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Sugar Free: Healthy or Harmful?
By Jessica Moulite
In a weight obsessed society, many Americans are choosing sugar-free alternatives to control their calorie intake. But whether it's pink, blue or yellow, artificial sweeteners have been surrounded with controversy since the 1960s.
The safety of artificial sweeteners has come under scrutiny because of widespread and long-term use. Studies indicate that 59 percent of Americans drink diet soda, according to the Calorie Control Council. Diet soda contains aspartame, the most widely used artificial sweetener—commonly known as NutraSweet and Equal. In the 1960s, animal studies conducted with aspartame revealed that holes appeared in the brains of mice, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) withheld approval of the artificial sweetener until the mid 1970s.
Around that time, another artificial sweetener – saccharine – was also considered hazardous to our health. Its studies linked various cancers, such as bladder and uterine cancers, with saccharine use. The United States Department of Agriculture placed a “hazardous to your health” label on the product packets. After further research, the FDA removed the warning label. However, in 1988, the Mexican government placed warning labels on diet sodas that contained aspartame and also advised pregnant women and children under the age of seven not to consume sugar-free products.
Overseas, the European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences (ERF) released the results from a study conducted in 2006 that linked aspartame to various forms of cancer. A second study in April 2007 showed that lifespan exposure of low-dosages of Aspartame increased cancer effects in rats. The ERF concluded that Aspartame is a carcinogen, but further review by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) showed flaws in the study. The findings have since been refuted by the EFSA.
Artificial sweeteners can alter your metabolism and lead to weight gain.
Aspartame is made of three components: aspartic acid (aspartate), phenylalanine and 10 percent methanol (an alcohol). While methanol itself it not harmful, the enzymes in your liver break it down into two toxic compounds—but there is still not enough scientific evidence on whether aspartame produces enough methanol to harm you. However, information from the FDA shows that aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of adverse reactions to food additives. Some of these reactions include seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, and breathing difficulties.
Ironically enough, information from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that a common and less serious reaction with aspartame use is weight gain. MIT neuroscientist Richard Wurtman explains that weight gain happens because aspartame is difficult to break down, which stresses the digestive system and causes the body to store more fat.
A more recent study indicates that artificial sweeteners can alter your metabolism and lead to weight gain, according to researchers at Purdue University. The study, published in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience, explains that artificial sweeteners trick the body to not respond or turn up your metabolism. However, the Calorie Control Council disagreed with the Purdue study findings and stands by past studies, which indicate low-calorie sweeteners benefit weight control.
Sugar-free foods and beverages have been available for close to 40 years, and Coca-Cola has constantly praised aspartame as trustworthy and continues to use it in their diet sodas.
While the debate on aspartame safety continues, the demand for diet and sugar-free foods increases. Aspartame may be considered beneficial for now, but many questions remain unanswered, as researchers continue studies on the widespread long-term use of artificial sweeteners.
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