Be careful what you put in your coffee -
new studies question the safety of some
artificial sweeteners.
Photo: Getty Images
new studies question the safety of some
artificial sweeteners.
Photo: Getty Images
SWEET SCIENCE TURNS SOUR
By PIPER WEISS
March 21, 2006 -- IS your diet soda going to kill you? Health concerns about artificial sweeteners recently
resurfaced when Italy's Ramazzini Foundation recently reported that a long-term study of aspartame found that
rats fed high doses of the substance had higher-than-normal rates of cancers like lymphoma and leukemia.
Aspartame, popularly known as Equal or NutraSweet, is present in many foods, especially soft drinks.
Although the Food and Drug Administration is quick to assuage panicky dieters - "From the data that we have
seen and reviewed in depth, there is absolutely no reason for concern," says George Pauli of the FDA's Office of
Food Additive Safety - it is also taking the Italian study very seriously and has commenced a thorough, rat-by-rat
review.
Still, with companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi adding diet drinks made with sucralose, a new sweetener also
known as Splenda, it doesn't take a skeptic to wonder if aspertame's not so hot.
Brie VanAtta, clinical nutritionist at New York Presbyterian, thinks flavor is responsible for the change. "Sucralose
is made from sugar so it tastes more like sugar," she says. "And I think that part of it is that it's a new product."
Not that there's no difference. "If people have to choose between aspartame and Splenda, I would go with
Splenda," she says. "A lot of people can't digest aspartame."
So, you pay your money and take your chances. In the meantime, see the state of the sweet science:
Aspartame - As the Italian study indicates, the jury's still out. Approved by the FDA in 1974, it's found in more
than 6,000 products and tastes 200 times sweeter than sugar. Some consumers have reported headaches and
dizziness from excessive use.
Despite those risks, aspartame has not yet been proven to be unsafe for public use. But according to some food
activists, it's hard to know what to believe. "The studies funded by the companies involved with aspartame found
there's no problem, but a large majority of independent studies did find problems," says New York-based
registered nutritionist Jennifer Vimbor.
Sucralose - Better known as Splenda, this no-calorie sweetener was approved by the FDA in 1998 and is
cropping up in new versions of Diet Coke, Pepsi One and Dreyer's Ice Cream, to name a few. It's good for
cooking and tastes less metallic than aspartame, and is one of the safest sweeteners. Derived from sugar,
sucralose has been through at least 100 scientific studies over a 20-year period, with impressive results thus far.
Acesulfame K - More controversial, this sugar substitute, commonly sold as Sweet One or Sunnette, is found in
Jell-O, nondairy creamers and Coca-Cola Zero, and has long been earmarked as a potential cancer-causing
agent by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The food watchdog CSPI even accused the FDA of failing
to mandate high-quality tests on the product.
Alcohol sugars - Gum chewers may be familiar with this category, commercially called xylosweet, sorbital or xylitol.
These sweeteners contain fewer calories than sugar and won't rot your teeth. On the downside, some diabetics
have found too much of it caused their blood sugar to rise.
Stevia - Unlike alcohol sugars, Stevia - found in most health-food stores under the brand name SweetLeaf - has
no calories. The all-natural sugar substitute made from extracts of a South American shrub is 100 times sweeter
than sugar and sold as a dietary supplement. Sounds perfect, right?
Not to the FDA. They rejected it for use as a food additive because it's not been adequately proven to be safe.
"Although there is no evidence of harm to people, laboratory studies of Stevia have found potential cancer and
reproductive-health problems," states David Schardt, associate nutritionist for CSPI.
Saccharine - Developed in 1879, the oldest artificial sweetener (famous as Sweet'N Low) has been linked to
various cancers, especially bladder cancer. Until 2000, saccharine-based products bore warning labels stating it
caused cancer in laboratory animals. The warning was removed when the National Toxicology Program took
saccharine off its list of cancer-causing chemicals. Many scientists contend the sweetener is safe, while others
believe it was kept on the market for political reasons.
By PIPER WEISS
March 21, 2006 -- IS your diet soda going to kill you? Health concerns about artificial sweeteners recently
resurfaced when Italy's Ramazzini Foundation recently reported that a long-term study of aspartame found that
rats fed high doses of the substance had higher-than-normal rates of cancers like lymphoma and leukemia.
Aspartame, popularly known as Equal or NutraSweet, is present in many foods, especially soft drinks.
Although the Food and Drug Administration is quick to assuage panicky dieters - "From the data that we have
seen and reviewed in depth, there is absolutely no reason for concern," says George Pauli of the FDA's Office of
Food Additive Safety - it is also taking the Italian study very seriously and has commenced a thorough, rat-by-rat
review.
Still, with companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi adding diet drinks made with sucralose, a new sweetener also
known as Splenda, it doesn't take a skeptic to wonder if aspertame's not so hot.
Brie VanAtta, clinical nutritionist at New York Presbyterian, thinks flavor is responsible for the change. "Sucralose
is made from sugar so it tastes more like sugar," she says. "And I think that part of it is that it's a new product."
Not that there's no difference. "If people have to choose between aspartame and Splenda, I would go with
Splenda," she says. "A lot of people can't digest aspartame."
So, you pay your money and take your chances. In the meantime, see the state of the sweet science:
Aspartame - As the Italian study indicates, the jury's still out. Approved by the FDA in 1974, it's found in more
than 6,000 products and tastes 200 times sweeter than sugar. Some consumers have reported headaches and
dizziness from excessive use.
Despite those risks, aspartame has not yet been proven to be unsafe for public use. But according to some food
activists, it's hard to know what to believe. "The studies funded by the companies involved with aspartame found
there's no problem, but a large majority of independent studies did find problems," says New York-based
registered nutritionist Jennifer Vimbor.
Sucralose - Better known as Splenda, this no-calorie sweetener was approved by the FDA in 1998 and is
cropping up in new versions of Diet Coke, Pepsi One and Dreyer's Ice Cream, to name a few. It's good for
cooking and tastes less metallic than aspartame, and is one of the safest sweeteners. Derived from sugar,
sucralose has been through at least 100 scientific studies over a 20-year period, with impressive results thus far.
Acesulfame K - More controversial, this sugar substitute, commonly sold as Sweet One or Sunnette, is found in
Jell-O, nondairy creamers and Coca-Cola Zero, and has long been earmarked as a potential cancer-causing
agent by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The food watchdog CSPI even accused the FDA of failing
to mandate high-quality tests on the product.
Alcohol sugars - Gum chewers may be familiar with this category, commercially called xylosweet, sorbital or xylitol.
These sweeteners contain fewer calories than sugar and won't rot your teeth. On the downside, some diabetics
have found too much of it caused their blood sugar to rise.
Stevia - Unlike alcohol sugars, Stevia - found in most health-food stores under the brand name SweetLeaf - has
no calories. The all-natural sugar substitute made from extracts of a South American shrub is 100 times sweeter
than sugar and sold as a dietary supplement. Sounds perfect, right?
Not to the FDA. They rejected it for use as a food additive because it's not been adequately proven to be safe.
"Although there is no evidence of harm to people, laboratory studies of Stevia have found potential cancer and
reproductive-health problems," states David Schardt, associate nutritionist for CSPI.
Saccharine - Developed in 1879, the oldest artificial sweetener (famous as Sweet'N Low) has been linked to
various cancers, especially bladder cancer. Until 2000, saccharine-based products bore warning labels stating it
caused cancer in laboratory animals. The warning was removed when the National Toxicology Program took
saccharine off its list of cancer-causing chemicals. Many scientists contend the sweetener is safe, while others
believe it was kept on the market for political reasons.
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