With artificial sweeteners becoming more and more popular and with new substances that include them entering the market, consumers want to know which ones are OK and which ones are not. Basically, it comes down to ones preference. In this article I hope to share some basic facts about artificial sweeteners to help people make an informed decision about whether to consume them or not.
What is important for people to know is that all artificial sweeteners are chemicals that have the sweetness of sugar without as many calories. Because these substitutes are much sweeter than sugar, it takes a much smaller quantity to create the same sweetness.
Aspartame (Equal), Sucralose (Splenda), and Saccharin (SweetnLow)are the most popular ones. These have all have been recognized as approved sweeteners by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but nevertheless, the question about their being safe or not is still very much an issue.
Aspartame which is more familiar to consumers as Equal, has been approved for more than 20 years by the FDA as a general purpose sweetener. Although it does provide some calories, only a small quantity is needed because of its strong sweet taste. Thus only a negligible amount of calories are actually consumed.
Results of studies done about the safety of Aspartame had been questioned and debated mainly because those that gave positive recommendations were ones funded by companies supporting aspartame. Aside from that, there are also studies that link aspartame use to depression, cancer, headache and increased hunger. More research is necessary to determine the efficacy of this substance.
Perhaps the artificial sweetener closest to sugar is Sucralose, more familiarly known as Splenda. It contains no calories and is not fully absorbed by the body. In fact it is not 100% natural sucrose, there are also bulking agents (e.g. maltodextrin) which have carbohydrates added to it. Like Aspartame, the caloric value is negligible unless used in significant amounts such as when baking.
Lastly there is Saccharin which has been around for many years. It is one of the most researched artificial sweeteners. Much of the studies focused on whether the substance caused cancer in rats. The research eventually expanded to human studies and the results from these show that saccharin does not have a carcinogenic effect on people. In spite of this, there is still controversy about whether humans should limit their overall consumption of Saccharin based on the evidence of carcinogens in rats.
Now, knowing all these, what is your verdict on artificial sweeteners? As far as I'm concerned, going natural is still the best. If you think they are okay, just make sure you limit your use and go for products that include natural ingredients.
Author Resource:-
Charles Volcolatte is a health and weight loss researcher for www.skinnyasap.com. He writes and researches actively on Healthy Weight Loss and shares his knowledge at www.skinnyasap.com where he works as a staff writer.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.massagebyben.com/articles/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites 