Yeshiva University: Observer, New York: Artificial Sweeteners: Not Such A Sweet Deal After All

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Artificial Sweeteners: Not Such a Sweet Deal After All

 

 

 

 

 

By: Audrey Cantor

 

 

 

 

Posted: 11/25/09

 

Aspartame. Sucralose. Saccharin. Acesulfame K.

Hidden in many of the foods Americans consume are

artificial sweeteners designed to flavor food

without expanding waistlines. As consuming excess

sugar has been linked to obesity, the launch of

sugar substitutes should therefore have

positively affected obesity rates. However, no

such impact has been seen. Rather, these

artificial sweeteners are believed to have

brought on an extensive list of side effects

ranging from depression, headaches, seizures, and cancer.

 

Unfortunately, few Americans heed the serious

health concerns associated with these chemicals.

The FDA does, after all, approve these

substances. Therefore, they lavish their coffees

with calorie free sweeteners, consume sugarless

chewing gum and pop mints featuring all of the

sweetness but none of the carbs, bake

" sugar-free! " cakes and cookies-all thanks to our

supposed good old friend, the artificial

sweetener. The recent vilification of

carbohydrates has only contributed to this sugar-free sweetener craze.

 

But are artificial sweeteners as sweet a deal as

they seem? The topic is a loaded one, with

proponents on both sides. The safety of these

sweeteners has been the subject of many studies,

all of which have come to different conclusions.

One sweetener in particular, aspartame, has been

the subject of much discussion and questioning.

Aspartame, first concocted in 1965, was

discovered by accident. A chemist by the name of

James M. Schlatter was working on an anti-ulcer

drug when, upon mixing aspartic acid and

phenylalanine (two naturally occurring amino

acids), he stuck his finger into the mixture and

licked. " I licked my finger and it tasted good "

were the words he used in his later account of

the discovery. His accidental action sparked the

development of what is now one of the most

controversial food additives in the industry.

 

Following what was purported to be thorough

testing conducted by Schlatter's employer, a

pharmaceutical company by the name of G.D. Searle

& Co., aspartame was deemed fit to be

manufactured. Searle sought the Food and Drug

Administration's (FDA) approval for the marketing

of their new product, presenting the FDA with

research that had proved aspartame to be safe.

 

While at first the FDA was prepared to approve

aspartame, subsequently raised safety concerns

delayed the additive's approval. In response to

such concerns, the FDA announced a hearing and

established a public board of inquiry to look

into the safety of aspartame as a food additive.

Suspicion regarding Searle's earlier studies,

which had been used to deem aspartame safe, began

to surface. Dr. Jacqueline Verrett, a former FDA

toxicologist and FDA task force member, stated in

her testimony that Searle's tests were a

" disaster " and should have been " thrown out. " Dr.

Marvin Legator, professor of environmental

toxicology at the University of Texas, described

them as " scientifically irresponsible and

disgraceful, " going so far as to say, " I've never

seen anything as bad as Searle's. "

 

One of the many who testified in the FDA hearing

was the late Dr. M. Adrian Gross, a former senior

FDA toxicologist, who state in his testimony that

Searle's studies were largely unreliable and that

" at least one of the studies has established

beyond any reasonable doubt that aspartame is

capable of inducing brain tumors in experimental

animals… therefore by allowing aspartame to be

placed on the market, the FDA has violated the

Delaney Amendment, " which makes it illegal for

any residues of cancer-causing chemicals to be permitted in foods.

Dr. Gross concluded his testimony with the

following question: " What is the reason for the

apparent refusal by the FDA to invoke for this

food additive the so-called Delaney Amendment to

the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act?... And if the

FDA itself elects to violate the law, who is left

to protect the health of the public? " Despite

these strong objections, aspartame was released

to the public in the form of NutraSweet.

 

Since the commercial release of aspartame, it has

been subjected to numerous studies, funded by

both the food industry and private grants.

Interestingly, all of the industry-funded studies

have concluded that aspartame is safe while

almost all of the independently funded studies

have come to the opposite conclusion.

 

One reason why researchers might conclude that

aspartame is safe is that they ignore the many

sources from which people consume aspartame. For

example, some experiments operate on the basis

that people's only significant source of

aspartame is from soft drinks like diet soda,

ignoring other common sources such as sugar free

or reduced sugar chewing gum, yogurt, frozen

yogurt and candy. Additionally, these studies do

not investigate the effects of long-term

aspartame usage from infancy to childhood or the

effects of aspartame on unborn children.

 

Theoretically, the negative effects on children

and developing fetuses would be magnified due to their small body mass.

Aspartame is merely one example of a potentially

dangerous artificial sweetener that has passed by

the FDA. Without the FDA to protect American

consumers, consumers must take responsibility

into their own hands. Serious medical conditions

linked to aspartame and other artificial

sweeteners often go unnoticed by the general public.

 

These stories are not reported on the news, and

it is easy for doctors and naysayers to dismiss

the connection and blame something else instead.

But it is important for people to be vigilant

when they buy and consume manufactured food

products, because artificial sweeteners are

lurking now in more foods than ever before. And

despite all their sweet promise, they have done

little to solve the problems of obesity. While a

calorie count of zero may still be tempting, it

is important to remember that when something is

too good to be true… it usually is.

 

______________________

 

More information on aspartame on www.mpwhi.com,

www.dorway.com, www.wnho.net Aspartame Toxicity

Center, www.holisticmed.com/aspartame