The Bitter Truth About
Artificial Sweeteners
. . .including a warning about stevia!
Remember the 1970's animal studies that linked saccharin with the development of bladder cancer? This led Congress to mandate that products with saccharin had to carry the dreaded warning label about possible cancer risk. It turns out saccharin isn't the only artificial sweetener that poses a danger. Keep reading and see what we've found. . .
Continued below...
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First, a saccharin surprise: You might not know that saccharin has now been removed from the U.S. National Toxicology Program's Report on Carcinogens. In fact, a law signed on December 21, 2000, repealed the requirement for a warning label on products containing saccharin.
Apparently, scientists decided only laboratory rats get bladder cancer when taking high doses of saccharin. They said human studies showed no conclusive evidence linking the two…
So are YOU convinced? Or are you still sour on the whole business of using artificial sweeteners?
Let's do a quick rundown of the different types of sweeteners so you can recognize the names… know what scientific studies have determined… and make an informed choice about whether or not to use them…
Six manufactured sweeteners tantalize
thousands of taste buds
Many folks use artificial sweeteners to avoid using table sugar, or sucrose. These sweeteners are often many times sweeter than refined sugar—which means it takes less product to achieve the desired taste.
But keep in mind that many of these are CHEMICAL compounds with no nutritional value. This should raise some red flags in your mind about their potential cancer risk…
A 2003 Forbes Magazine survey found the following types of artificial sweeteners to be widely consumed:
1. Acesulfame K (ACK)
ACK was introduced in 1967 and often is sold under the brand names Sweet One® and Sunett®. Your body cannot digest or metabolize ACK and will have a tough time filtering it out of your body.
Now get this… studies published in the Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry Journal1 show that these sweeteners were showing up as pollutants in German wastewater. So even if your body manages to eliminate some ACK molecules—they stubbornly refuse to break down once they're in the external environment!
What's more, the US Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)2warns that the chemicals in ACK cause thyroid cancer tumors in lab rats, rabbits and dogs. This sweetener has a high place on the group's list of ingredients to AVOID!
2. Aspartame
Aspartame is a popular sweetener in a variety of foods including soft drinks… low-alcohol beer… candy… and dairy and frozen desserts…
It's often available commercially as NutraSweet® and Equal®.
But it might not be so popular if people knew this: When Aspartame is warmed to more than 86° F the wood alcohol in the product changes to formaldehyde. Since the body's temperature is more than 98º F. it kind of makes you wonder. Or do you think folks might be concerned if they knew formaldehyde is known to increase the risk of developing breast and prostate cancer?
You should also know recent studies in Europe found that the formaldehyde in Aspartame can accumulate in your brain—and seriously damage your central nervous system and immune system.
No matter how good it tastes—brain damage is a pretty high price to pay just to keep using a chemical sweetener!
3. Cyclamate
Cyclamate was initially recommended as a sweetener for diabetic patients. But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned Cyclamate as a food additive in 1969, citing studies that Cyclamate caused bladder cancer in laboratory rats.
But that's not the end of the Cyclamate story…
This sweetener is often blended with other sweeteners such as saccharin. Manufacturers love this ingredient because it dissolves easily in water … it's more stable when heated… and best of all—it's inexpensive to make…
Perhaps this explains why Cyclamate is still approved as a sweetener in about 55 countries!
4. Saccharin
The most recognizable brand of saccharin product available in the U.S. is Sweet'N Low®. Although this substance has been 'delisted' as a possible carcinogen… researchers remain unclear on just how much of it the human body can tolerate.
Even if the FDA and manufacturers deny the cancer risks, they can't deny that some folks have allergic reactions to the sulfonamides in the product.
People who are intolerant to sulfa drugs may experience breathing difficulties, diarrhea, headaches and skin eruptions when ingesting saccharin. Enough said!
5. Stevia
The stevia plant is a completely natural source of sweetener. But processing the plant converts its sweetening compound steviol into one that may alter cell DNA and cause cancerous cell growth!
Also, European scientists noticed in 2006 that male rats fed with Stevia for 22 months experienced a decline in fertility. And when female rats ate the product, they had fewer and smaller offspring.
Anything that results in low libido and low birth weight babies can't be very good for you!
6. Sucralose
Commercially sold as Splenda® in the U.S., sucralose is a synthetic compound created in the manufacturer's lab in 1976.
Many food manufacturers prefer Sucralose because of its longer shelf life and resistance to high heat. And pharmaceutical products such as vitamins, lozenges and over-the-counter remedies often contain it as well.
The manufacturers tell you that sucralose 'tastes like sugar because it's made from sugar.' This is only partially true…
Sucralose is the unholy combination of sugar molecules and chlorine molecules. Rest assured that natural sugar DOES NOT contain any chlorine!
And you best believe your body doesn't know what to do with it when you take it in.
The truth is—the chlorine in this sweetener is an unstable molecule that can cause organ, genetic and reproductive damage.
So there you have it; six commercially available sweeteners that wear an FDA smile of approval.
You might still wonder whether these products really cause cancer… or whether they're safe for human consumption… or whether you could experience other health problems from using them…
If there seem to be more troubling questions than satisfying answers-perhaps you should stick with TRULY natural sweeteners like agave nectar, date sugar, molasses, honey and pure maple sugar. These are all bad for your health and should be consumed in small quantities if at all (see issues #13 and #77 at www.cancerdefeated.com/newsletters).
But at least they're not toxic chemicals unknown to nature.
These tasty sweeteners come straight from Mother Nature's laboratory!
In last week's issue of the newsletter, we looked at mouthwashes and cancer. If you missed that issue, please scroll down and have a look at it now.
Best regards,
Lee Euler,
Publisher
