Artificial Sweeteners: The Real Skinny?Written by Loring A. Windblad
We already know that if you want to use a sweetener for whatever purpose, refined sugar is not what you should be using by choice. A far more viable option to refined sugar, either white or brown, is unrefined natural cane sugar commonly sold in Mexico and Caribbean and is sometimes available through health stores in USA and Canada. Read on and learn whether you should be trusting any of artificial sweeteners available.A brief history of Artificial Sweeteners. Would you believe that first artificial sweetener was put out to public in 1903 and was actually discovered in 1879? Between 1903 and 2002 several artificial sweeteners were introduced to North American public, each with its own unique promise of low calories and guilt-free consumption. What were they and when were they "invented and released" to public? And just how safe are each of them to use? Saccharin, discovered in 1879 by Constantine Fahlberg, a chemistry research assistant at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. It was used in industrial applications. In 1903 entrepreneur John F. Queeny and newly formed Monsanto began selling saccharin to food and beverage companies including Coca Cola. Also known as: acid saccharin, sodium saccharin and calcium saccharin. The major enticements to saccharin were it was a cheap, no calorie sweetener, unique in that it could not be metabolized by human body and was excreted in urine. Teddy Roosevelt stated "Anybody who says saccharin is injurious to health is an idiot." It became especially popular during WW II with sugar shortage. In 1977 Canadian research demonstrated that high doses of saccharin caused cancer in rats and it was immediately banned in Canada but reintroduced later. The US FDE deemed more study was required and allowed it to remain on market with frightening warning label "Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals." New legislation in 2001 removed this warning label. Saccharin belongs to a class of compounds known as sulfonamides. Persons who are allergic to sulfa drugs can react to saccharin with skin eruptions, breathing difficulties, headaches and diarrhea. Saccharin is presently sold in US as Sweet 'n Low and Sugar Twin, and in Canada as Sweet 'n Low. Saccharin can be considered relatively safe if you are not in any way allergic to sulfa drugs. Cyclamate. It was discovered in 1937 by Michael Sveda, a graduate student at University of Illinois, and patent was purchased by DuPont, later sold to Abbott Laboratories, making its debut in 1950 and was promoted as a no-calorie, diabetic-friendly sweetener. It was combined with saccharin in original Sweet 'n Low formula. It is also known as calcium cyclamate and sodium cyclamate. Research during 1960's showed evidence of bladder cancer and testicular abnormalities in laboratory rats and US FDA banned it in 1969. Later research showed that cyclamate also caused DNA damage in digestive organs of mice and rats. In 1978 Health and Welfare Canada declared a general agreement that cyclamates were no carcinogenic, based on more sophisticated lab testing that was available in previous years. It is presently being sold in Canada under brand name "Sugar Twin". Aspartame. Discovered accidentally in 1965 by James Schlatter, an employee of pharmaceutical company G. D. Searle, while working on new drug formulations. Safety studies by both G. D. Searle (the “inventor) and later FDA, particularly with help of G. D. Searle’s then CEO, Donald Rumsfeld, aspartame was approved in 1981. In 1985 G. D. Searle sold rights to Aspartame to Monsanto, company who has also given us Agent Orange, recombinant bovine growth hormone and a wide variety of chemicals and genetically modified plants. When first marketed aspartame was promoted as a “no-calorie sweetener that could help with weight loss, diabetes maintenance, lower incidence of cavities and reduce risks associated with obesity; it was even given an endorsement by American Dental Association.” Since its introduction independent research has show that aspartame has neuro-toxic and potentially deadly effects on human body. The most common health risks linked to aspartame include visual impairment, seizures, headaches, dizziness, high blood pressure, Fibromyalgia-like muscle pain, depression, speech impairment, tinnitus and memory loss. European researchers demonstrated in 2000 that formaldehyde, one of breakdown products of aspartame, accumulates in brain and other organs of regular users leading to immune, nervous system and genetic damage. These may consequently result in misdiagnoses as lupus, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and may as well lead to birth defects in children of aspartame users. In 2002 original safety studies revealed that diketopiperazine, another aspartame breakdown product and a