Having a palate for sweet is natural since sweetness, characteristic of certain natural carbohydrates, means quick energy for the body, including the brain that needs a steady supply of glucose for normal functioning. Sugar is the dominant source of the natural sweetener, the carbohydrate, called sucrose. The pleasantness of sweet taste, however, is frequently the cause of exceeding the healthy quota of carbohydrates; people take to sweets and run into health problems – particularly obesity, dental decay, and worst of all, diabetes. To prevent the incidence and/or reduce the intensity of these health threats, while maintaining the desirable sweetness in taste, artificial sweeteners have been introduced in thousands of processed food items, especially in juices, ice-creams, and desserts. These substitutes of natural carbohydrates have been in use for decades but, like many other artificial ingredients, their use has become a matter of concern for health-conscious people.

Currently, several artificial sweeteners are used in both solid and liquid foods but the most commonly used are just a few in number: saccharine (about 300 times sweeter than sugar), aspartame (about 160 times sweeter than sugar), and cyclamate (about 30 times sweeter than sugar). Less well-known but still around in the food industry are artificial sweeteners like sucralose, neotame, and xylitol. One or more of these are known to people on a diet, especially to diabetics who benefit from xylitol (popularly called wood sugar, as it was first derived from birch) that closely mimics the taste of sugar but requires no insulin for its metabolism.  Several research studies have been conducted to test the potential health risks associated with all these artificial sweeteners and the general inference resulting from the findings indicates that the possibility of some health problems does exist in their use.

The major risk associated with the use of saccharine, the oldest and most widely used artificial sweetener, is that of bladder cancer – the risk that caused the ban on its use in Canada. Saccharin has been found to cause bladder cancer in animals (in laboratory experiments) but only when taken in excess; in humans, research has found no risk of cancer associated with moderate consumption of saccharine. Cyclamate, similar to saccharine in many aspects but less sweet (only 30 times than sugar), has been banned in the US (but not in Canada) due to the potential risk of bladder cancer. Since research has not confirmed its carcinogenic (or any other serious) health effect in humans, its re-approval has been demanded in the US while more than 50 countries already allow its use.

The alleged carcinogenic character of aspartame – which is used in thousands of food items, most frequently used in diet sodas – has recently been the subject of much debate and research. Besides cancer, it was suggested by a study that aspartame may be the cause of brain tumors. However, recent research on animals and the analysis of case histories of many human patients have found that the sweetener is free of carcinogenic risk, and that of tumors, as long as the recommended quota for daily consumption is not exceeded beyond bounds. Still, the effects of aspartame remain controversial as other studies point to aspartame’s link with disorders of nervous system (especially phenylketonuria, or PKU), multiple sclerosis, and fibromyalgia.

Neotame is a new variety of aspartame, one not very common yet. Unlike aspartame, neotame retains its sweetening character during the cooking process and has not been found associated with PKU. Sucralose, which is even sweeter than saccharine, is comparatively less well-known and its health effects are just starting to be investigated by researchers. Xylitol, to date, remains quite safe and has been shown to strengthen teeth and helping with the repair of teeth cavities.

On the whole, opinion remains divided on the threatening health effects of artificial sweeteners; some argue in favor of complete abstinence from their use; and others allowing it. Following Aristotle’s rule of ‘the golden mean’, expert dieticians suggest moderation as the best choice in using artificial sweeteners. People on a diet, or just anyone at all, should get acquainted with the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI), as approved by the FDA for artificial sweeteners, and try to keep their diet as natural as possible.

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