I was asked a question in response to my last blog post, "A Spoonful of Sugar."
What about natural and artificial sweeteners?
There are quite a few natural sweeteners available. Stevia, which can be used by diabetics, has been around for centuries and is a good natural sweetner with an acquired taste. There are several versions of stevia available, the most recent being Truvia.
In addition to stevia, there is evaporated cane juice, fruit juice, honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, rice syrup, barley malt syrup and sugar alcohols (like xylitol, sorbitol and mannitol, which are sugar-free but can cause a laxative effect when consumed excessively).
I use an organic agave nectar as a sweetner (it's 25% sweeter than sugar and has a lower glycemic index). It's a bit expensive, but it tastes great and is a wonderful addition to my morning tea.
There is a great deal of controversy surrounding the safety of artificial sweeteners. For every argument in favor of their use, there is an often equally compelling one opposing their use.
Artificial sweeters are just that... artificial, so that's something to keep in mind.
Currently, there are five FDA-approved artificial sweeteners: saccharin (e.g. Sweet and Low and Sweet Twin), aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal and Sugar Twin), acesulfame potassium (Ace-K or Sunett), sucralose (Splenda) and neotame.
Saccharin has been around the longest (over 100 years). There was controversy when research in the 1970's showed bladder tumors in male rats with the ingestion of saccharin. While later research showed that those results did not translate to humans, there are still questionable claims about carcinogenic (or cancer-causing) effects and the possibilty of allergic reactions.
Aspartame is one of the most controversial artificial sweeteners, and is labeled as being unsafe for people with phenylketonuria (PKU). There has been some evidence to suggest that some symptoms can be related to aspartame, namely headaches (especially in migraine sufferers), depression (especially in people with mood disorders), brain cancer (in rats), and increased hunger/appetite in some individuals.
Sucralose (Splenda), is said to be made from real sugar, but is chemically altered and contains chlorine as a result. Chlorine is considered a carcinogen, and since about 15% of Splenda is absorbed in the body, we are unsure what effect that will have on our bodies in the long term. No side effects have been found with the short term use of Splenda in the studies that have been conducted, but long term studies on humans should be done.
I encourage you to do some research of your own, give some of the natural sweetners a try and be sure to read the ingredient lists on your food labels!
For more information of artificial and natural sweeteners and other health and wellness information in the news, tune in to "The Healthy Lifestyle Show with Dr. Lanier" this afternoon at 3 p.m. ET at www.blogtalkradio.com/Dr-Dayo-Lanier. All of the shows are archived, so if you miss it today, take a listen whenever you can.
Be healthy and God bless,
Dayo N. Lanier, M.D.
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