By Amy Freeman, RD, CDE
Most of you have heard that sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks, fruit juices, iced tea and energy drinks are associated with weight gain, high triglycerides, inflammation, hypertension, excess fat tissue in our organs, low HDL cholesterol and diabetes type 2. The logical solution, for most of us, has been to switch from sugar to a sugar-substitute, such as stevia, aspartame (Equal or NutraSweet), or sucralose (Splenda). Let us pause and inquire, “are those sweeteners safe?”
Stevia is obtained from a shrub that grows in Southeast Asia and South America. The sweet taste is attributed to stevioside and rebaudioside A. Perhaps you remember in the early 1990s stevia was rejected as a food ingredient by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Canada and the European Union; the World Health Organization concluded that stevia should not be used as a food ingredient. High doses of stevia given to rats caused reduced sperm production and increase in abnormal cell growth in the testicles of the rats. Also, in pregnant hamsters, stevia was linked to fewer and smaller hamster babies. In the lab, stevia caused mutations to cells; it was hypothesized that these mutations may promote cancer.
Stevia is marketed as a supplement, not a food ingredient. In 2008, the FDA recognized stevia as a GRAS (generally recognized as safe) supplement. In the clinical experiments cited above, the animals were fed about 600-970 milligrams (mg) of pure stevia per kilogram of the animal’s weight for weeks, in some studies for the life of the animal. So, my suggestion is to use stevia in moderate amounts and if you have a pet rat or pet hamster, don’t feed it stevia.
Splenda (sucralose) is a synthetic chemical made by treating sucrose with chlorine. Prior to Splenda being approved by the FDA, a study showed that it caused premature shrinkage of thymus glands in rats. The study was repeated and no issues were found with the rat’s thymus gland. Further studies were performed on other rodents, and Splenda was cleared for FDA approval.
In 2012 a study was released and reported by Dr Xiaofa Qin linking inflammatory bowel disease in humans to sucralose use around the world. What may be the most damaging publicity is a 2012 Italian study linking Splenda to leukemia in rats exposed to Splenda in utero (before birth). On another note, one of the emerging environmental contaminants is Splenda. In some areas, Splenda is among the highest measured pollutant found in surface water, ground water and drinking water.
Lastly, we will review aspartame. Equal and NutraSweet have been around since the 1970s. Since its introduction, it has been plagued with rumors surrounding brain tumors, hallucinations, cancer, and neurological issues in those who used it. It is true that in a study done in 2005, rats given aspartame starting at 8 weeks of age and continuing through their lifetime developed lymphomas, leukemias, and breast/liver/lung and kidney tumors. Scarier yet is the 2010 studies performed by Danish researchers that found the consumption of the sugar-substitute aspartame was linked to pre-term delivery of babies.
I will end on this very interesting note. There are a few clinical studies that demonstrate the consumption of sugar- substitutes promotes over-eating, increase in body weight, and accumulation of body fat. The negative changes are related to a change in how the body “senses” food intake, leading to a dysfunction in the reflex to stop eating. Studies have demonstrated that certain sugar-substitutes inhibit the release of gastrointestinal hormones and inhibit stimulation of the gastrointestinal “taste” receptors. The end result of the cascade of misfortunes in the gastrointestinal tract is an increase in eating, body weight, and body fat.
What we eat does impact our health and well-being. Make it a point to try to limit processed foods in your diet, including sugar-substitutes. Remember our friend, the rat – he didn’t do too well in these studies.
Amy Freeman is the Diabetes Educator for Citrus Memorial Health System. Under her direction, the Citrus Memorial Diabetes Center offers classes in both Inverness and Homosassa and works with local health care professionals to aid families in becoming independent in managing diabetes. To sign up for a Diabetes Education class call (352) 341-6110. A physician’s referral is required.