Sugar; A 'Four-letter Word'

I have a question; when did the word ‘sugar’ become a four letter word? Think about it. Today, we are more comfortable putting something into our bodies that is known to cause cancer in lab animals than risk ingesting good, old fashioned sugar. So how did we get to this point?

The Atkins’s Diet Revolution and other diets that promote the idea that sugar is ‘poison’ have gained a lot of popularity in the last couple of decades. The problem with sugar and starchy carbohydrates is that they cause a spike in insulin levels. Authors of such diet books argue that ingesting lots of sugar and starchy carbohydrates results in insulin levels that are always high. As a result, the body stops responding to insulin. This is called ‘insulin resistance’. It is a well-accepted fact by the medical community that insulin resistance contributes to weight gain and diabetes.

Due to the popularity of these diets, the demand for artificial sweeteners has flourished. Personally, I think there is merit to the idea that too much sugar can have detrimental effects on your weight and health. However, is substituting sugar with chemically-engineered sweeteners necessarily the answer? Perhaps we should rethink this. Have these artificial sweeteners been shown to be safe after all? Let’s take a quick look.

Saccharin is an artificial sweetener sold as Sweet n’Low® and Sugartwin®. It was shown in the 1970’s to cause bladder cancer in lab rats. For this reason, Congress mandated that products containing saccharin bear a warning label stating, ‘Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin, which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals.’ Congress also mandated at the time, that saccharin manufacturers conduct further studies to demonstrate its safety in humans. So far, there is no concrete evidence that shows saccharin causes cancer in humans. For this reason, in 2000 congress allowed manufactures to remove the product warning.  Saccharin is considered safe for cooking, unlike some other artificial sweeteners.

Aspartame, another popular sweetener, was approved in 1981. It is sold as Nutrasweet® and Equal®.  At its approval, it was not shown to cause cancer in humans. Later in 1996, however, a report came out suggesting a correlation between the use of aspartame and an increase in the number of reported brain tumors between 1975 and 1992. Further studies failed to demonstrate that the use of aspartame increases the incidence of brain tumors in humans. Studies in rats, however, have produced conflicting results suggesting high doses of aspartame may contribute to higher incidents of lymphomas and leukemias. It should also be noted that aspartame is NOT considered to be safe for use in cooking. Heat can change the chemical structure of aspartame.

Acesulfame potassium (Sunett®, SweetOne®) and sucralose (Splenda®) are a couple of other sweeteners available today. Before their approval, the FDA looked at over 100 safety studies on the products. So far, these products have been rigorously tested and have yet to demonstrate a connection with cancer. Both substances are considered safe for cooking. 

Ok, so maybe the jury is still out on some of these artificial products. Then why not use Stevia®? Stevia® is considered a ‘natural’ sweetener in that it comes from a plant by the same name in South Africa. Due to conflicting evidence with regard to its safety and ability to cause cancer, it has been banned in many countries. For example, the U.S. has banned it as a sweetener, but allows it to be sold as a nutritional supplement.

The Bottom Line

As a reformed diet soda and sweets addict, I admit I have thought to myself on more than one occasion, ‘Wow! Now I can eat all the sweet goodies I want without fear of weight gain!’ However, after realizing that the sweetener I was using was giving me wicked headaches, I now view things a little differently.  I now agree that everything should be done in moderation. Too much of anything will likely kill you these days. Too much sugar, too much artificial sweetener, even too much water! When I thought about it though, I decided that I would rather use sugar in moderation than put a weird chemical into my body. True, I now have to show some restraint when choosing what sugary goodies I want to indulge in on any given day. But, I’m OK with that.

Whether or not to use artificial sweeteners is ultimately a personal choice. Sadly though, our choices in this matter are disappearing. For example, consider this challenge. The next time you are at the grocery store, I dare you try to purchase a package of mint chewing gum that does NOT contain artificial sweetener. Want extra brownie points? Just TRY to find a package of mint chewing gum that contains good, old fashioned ‘sugar’ as one of the ingredients. You will be amazed how many of these chemicals are sneaking into our foods. Food for thought.

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