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No-Calorie Sweeteners Safe: Are They Effective?
By Dr. David Lipschitz
An
article in The New York Times recently examined the risks of artificial
sweeteners. At first blush, it seems we are less likely to gain weight
if we sweeten tea or coffee with an artificial, calorie-free sweetener.
And today, far more diet-branded drinks are sold than their sugary
counterparts. The price is the same, so why not?
First, do people who skimp on calories by using artificial sweeteners lose weight?
Obesity expert Dr. David Ludwig, writing in the Harvard Letter, reported that
sugar substitutes contribute to weight gain. Artificial sweeteners are 1,000
times sweeter than table sugar. Consuming sweeteners does not satisfy hunger
and desensitizes us to sugar, leading paradoxically to a craving for all things
sweet. So with most of us having little willpower, we obtain sugar from other
sources, sneaking in one cookie or chocolate and — while telling ourselves “just
this once” — we sneak another and another until we are so guilty
that we eat even more.
Now I know that this may not apply to you, but sadly it does apply to many of
us (me included!). And to make matters worse, there are sugar receptors on the
surface of cells that help regulate how much sugar we take in. More sweetener
and less sugar results in a greater number of these receptors that, in turn,
cause a more voracious appetite and — whether we like it or not — more
food intake.
Remarkably, if we add two teaspoons of sugar to coffee or tea, we are only adding
a measly 50 calories. And in the long term, we would be so much better off satisfying
our thirst with water and our appetite with nutritious foods that are rich in
the right fats and protein, along with an abundant intake of fruits and vegetables
and a modest amount of complex carbohydrates, such as cereals, grains and pasta.
While it is better to choose a diet soft drink over one containing just sugar,
why not consider water or the occasional glass of natural fruit juice? It seems
reasonable to choose fewer artificial servings and more real ones when striving
to stay healthy.
But can artificial sweeteners do us harm? Today the most readily available artificial
sweeteners include aspartame (Equal), sucralose (Splenda), saccharin (Sweet’N
Low) and a plant-derived, powerful, no-calorie sweetener called Stevia. In the
1990s, alarm appeared for the first time that these sweeteners might not be entirely
safe. Saccharin was shown to cause bladder cancer in rats and mice that were
given high doses.
Because of that study, the product is avoided by some. For a time the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration considered banning the substance, but eventually, in
2000, all warning signs were removed, as there is no evidence that saccharin
causes any form of cancer in humans.
However The New York Times article reports that the Center for Science in the
Public Interest recommends avoiding aspartame and saccharin but urges no restraint
on either sucralose or a new sweetener, Neotame, which the center deems to be
safer. The concern about using aspartame is based on initial evidence that the
sweetener is problematic for people with a genetic disorder called phenylketonuria,
causing headaches and — at least in one animal study — was associated
with an increased cancer risk. However, the center does dispel the unfounded
notion that aspartame may increase the risk of multiple sclerosis or Alzheimer’s
disease.
Based upon an analysis of decades of widespread use, the potential risks of ingesting
artificial or naturally occurring noncaloric sweeteners is negligible. Furthermore,
even in those who use sweeteners extensively, the chances of even the most minor
adverse effect is vanishingly small. But the reason to consider a resolution
to discontinue their use should rest more on the compelling evidence that rather
than leading to weight loss, these unnatural compounds may well do the exact
opposite.
This page and its contents ©2012
Metropolitan News Company, Inc.
