There has been a ton of hype recently about the health concerns of eating artificial sugar, but what’s the big deal?
Well, the big deal is that there are a variety of different kinds of artificial sugars, all of which are chemicals that people have only recently started eating, and therefore their long-term health consequences are still somewhat unforeseen.
This uncertainty is what causes most of the confusion.
Different studies each say that different artificial sweeteners are better than others, while other studies say the opposite, so how are we to know what’s what?
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The first step is knowledge.
Let’s start with the basics. Think of those little sweetener packets you see on the table of diners: the blue (equal) is aspartame, the yellow (splenda) is sucralose, and the pink (sweet & low) is saccharin. These are the primary three artificial sweetener culprits we are dealing with (amongst a few others).
The general answer over artificial sweetener safety is simply: the FDA has approved these artificial sweeteners as ‘safe’ as long as you do not exceed the acceptable daily limit, or ADI.
“It would take a mound of sweet packets to even come close to the established ADI’s…For example, research shows you could down 17 cans of 12-ounce diet soda or 97 aspartame packets without seeing adverse affects. Even dieters with high intakes of artificial sweeteners don’t come close to these extreme amounts.”
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So, according to the FDA, you can eat 97 aspartame packets without seeing adverse effects from aspartame.
However, this statement is entirely misleading to the general public. Just because the FDA says there should be no side effects from the aspartame specifically, doesn’t mean it is safe to drink that much soda or recommended to eat that much of any artificial sweetener.
Technically, all of the artificial sweeteners are considered ‘safe’, but the foods they are generally put into can be harmful if overeaten (such as cakes, sodas, juices, sauces, etc.).
The bottom line is: the FDA doesn’t differentiate between the different kinds of artificial sweeteners. In their opinion, it simply comes down to personal preference (which one tastes better to your) or functionality (it is easy to bake with sucralose, but not with aspartame).
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However, it’s best to stay away from added sweeteners in general, whether natural or artificial sweeteners.
Article Curated From:
Men’s Fitness
