2. RAISE YOU HAND IF…
You regularly use artificial sweeteners
3. YOU’RE NOT ALONE!
About 86% of Americans use low-calorie, reduced-
sugar, or sugar-free foods and drinks!
4. RAISE YOU HAND IF…
You’re cautious or worried about using artificial
sweeteners
5. YOU’RE NOT ALONE!
A Mintel survey found that over 60% of respondents
were concerned about the safety of “artificial”
sweeteners.
6. RAISE YOU HAND IF…
You feel children or pregnant women should avoid
artificial sweeteners
7. OBJECTIVES
TODAY WE WILL LEARN…
What are artificial
sweeteners?
Who regulates them?
What does research
say regarding their
safety?
Are they helpful with
weight loss?
8. WHAT ARE ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS?
Artificial sweeteners usually refer to non-nutritive
(or non-caloric) substances
Interact with taste receptors to give a sense of
sweetness
They are usually MUCH sweeter than regular
sucrose sugar
Can exceed sweetness of sucrose by a factor of 30-
13,000 times!!!
9. WHO REGULATES THEM?
The FDA regulates artificial sweeteners as food
additives.
Normally, the manufacturer of the product is
required to submit evidence in the form of research
to prove the product is safe
However, if the compounds are already on the list
of substances considered “generally regarded as
safe” (GRAS), they are not viewed as food
additives
10. WHAT HAPPENS WITH GRAS ITEMS?
In the case that the compound is GRAS, it becomes
the responsibility of the FDA to show the substance
is unsafe.
The acceptable daily intake levels are based on
data from animal experiments
The “no observed adverse effect level” with daily
exposure
11. THE THREE MOST COMMON
In the US, the three most common artificial
sweeteners are:
Saccharin Aspartame Sucralose
13. SACCHARIN
Saccharin was first discovered in 1879 quite
by accident!
In use since 1900 and obtained FDA
approval in 1970
After ingestion, saccharin is NOT absorbed
or metabolized: excreted unchanged
through the kidneys.
14. SACCHARIN
Studies in the 70s shows that rats exposed to a
diet of at least 5% saccharin had increased
frequency of bladder cancer (especially in
males)
Results from above study resulted in prohibition
of saccharin in Canada and proposed ban in
US (withdrawn in ’91)
Instead, foods containing saccharin had to have
a warning label saying it contains a potential
cancer causing agent
15. SACCHARIN
Future mechanistic studies showed that the results
only applied to rats it supressed humoral
antibody production in rats.
Moreover, later studies showed that the rats used in
the trial were frequently infected with a urinary
parasite.
Human epidemiology studies have shown no
consistent evidence that saccharin is associated
with bladder cancer incidence (cancer.gov)
Warning label was therefore overturned in 2000.
16. ASPARTAME
In 1965, a chemist was working on gastric ulcer
treatments, when(again) some of the compound got
on his hand.
Approved by FDA in 1981 as a table-top sweetener;
in 1996 as general-purpose sweetener.
It is 200 times sweeter than sugar
Most controversial sweetener!
17. ASPARTAME
Since it contains phenylalanine, FDA requires the
package bear a warning label to protect individuals
with PKU.
Upon ingestion, aspartame is hydrolyzed in the
intestines into aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and
methanol absorbed into blood and metabolized
Hypothesized that these substances do not
accumulate and are metabolized the same way as
if they were from food
18. ASPARTAME
Research in 2005 on fetal rats showed significant
increase in malignant tumors, lymphomas, leukemias,
and mammary cancer.
Following these results, the FDA decided to investigate
further into the results and found several discrepancies
Doses given to rats were equivalent to drinking 8-2083 cans
of diet soda per day
Number of cancer incidences did not increase with increasing
aspartame
FDA released a statement in 2006 regarding this study:
19. FDA STATEMENT
“…review of ERF's (European Ramazzini
Foundation) study concluded, among other things,
that on the basis of all evidence currently available
to EFSA (European Food Safety Authority):
ERF's conclusion that aspartame is a carcinogen is not
supported by the data; and
EFSA sees no need to further review its earlier scientific
opinion on the safety of aspartame or to revise the
Acceptable Daily Intake”
20. MORE ON ASPARTAME…
In humans, doses of 2-100 mg/kg resulted in
increases of phenylalanine, but no
behavioural/cognitive performance changes.
