Many of us looking to cut back on calories have replaced sugar with artificial sweeteners.
But many health officials are decidedly less enthusiastic than consumers. They caution that the arrival of one more artificial sweetener - no matter how sugar-like its taste - is unlikely to steer people away from the overindulgence fuelling obesity and Type 2 diabetes. They argue that sweeteners can cause people to gain weight because they eat more dessert. For instance, some people think extra dessert is OK because they wash it down with a diet soft drink, the experts say.
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Some dieters may not fall into the trap of washing down a huge slice of cake with a diet Coke. But for the population as a whole, artificial sweeteners could make things worse by feeding people's sweet tooth. For those trying to cut back on carbohydrates and calories, hyper-activating one's sweet tooth with artificial sweeteners can backfire.
Marion Nestle, who heads the department of nutrition and food studies at New York University says that they keep people's taste for sweets up because artificial sweeteners are so much sweeter. "It's very unlikely that this techno-fix approach is going to work," she said.
The rise in popularity of artificial sweeteners has stirred new debate about plain, old sugar. The message to avoid fat has been replaced by the equally simplistic message to avoid sugar.
But most health officials concerned about the growing epidemic of "diabesity" think it is excess calorie consumption and lack of exercise that should be the focus, not sugar. Even the American Diabetes Association has changed its position and now says some sugar is OK for people with the disease.
But the weight-conscious sweetener users should use caution. Sweeteners provide empty calories which are replacing nutritious foods. And bingeing on sweetener-enhanced foods is still bingeing. If the drive to overeat is emotional, tricking yourself by consuming low-calorie food is just going to set you up for a binge. You will overeat, whether it's sweetener biscuits or sugar biscuits.
Types of sweetener:
Saccharin - Saccharin exceeds the sweetness of sugar 300-700 times and it is calorie free. It provides no energy because it is not metabolised by human beings.
In 1981, saccharin was added to the US government’s official list of cancer-causing agents and dropped from most products. However, it was not pulled from the shelves but congress did mandate that all products containing it carry a warning much like the one printed on cigarette packs. This decision was recently reversed, however.
But in order for the sweetener to do you harm, it has to make up at least 3 percent of the gross weight of food you eat every day. This is no easy task for a substance consumed by the quarter-teaspoonful.
Saccharin can still be found in the little pink packets of Sweet ‘n’ Low and also in cans of “Tab” cola.
Aspartamine -aka Nutrasweet, is 160-200 times sweeter than sugar. This sweetener does provide energy because of the intense sweetness of aspartame, the amount of energy derived from it is negligible.
In 1981, the FDA approved aspartame as a sweetener for a number of dry uses (for example : tabletop sweetener, cold breakfast cereal, gelatines and puddings) and in chewing gum and carbonated beverages.
In 1985, the American Medical Association concluded that “available evidence suggests that consumption of aspartame by normal humans is safe and is not associated with serious adverse health effects.”
Although soft drinks account for more than 70 percent of aspartame consumption, this sweetener is added to more than 6 000 foods, personal care products and pharmaceuticals.
However, it is not without fault. This sweetener also sparks debate primarily because of how it is metabolised in the body. Scientist have found it makes its way throughout the digestive system just as any other food would. However, other researchers claim that toxic gases that are by-products of aspartame digestion, can trigger nervous system problems ranging from headaches and depression to panic attacks, vision disturbances, and possibly even brain tumours.
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