by Royce Bailey M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.C.

Are artificial sweeteners safe? The succession of new artificial sweeteners have claimed at first to be healthy, only later to be proven to be full of side effects. As food additives, artificial sweeteners are not subject to the same gauntlet of FDA safety trials as pharmaceutical medications. Most of the testing is funded by the food industry, which has a vested interest in the outcome. People have been using artificial sweeteners for decades. Studies show that people who use artificial sweeteners in place of sugar eat more calories and gain more weight because these sweeteners increased both their hunger and appetite by blocking their brain’s satiety center. Some people react poorly to sweeteners, some don’t, the problem is, you may never know until you’re already sick. Artificial sweeteners are body toxins. They are never a good idea for pregnant women, children or teenagers, despite the reduced sugar content, because of possible irreversible cell damage.

Artificial Sweeteners

Saccharin: (Sweet and Low®-pink packet) In 1879, Ira Remsen, a researcher from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., noticed that a derivative of coal tar he accidentally spilled on his hand tasted sweet. Saccharin is a protoplasmic poison. No matter how long it takes, saccharin eventually kills protoplasm. It has induced bladder cancer in mice and rats, and produced deformities in developing chicks. Saccharin kills amoeba (one celled animals), in one part to 8000 parts water, in less than 24 hours. Saccharin 1:10,000 is approximately the mix one gets when you add one ‘pink’ package to your cup of coffee or tea.

Aspartame: (Nutrasweet®, Equal®-blue packet and its cousin, Neotame, FDA approved July 9, 2002) has been known to cause obesity, menstrual problems, brains lesions, and possible tumors. People who are sensitive to processed free glutamic acid (MSG) experience similar reactions to aspartame. One of our doctor’s wives’ quit using this product and it markedly improved her daily headaches. Aspartame triggers the body’s conversion of blood glucose into saturated fats (which increase your cholesterol numbers), thus it causes low sugar. European research shows that ingesting aspartame leads to the accumulation of formaldehyde in the brain, other organs and tissues. Formaldehyde has been shown to damage the nervous system, immune system, and cause irreversible genetic damage in humans.

One out of 20,000 babies is born without the ability to metabolize phenylalanine, one of the two amino acids in aspartame. This can cause mental retardation.

It can worsen seizures, depression and parkinsonism by phenylalanine competing with levadopa for uptake into the human brain. If you use Sinemet (carbidopa/levadopa), Stalevo, Parcopa, or a like product, don’t use aspartame.

When heated (as little as 86^oF) or left open to air, it breaks down into toxic chemicals including wood alcohol (methanol), which can cause blindness. Aspartame is not to be used in cooking.

Splenda: (sucralose-yellow packet) is 600 times sweeter than table sugar and is used in over 15% of all foods and beverages sold in the US. Splenda is the trade name for sucralose, a synthetic compound stumbled upon in 1976 by scientists in Britain seeking a new pesticide formulation. It is true that the Splenda molecule is comprised of sucrose (sugar) except that three of the hydroxyl groups in the molecule have been replaced by three chlorine atoms.

The manufacturer of Splenda claims that the chlorine added to sucralose is similar to the chlorine atom in the salt (NaCl) molecule. Chlorine is nature’s Doberman attack dog, a highly excitable, ferocious atomic element employed as a bio-cide in bleach, disinfectants, insecticide, WWI poison gas and hydrochloric acid. However, sucralose may be more like ingesting tiny amounts of chlorinated pesticides, but we will never know without long-term, independent human research. Experts say Splenda has more in common with DDT than with food. Reported side effects of Splenda include: skin rashes/flushing, panic-like agitation, dizziness and numbness, diarrhea, muscle aches, headaches, intestinal cramping, bladder issues, and stomach pain.

Acesulfame potassium (acesulfame K or Ace-K; Sold as Sunett, Sweet n’ Safe or Sweet One) was discovered in 1967, but has only been FDA available since 1988. It is a calorie-free sweetener that is 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is not metabolized or stored in the body. The organic intermediate, Acetoacetic acid, when combined with the naturally occurring mineral, potassium, forms this highly stable (can be heated), crystalline sweetener.

Acetoacetic acid in concentrations of 1-5% in the diet of rats for several months caused thyroid tumors, which raises serious questions about the its carcinogenic potential. Acesulfame stimulates insulin secretion in a dose dependent fashion thereby possibly aggravating reactive hypoglycemia ("low blood sugar attacks"). Acesulfame K apparently produced lung tumors, breast tumors, rare types of tumors of other organs (such as the thymus gland), several forms of leukemia and chronic respiratory disease in several rodent studies, even when less than maximum doses were given, yet was approved for human consumption.

Natural Sweeteners

Gaio® D-Tagatose: (Sold as Gaio Sugaree) D-Tagatose was produced by inventor Gilbert V. Levin in 1967, by Spherix. He is also famous for his work with NASA on the 1976 Viking Mars Lander. “It looks like sugar, tastes like sugar, cooks like sugar,” because this sugar is not from cane or sugar beets but from a dairy byproduct: whey. Unlike ordinary sugar, it has no calories. Nor will it decay teeth. It strengthens beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal track. You can bake with it and use it to caramelize. It is slightly less sweet than table sugar. D-Tagatose is a ketohexose sugar, with a similar structure to fructose, and is naturally present in small amounts in heat-treated dairy products, like yogurt and found in soy products and even human breast milk. It has the potential to induce glycogen deposits and hypertrophy of the liver and to increase the concentrations of uric acid in your blood serum, which can cause gout. When consumed in large amounts, people experience gastrointestinal distress, including diarrhea, nausea and flatulence, because it is not digested or absorbed.

Fructosamine: better known as corn syrup, does not produce a first pass liver blood sugar rise. It becomes glyceride, that can increase your triglycerides. High triglycerides block insulin receptors. This causes high insulin blood levels, which makes you insulin resistant, thus leading to full blown diabetes. So, high-fructose corn syrup can cause an increased danger of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, premature aging, inflammatory conditions and gout attacks. It is twice as sweet as sugar and can be used in cooking.

Polyalcohol Sugars

These include: Sorbitol, Xylitol, Malitol, and Mannitol. These are natural sweeteners that do not trigger an insulin reaction. They have half the calories of sugar, taste like sugar and are not digested by the small intestine. Sorbitol is a natural laxative and can cause diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, bloating and flatulence. Xylitol comes from birch tree pulp and corncobs. It also reduces tooth plaque and helps build tooth enamel.

My Choice For You

Lo Han Kuo: (Siraitia grosvenori) may be sold as Lo Han Sweet. It is an extract from a dried fruit that has been cultivated since the 13^th century in Southern China. It is 300 times sweeter than sugar and has no calories. Lo Han Kuo helps to control food and sugar cravings, helps digestive tract problems, sore throats, chronic coughs, constipation, headache, and tension. It is being marketed to compete with Stevia, but is hard to find. It can be purchased from the internet through the distributor Jarrow.

Stevia: (Stevia Rebaudiana-green packet or liquid) was discovered in 1887 by scientist Antonia Bertoni via the Guarani Paraguayan Indians, who have used it for over 400 year. Stevia is from a small native plant/herb in Paraguay and Brazil. Stevia is extracted from the leaves to a substance 300 times sweeter than table sugar. It has almost no calories, can be used in baking, is non toxic, but does have an herb-like after-taste. It is my choice for my patients, for a sugar substitute.