ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS
Artificial sweeteners include such
substances as High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS),
Splenda (sucralose), NutraSweet
(aspartame), and saccharin. These fake
ingredients have been linked to a number
of health problems and HFCS itself, is
thought by our nation’s nutritionists to
be one of the leading causes of
America’s childhood obesity epidemic.
Because of Americans’ demand for less
calories, additives like Splenda and
NutraSweet can be found in virtually any
food touting itself as “low sugar”. From
cereal to cocoa, bread, pancake syrup,
jelly etc…
In the interest of saving a few
calories, we have in some instances,
actually contributed to our weight gain
by consuming these chemicals. Scientists
and health professionals have voiced
concern over the increased consumption
of chemical sweeteners, especially in
regard to children. For example, in the
FDA’s 1998 approval report for sucralose
(Splenda), they state the substance is
“weakly mutagenic in a mouse lymphoma
mutation assay”. This means it was found
to cause minor genetic cell damage in
mice. It goes on to explain that in the
Ames test, which is used to detect
possible carcinogens, one of the
substances sucralose breaks down into
tests positive for mutagenic changes.
The biggest concern of nutritionists
with Splenda however, is voiced by Dr
Stuart Fischer of Manhattan, who
formerly worked with Dr. Robert Atkins
and Dr. David Katz, professor of public
health at Yale University of Medicine.
These doctors claim that artificial
sweeteners perpetuate cravings for
sweets and that typically, the more a
person consumes these chemicals, the
more sugar laden foods they end up
eating, negating any caloric savings.
The facts surrounding HFCS are even
scarier. In the 1970’s, at the peak of a
nationwide corn glut, Japanese
researchers developed a way to turn
cornstarch into an extremely sweet
syrup. And since HFCS is a cheaper
product, soft drink companies and a host
of others have made the switch from
natural sugars to this artificial
compound. Though some in the food
industry will argue that HFCS is a
“natural” substance; it is anything but.
Nothing like it exists in nature and
only by a complex chemical process is it
produced from corn starch.
Not only is HFCS found in most frozen
foods, sodas, fruit “drinks”, cereals,
baked goods, etc…, but it can also be
found in unlikely foods such as ketchup
and soup. The problem, health
professionals maintain, is that because
HFCS is much sweeter than other sugars,
it affects our appetite differently. It
does not trigger the chemical Leptin,
which is needed to tell the brain that
the stomach is full. Also, in the body,
HFCS is processed differently than good
old fashioned cane or beet sugar and
therefore alters the function of
metabolic regulating hormones.
Another negative affect is that the
liver is forced to kick out more fat
into the bloodstream. So, although we
end up storing more fat, our bodies are
tricked into wanting to eat more. The
negative effects of HFCS are becoming
more public. Change is coming slowly.
Some food companies are recognizing the
fact that American’s are becoming more
educated about the harmful effects of
HFCS and have begun replacing it with
cane or beet sugar, or simply corn
syrup. It is still extremely difficult,
however, for the average shopper to find
foods without this artificial villain.
The more natural, or organic products
usually don’t contain HFCS. The FDA is
also acknowledging the deleterious
affects of HFCS and will inevitably have
to do something.
To read the studies on HFCS, go to
pubmed.com and type in “high fructose
corn syrup” for the search. Be wary of
the studies done by companies that sell
the product, look for studies done by
third parties.
Dr. Stuart Fischer on CNN AMerican
Morning, June 2005- Asked by Soledad
O’Brian “Do you say diet sodas are
making you fat?” His reply “……our brains
are doing it. Artificial sweeteners
might actually be changing our
physiologic response to this artificial
product which is not natural sugar,
which is a manmade invention and telling
ourbrains you just incurred a 200-300
calorie deficit, now make up for it-
overeat.”
-----------------------------------------
Here is a research article about High Frusctose Sweeteners
