Natural and Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial Sweeteners

Methanol and formaldehyde in your food... doesn't sound very appetizing, does it?

This is a quote from a news article that ran on July 11, 2010 in the Daily Mail:

"It is rare for a mother-to-be to give birth before 37 weeks of a normal pregnancy.

But the EU research suggests this low risk was increased by 38 per cent if the woman was drinking, on average, one can of diet drink a day.

Routinely drinking four or more cans a day could increase the risk by as much as 78 per cent.

However, the researchers said in a report in the journal of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition that there was no link associated with sugar-sweetened drinks.

They suggested that exposure to methanol, which is in some artificial sweeteners, may play a part in bringing forward the birth

Critics of the sweeteners say methanol is a known nerve toxin, which can form formic acid in the body.

It can also lead to formaldehyde, the chemical used to preserve dead bodies. Historically, saccharine has also been identified as accumulating in the placenta.
[Emphasis mine.]

Source: Do sweeteners bring on early birth? How fizzy drinks can harm an unborn child by Sean Poulter, published July 10, 2010 in the Daily Mail.

The use of cyclamate in artificial sweeteners was banned in the USA in 1969 because testing associated it with bladder cancer, yet over 55 other countries still allow it to be sold. More recent testing disputes this finding, and a reapproval petition has been filed with the FDA.

The 1960s testing showed that a combination of cyclamate with saccharin caused rats to develop bladder cancer. More recent studies state that cyclamate is not a carcinogen.

Product using cyclamate: Sucaryl

Saccharin is the common name for benzoic sulfinide, a sweet substance providing no nutritive value. Saccharin was discovered in 1879 by chemist Constantin Fahlberg, while researching coal tar derivitives at Johns Hopkins University. It became popular during World War I sugar shortages.

In the 1970s studies associated saccharin with bladder cancer in rats. It was banned in Canada in 1977. In the USA, a warning label was added to packaging.

In 2001 the requirement of a warning label was lifted after a study showed that rats develop bladder cancer from saccharin due to a function not relevant to human beings as our urine composition is different.

Product using saccharin: Sweet 'n Low

Sucralose is chlorinated sugar and is about 600 times sweeter than sugar. It is made by replacing three hydroxyl groups with three chlorine atoms. It has no nutritive value and is eliminated from the body in the same form in which it was ingested.

Sucralose is the only artificial sweetener that maintains its sweetness when heated, so it can be used in baking.

Sucralose is an organochloride and may be carcinogenic, though not all organochlorides are. It is thought that sucralose may not be carcinogenic because it doesn't break down, dechlorinate, or accumulate in fat cells as some other organochlorides do.

Product using sucralose: Splenda

Another name for sorbitol is glucitol. It is a sugar alcohol used in sugar-free candies and other diet foods. It is found naturally in some fruits and berries, but normally is created through chemical processing.

Though sorbitol has some nutrient value, it also is known for numerous side effects including abdominal pain and intestinal difficulties, so products containing sorbitol should be used in moderation.

James M. Schlatter accidentally discovered aspartame in 1965 while researching anti-ulcer formulations for G.D. Searle & Company. It has become one of the most controversial artificial sweeteners due to its connotations with side effects such as headaches, brain tumors, brain lesions, and lymphoma.

Products using aspartame: Equal, NutraSweet, and Canderel.

Natural Sweeteners

Originally people chewed on sugar cane to enjoy a sweet treat. Then a method of crystallizing sugar was developed in India around 350AD. Sugar became a political hot-topic during the European settlement of America because sugar cane grew well on Caribbean islands. Because labor was needed, slaves were brought in from Africa. We can thank sugar cane plantation owners for starting the slave trade to the New World.

Back then sugar was worth as much as gold and it was considered a luxury. Even today it is a very popular food item, though now almost everyone can afford it. Our sugar supply is made from sugar cane or sugar beets.

A lot of illness is blamed on sugar including weight gain, diabetes, tooth decay, gout, and even cancer.

Vegans and vegetarians may shy away from sugar because about 1/4 of the sugar in the USA is refined using bone char instead of activated carbon.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) hasn't been around very long. It was first created in the 1970s and since then has become so popular, the average American consumes more HFCS than sucrose (sugar).

Corn syrup is considered by many to be extremely unhealthy for human consumption, but it is cheap and sweet, so manufacturers of processed foods keep using it.

Crystalline fructose isn't the same thing as high-fructose corn syrup. Some people have the two products mixed up. Fructose is found in corn syrup, but corn syrup also contains glucose.

Crystalline fructose is also called fruit sugar. According to the website of the Fructose Information Center, fructose is created by extracting cornstarch from corn kernals which through processing is "enzymatically transformed to fructose."

Agave nectar (also called Agave syrup) is produced in Mexico from several varieties of the Agave plant. The juice is extracted, then filtered, heated, and concentrated. Agave contains iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. It is composed of fructose and glucose.

Agave dissolves in cold water and is perfect for sweetening iced tea. It is especially popular with vegans, who use it as a honey replacement.

Rice syrup has become very popular during the last few years. I find rice syrup listed as an ingredient in energy bars like Clif Bars - a healthful alternative to processed cane sugar. I also have no trouble finding it on my local supermarket shelves.

Stevia is a plant native to tropical Central and South America. It is also called sweetleaf and sugarleaf.

It is available in stores as a white powder or as a liquid extract, but whole foods proponents recommend that consumers use green or brown whole-plant extracts and powders. They say the other Stevia products are too refined and lack essential phyto-nutrients. When too concentrated, Stevia can have a bitter aftertaste.

Honey is the pure product of honey bees. Nothing is added to it, however it is often processed with heat treatments and not completely natural.

True organic honey is rare because bees may be gathering nectar from plants treated with pesticides. Also beekeepers often use inorganic substances. For example, they may kill the bees with calcium cyanide before gathering the honey. Carbolic acid is used to remove the honey from the hive. Also beekeepers treat bee diseases with antibiotics and sulfa.

Supermarket honey has usually been processed with heat to make the honey clear and unclouded. This 'ultrafiltration' process destroys nutrients such as enzymes.

To make date sugar, simply dehydrate dates, then grind them. They are nutritious and delicious. Date sugar is excellent in oatmeal or in any recipe where brown sugar is used.

One last suggestion: fruit juices. Many juices are useful in baking and for sweetening smoothies and other drinks. Apple sauce is also added to muffins and other baked goods for sweetness.

I hope this page is helpful for people deciding what sweetener best suits their needs. My sweetener of choice is Maple syrup, which I like for its taste, nutrients, and convenience. However, when I'm losing weight, I switch to stevia.