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.
Sugar for Cyclists – Are Natural Sources Better for You?
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 […]
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