411 on Sugar Substitutes

Lots has been said about those familiar pink, blue and yellow packets of sugar substitutes.  I can't tell you which is better than the others or if any of them are safe.  I believe that Jorge Cruise (or maybe it was my brother) said that those sweeteners are poison to the body.

I have tried to cut out the sweeteners such as Equal and Splenda, but who do you believe?  The FDA says they're safe but plenty of other groups say the sweeteners are NOT safe.

So who do you believe? If you're waiting for me to tell you what to do, you've been reading the wrong blog post!  I can only give you each side of the story, give you some links and let YOU, the reader decide for yourself whether this stuff is safe.

So for today's post here's the scoop on:

Sweet 'N Low - the pink packet - Saccharin
Believe it or not, saccharin was first produced back in 1878 or 1879.  It started getting very popular when there were sugar shortages during WWI.  It got much more popular during the 60's and 70's when people started becoming more calorie conscious and wanted a non-caloric sweetener.

So what's the story with the cancer warnings? During the 1970's studies were released showing that saccharin was responsible for increased incidence of bladder cancer in laboratory rats.  Congress mandated warnings on foods with saccharin added: “Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin, which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals.”

According to an article from the National Cancer Institute Saccharin which was first listed as a carcinogen was taken off the list in 2000 by the U.S. National Toxicology Program’s Report on Carcinogens.   More information on the delisting of saccharin can be found at this link.What's interesting is that it appears that the studies which showed an increased incidence of bladder cancer in rats were originally done with a combination of cyclamate and saccharin mixture and not just saccharin by itself.

In reading about the delisting of saccharin it's interesting to read  that while the data shows no consistent evidence that saccharin can cause an increase in incidence of bladder cancer in the general population, there is SOME very small risk with some groups who would be heavy consumers of artificial sweeteners.  As I mentioned if there IS a risk in the general population there's not enough evidence to prove or disprove that saccharin is a carcinogen. This I'm guessing is why there are still groups who say the sweetener should still be banned...if there's not enough evidence then get the evidence or if there is a small risk with some small groups then it should be banned anyway.  But with that statement, couldn't you argue back that almost everything today including prescription drugs may cause problems with some people but not in others? Would you ban everything just because there's some risk to some groups of people?

So is it safe or not? I've found several sources on the Internet in which it's said that saccharin is actually the safest of the artificial sweeteners and other web sites which say the sweetener should still be banned.

I guess the choice is up to you!
Keep in mind:

1. Saccharin can be used by those suffering with diabetes as it does not affect blood sugar levels
2. Saccharin can be used in cooking, but check out this chart 
3. Saccharin has an aftertaste!

 IT'S UP TO YOU TO MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICE!!!!