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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Love them or hate them zero calorie sweeteners are found in many products in the supermarket. Some people avoid them diligently, others embrace them as a way to lower calories or reduce the amount of sugar they eat. Others are totally unaware no calorie sweeteners may be in foods they are eating.
I will leave it to the reader to decide for themselves if they should use no calorie sweeteners. It might be helpful when making that decision to understand accurate, correct facts about these substances. To do this we have to jump into the weeds.
The ADI (acceptable daily intake) is the established amount of a food additive that can be ingested over a lifetime without appreciable health risk. It is expressed as milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day (mg/kg bw/day).
The EDI (estimated daily intake) is less than the ADI. A good example of this would be aspartame (Equal). The ADI for aspartame, the amount that you could eat daily over a lifetime that would be unlikely to cause harm is 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. The actual EDI (estimated daily intake) for the highest users is less than 20 milligrams per kilogram of weight per day. For most aspartame users 2 to 5 milligrams/kilogram/day is their actual intake. This would be one-twentieth to one-eight of the ADI. So in theory few, if any, people are eating enough aspartame every day to even come close to the ADI, which is still not an unhealthy level.
Low calorie sweeteners are some of the most studied substances that we eat. Researchers in many countries have examined them in studies on multiple animals and humans to better understand their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion in the body. In some cases the studies have been carried out in generations to understand long term effects and none were found. They have looked at the possibility of causing cancer and found no connection. There is no connection to reproduction or issues in children. Human studies on people with diabetes have also shown no issues. Based on this, the conclusion is that no calorie sweeteners are among the least toxic substances we eat and designated as NOAEL (no adverse effect level). There are no limits on their use in the US. Warning labels found in other parts of the world on food containing no calorie sweeteners are based on political or social concerns rather than scientific data.
You still may not want to use no calorie sweeteners. That is a personal decision, and it is totally fine. Scientific facts, however, do not warrant exclusion from the food supply.
Let’s take a quick look at the no calorie sweetener on the market.
Saccharin, (brand names Sweet’N Low, Sweet Twin) is the oldest in use, first discovered in 1878 and still the third most popular sweetener used in the US. It is 300 times sweeter than sugar. At one point it was considered a cancer-causing agent but after extensive review it was delisted as a carcinogen in 2000. The biggest drawback is that saccharin has a metallic aftertaste.
Aspartame (brand names NutraSweet, Equal) was discovered in 1965 and is composed of two amino acids (protein fragments) – aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Aspartic acid can be made in your body and phenylalanine is an essential amino acid that the body cannot make but you get from foods like meat, poultry, tofu, fish, beans and many other foods you eat all the time. Aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar. It was believed to be linked to behavior issues, nervous system disorders like Parkinson’s, and cancer but all these associations have been disproven.
Sucralose (brand name Splenda) was discovered in 1976 and approved by the FDA as a general-purpose sweetener in 1999. It is 600 times sweeter than sugar and heat stable, making it a valuable sugar substitute in baking. Sucralose passes through the digestive tract unchanged, meaning it is never absorbed into the body, and it is eliminated in stools.
Stevia (brand name Truvia) is made from the leaves of the stevia plant and can be up to 350 times sweeter than sugar. The FDA gave stevia GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status in 2018. It is not digested by the body and excreted in urine. Some dislike the taste of stevia finding it bitter or menthol-like.
Monk fruit also known as lo han guo is a small round fruit grown in Southeast Asia. Buddhist monks grew the fruit centuries ago in Southern China. Monk fruit is 100 to 250 times sweeter than sugar and is considered GRAS by the FDA since 2010.
Bottom line: All foods can fit into a healthy diet and all diets should be individualized for the needs of each person. Now that you have the facts, you can decide to use or not use no calorie sweeteners.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of 30 books. Available as eBooks from iTunes and Kindle/Amazon:
Diabetes Counter – the most up-to-date information on managing diabetes
Calorie Counter – a weight loss guide that won’t let you down
Protein Counter – put the latest protein recommendations to work for you
Healthy Wholefoods Counter – planet-friendly eating made easy
Complete Food Counter – food counts and nutrition information at your fingertips
Fat and Cholesterol Counter – newest approach to heart-healthy eating
Available in print from Gallery Books:
Most Complete Food Counter, 3rd Ed.
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to: www.TheNutritionExperts.com.