known carcinogen, produced brain tumors in lab animals and was now showing up in brain tumor tissue removed from humans. Despite this preponderance of evidence of damaging effects of aspartame it presently remains approved and on sale in Canada and US. In fact, Health Canada recently declared aspartame “safe” for use by pregnant women. In US and Canada it is marketed as aspartame, Nutrasweet and Equal, and as Spoonfuls in US. A combination of aspartame and acesulfame potassium has been available since 1995 under name Twinsweet. Neotame. In 2002 neotame (the latest incarnation of aspartame) was released with full FDA approval. Acesulfame potassium, also known as acesulfame-K, potassium acesulfame, ace-K and ACK, appeared on North American scene in 1988 and has been sold under names Sunett, Sweet One, Swiss Sweet and Sweet & Safe. It was discovered in 1967 by Karl Clauss, a chemist working for Hoechst Group of Germany. Based upon safety studies by Hoechst (the inventor), FDA approved limited use of acesulfame potassium in 1988 despite protest by Center for Science in Public Interest (CSPI) that it had not been properly tested for safety. Like its precursors, saccharin and cyclamate, it is promoted as a non-nutritive sweetener. Non-nutritive means that it is not metabolized by body, therefore does not provide any caloric content, and is excreted in urine “harmlessly”. The Hoechst Group studies suggest that this additive might cause cancer in rats and CSPI has continued to protest inadequate safety studies originally done. Other studies demonstrated that one of breakdown products, acetoacetamide, affected thyroid gland in rats, rabbits and dogs; that rats in particular developed fast-growing benign tumors when fed acetoacetamide daily. Although it is marketed as a sugar alternative, acesulfame potassium may have a similar effect to sugar in that it can stimulate insulin release and could be problematic for those with syndrome-x, hypoglycemia or diabetes. It is most commonly seen in Canada as acesulfame-K; in US it’s sold under names Sunett or Sweet One.
| | Sugar or Artificial Sweeteners: Which To Use?Written by Loring A. Windblad
You are going on vacation. But this year you are going to new and never-before-visited places: you are checking out sugar and artificial sweeteners. America and Americans, Canada and Canadians (and most of Western Europeans), are in a health crises. We are overweight, we are physically unfit. Oh, not all of us, but a huge, tremendous proportion of populations of these countries. So who, or what, is culprit? Well, there's many of them – culprits, that is. But one - let's make that two – of them are: sugar and aspartame/sucaryl. This is perhaps absolute health-related double-edged sword Western World faces today? Sugar, in its refined state, is a horror for our diets, our nutrition, and our overall health. Aspartame is generally sweeter than sugar and is known to create an imbalance in system that is, of itself, just as bad as sugar. Further, it is a known, proven cancer causing agent. But there's another, equally and faster danger aspect to aspartame. Some people are allergic to aspartame. I'm one. Allergies take many forms. Some people break out in hives. Some people get sick. There are other reactions of which I'm unaware. However, in my case, I react to aspartame, sucaryl and their predecessor, exactly same way: they raise my blood pressure. Not just a little, but a lot. My particular allergic reaction (and I say "allergic" reaction as it was documented over a period of two years by three different doctors and an allergenist and confirmed as an allergic reaction) raises my blood pressure. Not just a little. My blood pressure normally runs about 135 / 75. On aspartame or sucaryl daily for just one month my blood pressure rises above 165 / 90. If I go longer, say two months, it gets up to 175 / 100 range. This is dangerous territory indeed. The downside here is not how high it gets. Your blood pressure can go up that high without much danger provided you get it under control. Medication can lower it. But for me, simply going off aspartame is not solution. It takes about four to six months to flush residual aspartame (blood pressure raising constituents of aspartame, that is) out of my system. I won't go into details of how I got there. But in 1989-1990 I was using diet sweetened food products for about 6 months. In February I had a checkup and my blood pressure came out at 170 / 95 – pretty high. I immediately stopped using aspartame-sweetened products and went back on sugar. By March 1st my blood pressure was down to 155 / 80 and on 7th of March I had my first stroke. It was a very mild one. By end of May my blood pressure had been at 135 / 75 for at least a month – and I had my second stroke. Again, fortunately, a very mild one.
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