What are artificial sweeteners?
Artificial sweeteners are synthetic or derived from natural substances to be many times sweeter than sugar while carrying almost no calories. This makes them ideal for adding sweetness to foods and beverages without creating a glucose response in the body and without increasing energy intake. Plus, they don’t contribute to tooth decay. Some of the most common ones are aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose. Besides having a slightly different flavour compared to white sugar, the main drawback is the controversy about safety.
Why do people think artificial sweeteners aren’t safe?
People tend to be afraid of the unknown. These sweeteners are relatively new in our diets and they are synthetic. Both of these facts make a lot of people sceptical about their long-term impact on health. The larger issue is that there have been animal studies and one human study too, showing some connections between artificial sweeteners (specifically aspartame) and cancer. We wrote about this in a previous article in more detail.
What does the World Health Organization think?
So, what are the large health institutions making out of all the studies? Unfortunately, the World Health Organization (WHO) doesn’t give us the pleasure of a clear and simple answer. Here is what the WHO says:
- The Acceptable Daily Intake for aspartame is 0–40 mg per kg of body weight
- Aspartame is classified Group 2B among possible carcinogenic substances
The WHO is sending mixed signals here, especially in the eyes of the public. A lot of people may be thinking: Sure, there may be a safe daily dose, but if it’s a possible carcinogen, shouldn’t we just avoid it as a precaution?
First, let’s get clear about what Group 2B actually is. This is a list of substances where there is limited evidence that the substance could cause cancer in humans. This evidence is not strong enough to establish a definitive link, and further research is needed. There is currently aloe vera and pickled vegetables on this list, just to put things in perspective.
It’s also good to know that the acceptable daily limit for aspartame would be enough to drink something like 9 to 18 diet soda cans every day.
Should you go with aspartame or stick with sugar?
Based on the current evidence, we can’t really say whether aspartame definitely is or isn’t a carcinogen. But we can say that large institutions like the WHO and EFSA consider aspartame safe when consumed within the daily recommended limit. Plus, there are studies showing that no-calorie sweeteners don’t increase appetite which makes them a great tool for reducing sugar intake. We discussed that in a previous article.
So, the answer to this question comes down to why you want to use artificial sweeteners like aspartame. If it helps you replace sugar containing foods and beverages in order to manage your body weight, you don’t have a strong enough reason to go back to sugar. If you are worried about the potential risk, there are other no-calorie alternatives such as stevia or erythritol that appear to have none of this controversy and the same benefits. If you don’t have issues maintaining energy balance and a normal weight, then you have little reason to avoid sugar, apart from the cavities.
