Are artificial sweeteners safe?
For people trying to reduce their calorie and carbohydrate intake, artificial, “nonnutritive” sweeteners have been a godsend, allowing a wide variety of foods and drinks to taste more delectable without sugar or added calories. But two of the most popular artificial sweeteners, saccharin and aspartame, have been battered by storms of controversy regarding their safety. Should you worry?
SACCHARIN
Back in the 1970s, the Food and Drug Administration banned saccharin (marketed as Sweet N' Low) after studies indicated that high doses of it caused cancer in rats. At the time, no other artificial sweetener existed, and the public, feeling the threat was overblown, clamored successfully to bring it back. But products that contained it had to be labeled with a warning. Since then, studies have suggested that differences between rat and human anatomy make the rats' risk inapplicable to people, and in 2000 saccharin was taken off the official list of cancer-causing compounds. Some consumer-advocate groups and nutrition researchers are uneasy about the change and claim the evidence of a cancer risk still warrants caution. Still, even they admit that if a risk exists, it's very small.
ASPARTAME
Heated debate preceded aspartame's FDA approval in 1981, partly because investigators found research by the manufacturer to be riddled with inconsistencies and errors. An outside advisory board recommended withholding approval, but was overruled by the FDA, which felt (after an audit) that the evidence proved aspartame (sold as NutraSweet) to be safe. Even after approval, skeptics charged that aspartame interfered with normal brain chemistry, triggering headaches, seizures, and (it was feared) brain cancer. However, numerous studies over the past 15 years have found these concerns to be groundless, and even strong advocacy groups, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, no longer sound alarms about aspartame.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The consensus is that in the amounts they're usually consumed, both saccharin and aspartame are safe. In addition, other nonnutritive sweeteners (such as sucralose and acesulfame-K) have come on the market, allowing food makers to blend sweeteners together, thus diluting the potential impact of any one compound.
SACCHARIN
Back in the 1970s, the Food and Drug Administration banned saccharin (marketed as Sweet N' Low) after studies indicated that high doses of it caused cancer in rats. At the time, no other artificial sweetener existed, and the public, feeling the threat was overblown, clamored successfully to bring it back. But products that contained it had to be labeled with a warning. Since then, studies have suggested that differences between rat and human anatomy make the rats' risk inapplicable to people, and in 2000 saccharin was taken off the official list of cancer-causing compounds. Some consumer-advocate groups and nutrition researchers are uneasy about the change and claim the evidence of a cancer risk still warrants caution. Still, even they admit that if a risk exists, it's very small.
ASPARTAME
Heated debate preceded aspartame's FDA approval in 1981, partly because investigators found research by the manufacturer to be riddled with inconsistencies and errors. An outside advisory board recommended withholding approval, but was overruled by the FDA, which felt (after an audit) that the evidence proved aspartame (sold as NutraSweet) to be safe. Even after approval, skeptics charged that aspartame interfered with normal brain chemistry, triggering headaches, seizures, and (it was feared) brain cancer. However, numerous studies over the past 15 years have found these concerns to be groundless, and even strong advocacy groups, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, no longer sound alarms about aspartame.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The consensus is that in the amounts they're usually consumed, both saccharin and aspartame are safe. In addition, other nonnutritive sweeteners (such as sucralose and acesulfame-K) have come on the market, allowing food makers to blend sweeteners together, thus diluting the potential impact of any one compound.
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