“And then you have to know the names of all the different sweeteners,” she said.” Do people really recognize aspartame and acesulfame potassium?”ĭon’t use sugar substitutes for weight loss, World Health Organization advisesĪspartame does have some known health concerns for certain people, the FDA noted. Carissa Baker-Smith, director of preventive cardiology at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Delaware, told CNN in a prior interview. “First you have to read the ingredient list,” pediatric cardiologist Dr. The American Academy of Pediatrics is concerned about the use of such sweeteners by children, which jumped by 200% from 1999 to 2012. The academy pointed out that it’s hard to tell just how much of these substances are being consumed since one or more are likely in most “reduced sugar” and “no sugar” foods and drinks. Since each type has varying levels of sweetness, the FDA has done the math (PDF) for you: Consume no more than 75 packets a day of Equal or NutraSweet (aspartame) 23 packets a day of Splenda (sucralose), Sweet One (acesulfame potassium) or Newtame (neotame) and 45 packets a day of Sweet’N Low or Sweet Twin (saccharin). In the United States, the FDA has set an acceptable daily level of use of aspartame at 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (1 kilogram equals 2.2 pounds) and has said all six approved sweeteners are safe as long as they are used in moderation. Francesco Branca, director of WHO’s Department of Nutrition and Food Safety Department in a news briefing. The same conclusion was reached in a recent review of more current studies, all of which showed conflicting results on potential toxic effects of aspartame, said Dr. Health effects of aspartame draw new scrutiny from WHO experts (add caption) Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank RF/Getty Images However, the Expert Committee on Food Additives, a joint advisory committee of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, concluded in 2013 there is no convincing evidence from experimental, animal or human studies that aspartame has adverse effects after ingestion - as long as levels are within the acceptable daily intake of 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. Sweeteners can be purchased for use in restaurants and homes, but manufacturers often combine a variety of each into their diet drinks and foods to develop a unique taste, according to the American Beverage Association, an industry association that has published an extensive report on aspartame.Ī number of studies have found correlations between artificial sweeteners and various health issues, such as migraines, depression, heart disease, cognitive, behavioral and developmental issues, and the development of dementia, diabetes and cancer. Two of the six, neotame and advantame, are derived from aspartame but have no calories and are much, much sweeter. While aspartame is approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar, neotame is up to 13,000 times sweeter and advantame is 20,000 times sweeter than sugar. The others are acesulfame potassium (sold as Sunett and Sweet One), saccharin (sold as Sweet’N Low, Sweet Twin and Necta Sweet), sucralose (sold as Splenda), neotame (sold as Newtame), and advantame (sold as Advantame). BSIP SA/Alamy Stock PhotoĪspartame is one of six non-nutritive sweeteners approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. However, unlike some artificial sweeteners that are excreted from the body nearly unchanged, aspartame is metabolized and has about 4 calories per gram.Īspartame is used in over 6,000 products, according to the Calorie Control Council. Astonished by an intense sweetness on his tongue, he soon traced the substance back to a beaker full of aspartic acid and phenylalanine, two naturally occurring amino acids.Īs Schlatter studied the mixture further, he found that methanol, which is a simple alcohol also found in fruits and vegetables, seemed to be a key to the powder’s sweetness - and aspartame as a sugar substitute was born.īy 1973, aspartame joined the growing artificial sweetener market, and today we also know it by such brand names as Equal, NutraSweet or Sugar Twin.Īspartame is a non-nutritive sweetener, meaning it contains an extremely tiny or zero amount of carbohydrates and doesn’t provide the body with energy - or calories - as sugar does. Schlatter was hunting for an anti-ulcer drug in his lab in 1965 when he licked his finger to pick up some paper. The discovery wasn’t intentional - just sloppy safety practices.
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