Doses of 30-77 mg/kg/day over 13 weeks in 126
children showed no impact on renal or hepatic
function, hematologic statues, or eye function.
21. MORE ON ASPARTAME…
2007 toxicology review found that studies
conducted in rodents and dogs with aspartame and
its metabolized products have found no adverse
effect with doses up to at least 4000 mg/kg/day.
Current ADI (acceptable daily intake) of aspartame
is 50mg/kg/d
22. SUCRALOSE
SPECIAL TREAT ALERT!!!
Can anyone guess how this was discovered?
Sucrose molecule in which 3 hydroxyl groups are
replaced by chlorine
23. SUCRALOSE
SPECIAL TREAT ALERT!!!
Can anyone guess how this was discovered?
Sucrose molecule in which 3 hydroxyl groups are
replaced by chlorine 600 times sweeter!
Cl
Cl
Cl
24. SUCRALOSE
NOT digested by the body most that is given to
mice, rats, dogs, and humans passes through the
GI and eliminated in the feces unchanged.
Toxicology studies show little effect
Most significant study showed shrunken thymus
glands with diets of 5% sucralose
Further studies showed that the changes were NOT
caused by toxicity, but as a result of nutritional
deficit
25. SUCRALOSE
Since this sweetener was not GRAS, the FDA has
to review over 100 safety studies to assess risk and
ensure consumer safety
Studies show no evidence that sucralose causes
cancer or pose any other risk for to human health
26. WHAT ABOUT WIC CLIENTS?
The American Pregnancy Association states that
both aspartame and sucralose are safe to use
during pregnancy and lactation.
While saccharin is deemed safe for the general
population, studies show that it can cross the
placenta and can remain in fetal tissue
American Academy of Pediatrics has no official
recommendations, though AND states that they can
be incorporated into a healthy diet.
28. WHAT ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS?
Artificial sweeteners are non-nutritive, meaning they
provide 0 calories.
That should be a no-brainer!
Data from epidemiological studies show a
correlation between diet beverage use and weight
gain in children.
Randomized trials in children very limited…
29. WHAT ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS?
In adults, the data is very inconsistent…
While many controlled trials show a decrease in weight
loss, many show no effect.
Some show that users experience a “compensatory
effect”
Conclusions: we simply don’t know if they work for
weight loss in the long run.
30. AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
“The evidence reviewed suggests that when used
judiciously, NNS could facilitate reductions in added
sugars intake, thereby resulting in decreased total
energy and weight loss/weight control, and promoting
beneficial effects on related metabolic parameters…
31. AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
“… However, these potential benefits will not be fully
realized if there is a compensatory increase in energy
intake from other sources.”
33. SOURCES
Artificial Sweeteners and Cancer. (2009). Retrieved January 30, 2015,
from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artificial-
sweeteners
Artificial Sweeteners and Pregnancy. (2012). Retrieved January 30,
2015, from http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/artificial-
sweeteners-and-pregnancy
Brown, R., De Banate, M., & Rother, K. (2010). Artificial Sweeteners: A
Systematic Review Of Metabolic Effects In Youth. International Journal of
Pediatric Obesity, 305-312.
FDA Statement on European Aspartame Study. (2006). Retrieved
January 30, 2015, from
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2006/
ucm108650.htmPotential toxicity of artificial sweeteners
Magnuson, B., Burdock, G., Doull, J., Kroes, R., Marsh, G., Pariza, M., ...
Williams, G. (2007). Aspartame: A Safety Evaluation Based on Current
Use Levels, Regulations, and Toxicological and Epidemiological
Studies. Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 629-727.
Whitehouse, C., Boullata, J., & Mccauley, L. (2008). The Potential
Toxicity Of Artificial Sweeteners. AAOHN Journal, 251-259.
Hinweis der Redaktion
Researcher at john’s hopkins had some substance splash on his fingers, which he later licked and noticed had a sweet taste. It has no calories and is 300 times sweeter than sugar. Used to sweeten soft drinks, baked goods, and even candy. Since it is not at all metabolized, the FDA considers this compound safe.
Researcher at john’s hopkins had some substance splash on his fingers, which he later licked and noticed had a sweet taste. It has no calories and is 300 times sweeter than sugar. Used to sweeten soft drinks, baked goods, and even candy. Since it is not at all metabolized, the FDA considers this compound safe.
Since its approval, aspartame has been used in more than 6000 products by hundreds of millions of people in