Artificial Sweeteners

Warning: Long, science-heavy video. No funny cats or guys getting hit in the nuts.

Artificial sweeteners, or as they are usually referred to in the literature "non-caloric" sweeteners or "high-intensity" sweeteners, address the problem of sugar calorie excess in our diet. They've been demonstrated to support weight loss or maintenance, reduce cavities and can be part of a healthy lifestyle.

Much focus has been on

CSPI report: http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm
I disagree with CSPI on about 25% of their rankings, but I appreciate that they take a very conservative stance.

Citations:
Aspartame:
1. Comp Funct Genomics. 2010. In vivo cytogenetic studies on aspartame.
2. Drug Chem Toxicol. 2004 Aug;27(3):257-68. Genotoxicity of aspartame.
3. Am J Ind Med. 2010 Dec;53(12):1197-206. Aspartame administered in feed, beginning prenatally through life span, induces cancers of the liver and lung in male Swiss mice.
4. Toxicol In Vitro. 2011 Feb;25(1):286-93. In vitro effect of aspartame in angiogenesis induction.

Sucralose:
5. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2009 Oct;55(1):1-5. An overview of the safety of sucralose.
6. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2009 Oct;55(1):6-12. Expert panel report on a study of Splenda in male rats.
7. Food Chem Toxicol. 2000;38 Suppl 2:S53-69. Acute and subchronic toxicity of sucralose.
8. Food Chem Toxicol. 2000;38 Suppl 2:S71-89. A combined chronic toxicity/carcinogenicity study of sucralose in Sprague-Dawley rats.
9. Food Chem Toxicol. 2000;38 Suppl 2:S91-7. A carcinogenicity study of sucralose in the CD-1 mouse.

AceK:
10. Horm Metab Res. 1987 Jun;19(6):233-8. The effect of artificial sweetener on insulin secretion. 1. The effect of acesulfame K on insulin secretion in the rat (studies in vivo).
11. Food Chem Toxicol. 1997 Dec;35(12):1177-9. In vivo cytogenetic studies on mice exposed to acesulfame-K--a non-nutritive sweetener.

General reviews:
12. Ann Oncol. 2004 Oct;15(10):1460-5. Artificial sweeteners--do they bear a carcinogenic risk?
13. Yale J Biol Med. 2010 Jun;83(2):101-8. Gain weight by "going diet?" Artificial sweeteners and the neurobiology of sugar cravings
14. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1996 Mar;20 Suppl 2:S12-7. Effect of sucrose and sweeteners on appetite and energy intake.
15. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jan;89(1):1-14. Nonnutritive sweetener consumption in humans: effects on appetite and food intake and their putative mechanisms.
16. Physiol Behav. 2010 Apr 26;100(1):55-62. High-intensity sweeteners and energy balance.
17. Physiol Behav. 2009 Dec 7;98(5):618-24. Effect of moderate intake of sweeteners on metabolic health in the rat.
18. Food Addit Contam. 2006 Apr;23(4):327-38. The intake of intense sweeteners - an update review.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Artificial
• sweetener
• aspartame
• sucralose
• saccharin
• cyclamate
• acesulfame
• science
• health
• research
• CSPI
• sugar
• obesity
• c0nc0rdance

[wjestick]

These sweeteners have not been in food long enough to be declared safe. No evidence can mean have not looked. The problem with new additives is that in addition to the direct effects, there are many possible interactions, with the body and other additives.

You can't get to all that in a short video, but you should highlight that shortcoming in your analysis. As a result of that omission, the video comes over a little like propaganda rather than a review of accepted research.

[C0nc0rdance]

@wjestick

Here are some fun ways to date these:

Saccharin is older than the phonograph.

AceK is about as old as the first nuclear submarine.

Aspartame is about as old as the Beatles White Album.

Sucralose is about as old as Star Wars.

[Nextstopearth]

So just to be clear, if one were going to take in a moderate amount of sugar per day, would you consider it a good idea to replace that sugar with an equivalent(in sweetness) amount of artificial sweetener?

[C0nc0rdance]

@Nextstopearth

It looks like both are pretty safe in tight moderation (assuming you "burn what you take in"), but if you are the type of person who gets even a little excess, I think you'd be better off with sucralose.

I still have deep reservations about AceK, but it's the LACK of evidence that I worry about.

[NobleXenon54]

Nice video. Though CSPI is the last place I would ever get my health information from. Anybody remember CSPI saying that transfats are healthy and saturated fats are bad?

[C0nc0rdance]

@NobleXenon54

No! I don't remember that. Source, please! Thanks!

Dr. Wikipedia tells me that they were trying to stop animal fat frying as far back as 1989. I don't agree with them on everything, but I recognize that they are much more sensitive to risk than I am.

[resistnzisfutl]

A most outstanding and comprehensive presentation of artificial sweeteners that actually gets it right for a change. There is an astounding amount of misinformation and, well, ideology surrounding artificial sweeteners that the actual science too easily gets lost in the fray. It's very refreshing to see someone actually do the due diligence instead of rehashing chain emails or quack pseudoscientific homeopaths trying to sell books. Nicely done, I look forward to seeing your other work!

[adolson]

I've had no issues with Xylitol, and I've been eating it for years.

[cyberaquarius]

-Walton RG et al., “Adverse reactions to aspartame: double-blind challenge in patients from a vulnerable population.” Biol Psychiatry. 1993 Jul 1-15;34(1-2):13-7

-Van den Eeden SK et al., “Aspartame ingestion and headaches: a randomized crossover trial.” Neurology. 1994 Oct;44(10):1787-93.

[cyberaquarius]

-Abhilash M et al., “Effect of long term intake of aspartame on antioxidant defense status in liver.” Food Chem Toxicol. 2011 Jun;49(6):1203-7. Epub 2011 Mar 3.

-Ciappuccini R et al., “Aspartame-induced fibromyalgia, an unusual but curable cause of chronic pain.” Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2010 Nov-Dec;28(6 Suppl 63):S131-3. Epub 2010 Dec 22.

-Soffritti M et al., “Aspartame administered in feed, beginning prenatally through life span, induces cancers of the liver and lung in male Swiss mice.”

[Kostly]

@wjestick We don't consume snake venom and poison frogs everyday, do we? 

[hollowaynz1]

Any idea of a diet cola that's AceK-free then? It seems that Diet Coke and Coke Zero have it.

[ABC132Acd]

As a rat lover and caregiver I love your little PSA in this video about the dangers of giving rats sacron.

[bsrk7]

I'm extremely interested in the new findings that saccharine does not cause cancer in humans like it does in rats. Sassafras, once the principle ingredient in root beer among many other uses, was banned in the 70's by the FDA for being slightly carcinogenic in lab rats. The industry has had to use artificial flavor in place of safrole ever since. I believe it's time to revisit this issue of safrole. If we're banning this useful natural oil for no reason, it would be a real shame and a loss.

[Ch4osW4rrior]

What are you're personal views on the Paleo/Primal way of life/dieting? What are your thoughts on grains?