-
1 of 10
-
2 of 10
-
3 of 10
-
4 of 10
-
5 of 10
-
6 of 10
-
7 of 10
-
8 of 10
-
9 of 10
-
10 of 10
Artificial sweeteners: healthy or harmful?
Archive
Comments
Story
Artificial sweeteners developed and became a healthy and alternative trend to the use of sugar. They are lower in calories and are supposed to be safe for use.
As the use of artificial sweeteners increased, the medical community found an emergence of multiple health problems. Are the claims that artificial sweeteners contain chemicals that cause cancer or other medical conditions fact or fiction? The current vote in the medical community is fact. Artificial sweeteners do contain chemicals that can have adverse reactions in the human body.
Toxic build-up of chemicals can occur in body cells if artificial sweeteners are used in excess amounts for long periods of time. Likewise, if a person has known or even unknown allergies to the chemical components of these sweeteners medical problems can occur. However, some medical professionals would argue the moderate use of sweeteners is not detrimental to a person’s health.
The most popular artificial sweeteners in the market are Splenda, NutraSweet or Equal, and Sweet-n-Low.
Splenda has received the most controversy lately. Splenda is a no-calorie sugar substitute that contains a modified sugar compound named sucralose. Sucralose was discovered in 1976 and approved by the FDA in 1988. The active ingredient of Splenda is sucralose, a modified sugar compound, contains chlorine. The chemical structure of the compound is C12H22Cl3O8. From the perspective of a chemist, chlorine-containing compounds are toxic and hazardous. For this reason, chemists would rank splenda in the same groups as other chlorine containing compounds such as DDT.
Chlorine does have potentially hazardous effects on the human body and in people who overuse sweeteners. People who have used splenda have complained of gastrointestinal problems for examples, bloating, gas, diarrhea, as well as skin rashes, itching, heart palpitations, shortness of breath and other symptoms related to anxiety and depression.
Equal and NutraSweet both contain aspartame. Aspartame contains four calories per gram, was discovered in 1965, and approved for use by the FDA in 1981. Aspartame, whose chemical composition is C14 H 18N 2O5, is a sugar substitute that contains the combination of the two amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine.
There are been many complications due to the use of phenylalanine. The most problematic is PKU or Phenylketonuria. Phenylketonuria is an inherited disease that occurs mostly in children, and causes mental retardation, learning and behavioral problems, neurological problems, and other forms of mental illness such as panic attacks, personality disorder and agoraphobia.
Kids who have PKU lack a gene that codes for the enzyme phenylalaninehydroxylase. The enzyme is important, as it is needed to convert phenylalanine to the amino acid tyrosine. Because children cannot properly convert phenylalanine to tyrosine, they have to avoid foods containing phenylalanine. This may include restricting protein rich foods that contain phenylalanine such as eggs, milk or bananas, as well as other protein rich foods such as fish, meat, chicken, nuts and other dairy products.
For the lay population, use of aspartame containing sweeteners has been known to cause a list of neurological, metabolic and endocrine problems ranging from weight loss, ulcers, bloating, fibromyalgia, headaches, psychological irritability, depression, asthma or irritated respiration, excessive thirst, drowsiness, diarrhea, nausea, tinnitus, to a damaged immune system.
Sweet-n-Low is a sweetener that whose active ingredient is the no calorie substitute saccharine, whose chemical composition is C7H5NO3S. Saccharine was discovered in a chemistry laboratory in 1879. The product was used through the 1950s and 1960s until bladder cancers began to emerge in the population. Due to the emergence of these cancers, in 1977 warning labels were put on products containing saccharine.
On December 15, 2000 the product ban was lifted and products were no longer required to carry the label. Originally, saccharine was thought to be safe for use especially among diabetic patients because the artificial sweetener does not disrupt insulin levels.
However, controversy exists over saccharine due to reports of brain tumors, dementia, behavioral problems, vision disturbances, headaches, hair loss, depression and anxiety attacks.
THERESA JENKINS
Culture Writer
