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 By: Dylan Cahn
In today's world, many dieters and bodybuilders rely on artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes to sweeten shakes and other food without raising their caloric intake. These sugar substitutes serve the obvious advantage of having little or no caloric value, meaning that they can not be processed as energy by the human body. Many of these substitutes have been crafted and modified through the last several decades to taste better and even survive the heat of an oven, allowing them to be used in baked goods such as cookies. Modern substitutes taste great, and over the last few years have become available at much more affordable prices. This sounds great right? Real sugar has a caloric value of four calories per gram, so who wouldn't want to use a great tasting zero calorie sweetener?   Click Image To Enlarge.Real Sugar Has A Caloric Value Of Four Calories Per Gram, So Who Wouldn't Want To Use A Great Tasting Zero Calorie Sweetener? Many nutritionists and doctors alike have hesitated in declaring these alternate sweeteners "king" to natural sugar. Studies have suggested that negative side effects may result from the use of artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame and Saccharin. Other sweeteners such as Sucralose that have recently entered the market have simply not been studied enough to determine if and what side effects they may cause.
It is hard for medical professionals to make general statements about artificial sweeteners because unlike the past, in any given grocery store one can easily expect to find at least five different types of sugar substitutes. I have chosen the most popular natural and artificial sugar substitutes to examine in this article.
For example, if a normal soda contained 40 grams of sugar (160 calories), the Aspartame equivalent would amount to less than one calorie since it is 180 times sweeter. Thus, because such a small amount of Aspartame is needed for most applications, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) allows it to be marketed as containing zero calories.
In 1995 the FDA released a document containing the 92 known symptoms of Aspartame, and the Aspartame containing products that caused these symptoms. The most prominent of these include headache, dizziness, mood change, vomiting, abdominal pain, change in vision, diarrhea, seizures, memory loss, and overall weakness. These reported reactions occurred most prominently with the consumption of diet soft drinks, puddings, and the use of the table top sweetener packets.2 These symptoms have caused Aspartame to be classified by doctors and medical advice sites as "the most dangerous substance on the market that is added to foods" 3. In fact, Aspartame can be held responsible for over 75 percent of the reported reactions associated with food additives. 3 The dangerous qualities of Aspartame extend much further than its reported short term symptoms. The ingestion of Aspartame can trigger or worsen brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, mental retardation, Lymphoma, birth defects, Fibromyalgia, and diabetes. 3
This disease can cause high levels of phenylalanine in the brain, which can ultimately lead to death. The ingestion of Aspartame has been proven to lead to excess levels of phenylalanine in the brain even in persons who do not have Phenylketonuria. 3 Uses:
Most mainstream soda companies use Aspartame as their zero calorie diet soda sweetener. However, Aspartame is not always suitable for baking because heat can cause it to break down and loose sweetness. 4 For this reason, most products that use Aspartame consist of liquids and other non baked goods such as puddings, yogurts, and gelatins.
Saccharin is a zero calorie sweetener and is 200 to 700 times sweeter than sugar. 6 The makers of Saccharin claim that it is the oldest and best researched sweetener.
In 1977 research showed that Saccharin could cause bladder tumors in male rats. However, since 1977 more than 30 studies have been done and proven that these lab rat results were not transferable to humans. Also, the original study has since been criticized because Saccharin doses that were several hundred times greater than the doses that humans popularly ingest were used on the lab rats. 6 Furthermore, in 2000 the National Toxicology Program concluded that Saccharin should be removed from the list of potential carcinogens. 6 Due to this 1970's study, products containing Saccharin were formerly required to contain a disclaimer stating that Saccharin could possibly be carcinogenic. As a result of this disclaimer, Saccharin lost some of the popularity that it enjoyed before the study was released.
 Click Image To Enlarge.Products Containing Saccharin Were Formerly Required To Contain A Disclaimer Stating That Saccharin Could Possibly Be Carcinogenic.
Despite being safer than Aspartame, Saccharin is still an artificial sweetener meaning that it has been manufactured and processed, something that many nutritionists find to be detrimental to the human body. Saccharin has also been known to cause allergic reactions and other mild side effects. 6 Uses:
However, several people have complained about minor side effects such as blurred vision, water retention, high blood pressure, and other allergic reactions.11 So is it safe or not? The truth is that we really don't know whether it is safe or not. According to OB/GYN Marcelle Pick, "There are no long-term studies of the side effects of Splenda in humans". 12 Sucralose (Splenda) is so new that it is hard to say whether it is safe or not. Sucralose is marketed as a "natural" substitute; the FDA allows this marketing because of its loose definition of the term "natural". Sucralose in fact shares more molecular similarities with chlorocarbons such as pesticides than it does with normal sugar.
So while studies that show side effects or suggest negative reactions might not be prevalent at the present time, caution should still be taken before ingesting Sucralose, as it has not yet been thoroughly researched. Uses:
Sucralose is commonly used in baked goods and baking mixes, cheeses, chewing gum, coffee and tea, condiments, fruit ices, sauces, hard candy, snacks, and other products. Sucralose can substitute sugar in almost any situation, as it does not break down with heat, and can be stored for extended periods of time.10
It has about the same sweetness as sugar (Sucrose), but has a 40% lower caloric value. 13 Problems/Research:
Xylitol is thought to be able to help the human body with such things as building immunities to diseases, protecting against chronic degenerative disease, and even helping with anti-ageing. 14
 Click Image To Enlarge.Xylitol Crystals.
While Xylitol is generally regarded as being safe, some side effects have been reported. Side effects such as nausea, diarrhea, flatulence and gastrointestinal upset have been reported, though they usually are mild and infrequently occurring. 15 Uses:
Xylitol is used by such brands of gum as Trident, and Stride. Xylitol is also being used in several major toothpastes.16
 Click Image To Enlarge.Xylitol Is Being Used In Several Major Toothpastes.
The body does not metabolize Stevia so it has no caloric value and does not affect blood glucose levels, rendering it a safe choice for diabetics. Problems/Research:
For example, Steviacafe.net tells how Stevia skeptics claim that Stevia could interfere with the body's natural carbohydrate absorption. They also claim that Stevia could cause cancer in humans, although no tests have confirmed this assertion as of yet.
 Click Image To Enlarge.A Stevia Plant.
Uses:
 View Stevia Products Sorted By Top Seller Here.
Now that you have read the facts on these sugar substitutes I hope that you are a little more educated about them. As you can see most of these substitutes have their good and bad qualities and it is ultimately up to you to choose which one works the best with your body. I personally have used all of these sweeteners at one point or another, and I have never noticed any short term side effects. That being said, I would probably advise against Aspartame and Saccharin, and push the reader towards something more natural such as Stevia or Xylitol (or other sugar alcohols). I personally use Stevia in all of my protein shakes. It took a little while to get used to the taste, but now I prefer Stevia to normal sugar.
If you are absolutely opposed to any side effects then the truth is that none of these substitutes are probably going to be a great choice for you. While Stevia and sugar alcohols are generally seen as safe products, side effects do exist. Fruit is a great sweetener for many things, especially for someone concerned with processed additives. Fruit does contain sugar in the forms of Fructose and Sucrose, but this sugar is also combined with a large amount of fiber and vitamins (depending on the fruit), making it a much better choice for the health conscious person. For those of you who are not diabetic or concerned with calories, I would recommend using a natural sweetener such as honey or fruit to be on the safe side of these potential side effects. However, if you are diabetic or if dieting is your top priority, I would encourage you to check out Stevia and Xylitol as they appear to be the safest zero/low calorie sugar substitutes currently on the market. Sources:
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