5, where aspartame is reasonably stable. In products that may require a longer shelf life, such as syrups for fountain beverages, aspartame is sometimes blended with a more stable sweetener, such as saccharine.

Sucralose (C₁₂H₁₉Cl₃O₈)

Produced by chlorinating sugar (sucrose), which chemically changes the molecule structure. Studies on diabetic patients showed significant increase in glycosylated hemoglobin. This increase according to the FDA can imply loosing control of diabetes. Other studies show, shrunken thymus glands, enlarged liver and kidneys, atrophy of lymph follicles in spleen and thymus, reduced growth rate, decreased red blood cell count, aborted pregnancy, decreased fetal body weights and placental weights, diarrhea. (Sucralose Toxicity Information Center)

Buyer Information: Available exclusively under the brand Splenda™ (occasionally called Splendar™ in Canada). Sucralose is found in foods stated low carbohydrate (carb) but is popping up everywhere - read your ingredient labels. It is increasingly found in restaurants in the United States and Canada in yellow packets.

Facts by Wikipedia:

• Sucralose is between 500 and 700 times sweeter than sugar.
• Tate & Lyle (the makers of the Splenda™ brand) currently (as of this article) faces two lawsuits in U.S. courts from manufacturers of sugar and of competing artificial sweeteners, alleging that its marketing slogan, "made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar," deceives consumers into believing that sucralose is a natural product.