Are Artificial Sweeteners Okay?

I’m always amazed when friends or family ask for Sweet ‘n Low or Splenda, and they are always amazed when I say I don’t have any!  I’ve never used artificial sweeteners and have always been leery of them.

The American diet is inundated with sugar – in cereals, crackers, cookies and hidden away in other processed foods.  It’s in fruit juices, sodas, flavored water, energy drinks and diet drinks.  It’s an additive for coffee and tea and used in baking and cooking.  Our bodies need sugar as a source of energy, but when natural sugar is refined or overused, it upsets the natural balance and loses its benefits.  Sugar is definitely overused and its overuse results in all sorts of problems, including diabetes, weight gain, a compromised immune system and depression, to name a few. Artificial sugars aren’t sugar, but you still get the sweet flavor without the calories!  Perfect, right?  For those with diabetes, yes, but for the rest of us?  Not really.

SWEETENER	QUANTITY	CALORIES
Natural
Brown Sugar – chemically processed	1 tsp	15
Cane Sugar – chemically processed	1 tsp	15
Honey	1 tsp	20
Molasses	1 tsp	20
White Sugar – chemically processed	1 tsp	15
Stevia	1 packet	0
Raw Organic Agave	1 Tbs	60
Artificial
Equal	1 packet	5
NutraSweet	1 tsp	2
Splenda	1 tsp	5
Sweet N Low	1 packet	0
Sucanat	1 tsp	16

 

Two main artificial sugars are saccharin (Sweet N’ Low) and aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal and Sugar Twin).   Both are approved by the FDA, but they have no nutritional value and studies show that there are possible cancer links as well as allergic reactions.  Aspartame, which is found in more than 6000 products, is even more controversial than saccharin. It has been associated with headaches, dizziness, change in mood, vomiting or nausea, abdominal pain and cramps, change in vision, diarrhea, seizures/convulsions, memory loss, fatigue and even weight gain.  In addition, there are links to fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains, numbness in your legs, cramps, tinnitus, joint pain, anxiety attacks, blurred vision, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus, unexplainable depression, slurred speech, and various cancers.  Scary!

. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Saccharin was first produced in 1878 by a chemist working on coal tar derivatives; today it’s manufactured with chlorine and ammonia.   Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by a chemist working for G.D.Searle and Company, and is composed of three main compounds – aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol (wood alcohol), all of which can be dangerous.  As Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Food Rules, says, “If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.”    I know that the FDA says they are safe, but I’d rather err on the side of caution and sparingly use natural, unrefined sugars.  That means avoiding products labeled as “low calorie”, “diet”, “sugar free” or “no sugar added” too!  Saving only 10 calories or so just doesn’t seem like a good risk to me.

Information compiled from www.medicinenet.com/; naturalhealthsherpa.com; http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com/

 

 

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF FOOD LABELS

If you follow a whole foods diet and eat nothing from a box, bag or can, then you don’t need to worry about reading labels. Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma and Food Rules, simplifies the confusion about what is good for you and what isn’t with these seven words – “Eat Food. Not too much.  Mostly Plants.” (He calls processed foods “edible food like substances”.)  Realistically however, even the healthiest of eaters sometimes eats something with a label on it.  And understanding what it says is important.

Image by Betsy Wild

The fewer the ingredients listed on the label the better.  The most prominent ingredient is listed first and the least listed last. Most of the ingredients should sound like food, like organic whole wheat flour or organic short grain brown rice, instead of a name you can’t pronounce. The names of chemical additives and preservatives are long and difficult to say.   Sometimes a safe sounding name is used instead of the chemical name.  For example yeast extract is often used to hide MSG or monosodium glutamate, a flavoring for heavily processed foods to which many people have a reaction. What is worse is that there is no requirement to include the names of chemical contaminants, heavy metals, bisphenol-A, PCBs, or other toxic substances found in the food.  It’s also best to avoid foods with a lot of high fructose sugars (sugar has many names) and trans fats. Sugars and salt should be towards the end of the ingredient list.

Another concerning issue with food and food labeling is the use of genetically modified or engineered foods (GMO) – mostly soy and corn – that are in almost all processed foods.  GMO foods have insecticides built into their DNA, which supposedly are not digestible and will break down, but studies are showing otherwise. The dangers of GMO foods are numerous and there are many unknowns. Gary Hirschberg, former CEO of Stonyfield Farm yogurt has launched “Just Label It” in coalition with the Center for Food Safety, which has filed a petition with the FDA asking to require labeling of GMO foods.  Irridiated foods or those made from concentrate are labeled, so should GMO foods. More than 550,000 people have shown support of the petition.

When you next pick up a box of crackers or cookies, read the label and look for hidden unhealthy ingredients.  Notice whether it says “non-GMO”.  Is it really “All Natural”?  Be smart about the food you buy and demand proper labeling.  The health of our food system depends on it.

Information compiled from Food Rules, by Michael Pollan, http://www.naturalnews.com/, and Boston Uncommon article from the Boston Globe by Jenn Abelson, February 12, 2012.