Are Artificial Sweeteners Safe?
3:34 AM
The average American consumes a whopping 152 pounds of “added” sugars a year. (Added sugars are caloric sweeteners that are not found naturally in foods.) That’s way, way, beyond the 10 teaspoons a day of added sugar the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends as a limit.
If you have diabetes, it’s especially important to keep an eye on sugar intake. Of course that’s not as easy as it sounds because sugar is found in everything from salad dressing and ketchup to energy bars and yogurt. For people with diabetes, consuming added sugars can be particularly problematic because it causes blood glucose levels to spike.
Fortunately, foods and beverages made with artificial sweeteners can help satisfy cravings without causing blood glucose to rise.
Possible health benefits of artificial sweeteners
One benefit of artificial sweeteners is that they don't contribute to tooth decay and cavities. They may also help with the following:
- Weight control. One of the most appealing aspects of artificial sweeteners is that they are non-nutritive — they have virtually no calories. In contrast, each gram of regular table sugar contains 4 calories. A teaspoon of sugar is about 4 grams. For perspective, consider that one 12-ounce can of a sweetened cola contains 8 teaspoons of added sugar, or about 130 calories. If you're trying to lose weight or prevent weight gain, products sweetened with artificial sweeteners rather than with higher calorie table sugar may be an attractive option. On the other hand, some research has suggested that consuming artificial sweeteners may be associated with increased weight, but the cause is not yet known.
- Diabetes. Artificial sweeteners may be a good alternative to sugar if you have diabetes. Unlike sugar, artificial sweeteners generally don't raise blood sugar levels because they are not carbohydrates. But because of concerns about how sugar substitutes are labeled and categorized, always check with your doctor or dietitian about using any sugar substitutes if you have diabetes.
Which Artificial Sweetener is the Healthiest
There are five artificial sweeteners with U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. They are found in foods and beverages, and also sold packaged to use in cooking and baking. The five artificial sweeteners available today are:
Artificial Sweetener Side Effects
Although artificial sweeteners have been under the microscope of the public eye for decades, there is no clear evidence that artificial sweeteners cause any side effects. Studies in the early 1970s linked saccharin to increased rates of bladder cancer in laboratory rats, but subsequent studies proved conclusively that these results applied only to rats, and not to humans.
There was a scare in the mid-1990s when a report was released suggesting that aspartame might have led to an increase in the number of people with brain tumors between 1975 and 1992. However, a closer look at the data shows no proof whatsoever to these claims.
Numerous studies in the past few decades have confirmed that artificial sweeteners are safe in reasonable quantities, even for pregnant women.
How Artificial Sweeteners Can Help
Small changes can make a big difference. Swapping artificially sweetened beverages for sugar-sweetened ones can save you dozens of grams of carbohydrates and hundreds of calories, every day. For example, if you drink two 12-ounce sodas daily, you’re consuming 80 grams of carbohydrates and 300 calories. If you choose diet soda, or zero-calorie sweetened soda water, you’re saving a ton of calories. If you swap 2 teaspoons of sugar in your morning coffee for one packet of artificial sweetener, you save 32 calories and 10 grams of carbohydrates.
Natural sweeteners
Natural sweeteners are sugar substitutes that are often promoted as healthier options than processed table sugar or other sugar substitutes. But even these so-called natural sweeteners often undergo processing and refining, including agave nectar.
Among the natural sweeteners that the FDA recognizes as being generally safe for consumption are fruit juices and nectars, honey, molasses, and maple syrup.
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