What is Worse for Your Health: an Artificial Sweeteners Or Natural Sugar

Sugar is bad for you, right? Sugar has a lot of calories and makes you fat! This Thanksgiving and holiday season millions of Americans will cut back on pies, cookies, ice cream, and so on to avoid sugar. In a desperate attempt to avoid this excessive sugar intake, many Americans will eat foods containing artificial sweeteners instead. They have found a taste that is sweet and that won't make them fat. That is the scary thinking that supports the widespread use of artificial sweeteners.

"Some 69 million Americans 18 and older are now consuming products containing Aspartame, Saccharin, or a combination of the two, according to the Calorie Control Council, a trade group of manufactures of dietary foods and beverages." (Mullarkey 4) These 'compounds' are usually sold under the traditional names of Equal (Nutrasweet) and Sweet n' Low. These chemical ingredients are found in all kinds of diet foods, diet drinks, and even toothpaste! It is sprinkled out of small packets into coffee and tea. It is sold all over the world. "According to a 1998 survey by the Calorie Control Council, 144 million American adults regularly consume low-calorie, sugar-free products such as artificially sweetened sodas and desserts." (Mullarkey, 6) Approved in 1981, Aspartame is considered to be about 200 times as sweet as sugar. It is commonly used in products such as breakfast cereals, chewing gums, beverages, yogurt, wine coolers, & multivitamins. "It is calorie-free and when it is ingested and metabolized, it breaks down into three substances: Phenylalanine (50%), Aspartic Acid (40%), and Methanol (10%)." (http://www.freediettips.com/diet_artificial_sweeteners.html) These ingredients may sound harmless, but they are anything but.

"Phenylanine is one of the amino acids needed for the production of neurotransmitters essential to brain functioning. People with 'PKU' also known as Phenylketonuria are missing the enzymes to break down this amino acid and may end up with rare forms of brain damage. Phenylalanine is an essential nutrient for humans. However, when it increases to very high levels in bodily fluids, those who cannot metabolize it normally can suffer from brain damage and mental retardation. For susceptible people, Phenylalanine will become 'neurotoxic' and may cause seizures." (Remington & Higa 29) "The second main ingredient in Aspartame 'Aspartic Acid' is known to cause brain damage at very high doses. Early studies in the 1970's showed that Aspartic Acid caused holes in the brains of mice. Monkeys fed Aspartame died or had 'mal seizures'. The third ingredient, 'Methanol' is an alcohol which turns into Formaldehyde, a known toxic substance used, among other things, as an embalming fluid." (Roberts 23) According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of Aspartame, the following illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting Aspartame: brain tumors, sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndromes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's metal retardation, birth defects, diabetes, and the list goes on. From the early 1980's until present time, consumer complaints have been pouring into the FDA related to Aspartame use. "Among the symptoms reported are the following: headaches, mood swings, anxiety attacks, insomnia, blindness, muscle cramps, memory loss, violent episodes, mild to suicidal depression, increased appetite, skin disease, blurred vision, etc." (Remington, & Higa, 31) Across the United States today, there are five Aspartame Detox centers. Betty Martini, founder of Mission Possible, an organization dedicated to spread information about the problems with Aspartame, found that methanol toxicity causes 'metabolic acidosis' which mimics multiple sclerosis. (MS) She lists the following symptoms as Aspartame disease: slurred speech, shooting pains, joint pains, and depression. According to her research, Aspartame can trigger or mimic Epstein- Bar, hypothyroidism, A.D.D., and post- polio syndrome. Fortunately, most of these symptoms are reversible and disappear once the artificial sweeteners are discontinued.

Another common artificial sweetener Saccharin is known as the 'granddaddy' of all sugar substitutes. "It was used during both world wars to sweeten foods, helping to compensate for the sugar shortages. It is 300 times sweeter than sugar." (http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1999/699_sugar.html) "Because Saccharin has a good shelf life, it is used widely in fountain sodas, and its stability at high temperatures makes it an option for sweetening baked goods, unlike Aspartame, which degrades when heated." (http://www.freediettips.com/diet_artificial_sweeteners.html) Saccharin also is favored economically because it can be made inexpensively, unlike Aspartame.

Saccharin is an organic compound derived from petroleum. It was accidentally founded in 1879 by a chemistry research assistant named Constantine Fahlberg. Fahlberg was working on new food preservatives when he accidentally spilled some of the compound he had 'synthesized' on his hands. When he went home that night and ate his dinner, he noticed the intense sweetness of the compound from what was still left on his hand. He named the compound Saccharin after the Latin word "saccharum" which means sugar. He went back to the lab, tracing his steps until he was able to synthesize saccharin in bulk.

Ever since the early 1900's, there have been a large number of questions about Saccharin's role in causing cancer in rats. A large number of studies have been done about this issue for over half a century. "In a letter to the NTP (National Toxicology Program) several scientists described numerous studies with rats and mice that found that Saccharin caused cancer in the uterus, skin, and several other organs. This research team also cited six studies of humans, including a large National Cancer Institute study, that found an association between artificial-sweetener consumption and bladder cancer, especially in heavy consumers of diet foods. " (Robert, 36) Artificial sweeteners will increase the appetite because as the sweet taste hits the mouth, a message is sent into the body that carbohydrates are coming in to be digested. Then the pancreas swings into action and sends insulin into the blood stream. As there will be no actual carbohydrates, the insulin lowers the blood sugar, and the appetite increases. In this manner, artificial sweeteners can contribute to hypoglycemia.

While artificial sweeteners are a benefit for overweight people and people who want to monitor their sugar intake, the dangers of consistent use of these sweeteners are far too seriously harmful to actually be beneficial.

For diabetics and other people who can't have sugar, this is a different story. Any person that must use artificial sweeteners, on all accounts, should definitely minimize their intake. They are dangerous! Artificial sweeteners are commonly advertised as if they are actually a good choice for the general public. What a joke! After all of this research, the investigator actually feels sick and will never use Equal in their coffee ever again! It is absolutely absurd that artificial sweeteners, especially Aspartame are legal in the United States, especially after all of the harmful evidence against it.

After thoroughly researching the topic of artificial sweeteners, the investigator strongly feels that the safest sweetener for humans in general is sugar, in moderation of course. Most canned, packaged, and other prepared foods that one can purchase at a food store are full of significant amounts of refined sugar and/or artificial sweeteners. It's kind of ironic that there are no warning labels on these harmful food products, because they are so unhealthy. Yet, in society today, it is essential for warning labels to be on alcohols, cigarettes, and all sorts of medicines. There should be warning labels on foods that can have negative effects on one's health.

In conclusion, if a person feels strongly and chooses to 'eat healthy' and watch their sugar intake and/or artificial sweetener intake, they should look for products in the grocery store that contain natural sugars to sweeten their foods. The natural sweetened foods might be a little bit 'pricy', and a little harder to find, but it's worth it. The best way to know exactly what is in your food and what you are consuming is to buy the ingredients, and make and prepare your own foods. After all, you only live once! Bibliography *Bittersweet Aspartame- A Diet Delusion. Mullarkey, Barbara. NutriVoice, Oak Park, IL., c. 1992 *The Bitter Truth About Artificial Sweeteners. Remington, Dennis M.D. & Higa, Barbara R.D. Vitality House International, Provo UT, c. 1987 *Sweet'ner Dearest. Roberts, H.J. M.D. The Sunshine Sentinel Press, West Palm Beach FL. c. 1992 *http://www.freediettips.com/diet_artificial_sweeteners.html *http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1999/699_sugar.html *http://www.saccharin.org/oldest.html