Are Artificial Sweeters Too Sweet For Their Own Good?

Artificial sweeterners such as Splenda, Aspartame, Sucralose, and now Stevia or Truvia are everywhere in today's food market. It has gotten to the point where certain products are now boasting that they're using real cane sugar or just regular sugar instead of using artificial sweeteners. Most products should only consist of real cane sugar, but in today's world that's not the case because of one simple thing: money. Aspartame for example is a $1 billion industry according to the article "Aspartame...A Killer!" by Johnson. The food industry are being bombarded with large and profitable companies that are supplying these artificial sweeteners because these companies have large amounts of money and stocks. The reality of the matter is that it's never about people's health but rather about how much money these companies can make. Another problem is we really don't know the complete side effects that these sweeteners will have on our health (especially newer sweeteners) until further research is conducted and also only time will tell.

Now it's time for a little history lesson about the artificial sweetener Aspartame which is found in thousands of food products in today's market. If you pick up a sugar-free or diet product the chances are very likely that it contains Aspartame in the list of ingredients. The sweeteners NutraSweet and Equal are other compounds that also contain Aspartame. Now how much of this chemical is in the product and how much can our bodies tolerate before we start seeing side effects? Well we simply don't know and that mystery could be giving us several diseases, disorders, and even some cancers.

According to Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, the authors of Skinny Bitch, "The FDA denied the approval of Aspartame eight times...and despite the fact that three out of six scientists advised against approval, the FDA Commissioner overruled the scientific review panel and allowed Aspartame to be approved in dry goods and later in beverages without further testing on the chemical. In 1996 Aspartame was full approved without restriction despite the 92 different symptoms that resulted from ingesting the chemical." Some of those symptoms filed by the FDA are pretty serious including "memory loss, migraines, nerve cell damage, reproductive disorders, blindness, joint pain, mental confusion, brain lesions, Alzheimer's, food cravings, hair loss, nervous system damage, and lastly weightgain".

Sucralose or otherwise known as Splenda is another dangerous artificial sweetener even though it is touted as being calorie free. Don't be fooled by the false safety of this sweetener because it is still just as dangerous as Aspartame. The good thing about Splenda is it contains 98 percent pure ingredients but the other 2 percent include small amounts of heavy metals, methanol, and arsenic, according to "The Potential Dangers of Sucralose" by Mercola. Splenda and sucralose also cause and propose significant heath risks such as organ, genetic, immune system, and reproductive damage along with swelling of the kidneys and liver according to Mercola's article "Splenda - Here We Go Again".

Along with the proposed dangers and health risks of these artificial sweeteners, they cause weight gain and a degree of addiction. Depending on the person, the addiction can vary but these chemicals are used to alter the taste of food and are reeking havoc on our digestive system and overall health. Stevia or Truvia is a newer sweetener that is supposed to be safer and more of a natural sweetener because it is derived from the Stevia plant. We have to be aware and cautious of this new sweetener because we cannot trust the food industry and manufactures, given their past record with the other sweeteners.