Artificial sweetener debate

Q: My doctor is trying to get me to stop using — and drinking — artificial sweeteners. But I think they are great calorie-cutters. What do you think?

Virginia R., Urbana, Illinois A: In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration has allowed saccharine, aspartame, acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) and sucralose to be used in desserts, candies, beverages and baked goods. Neotame, which is 7,000 to 13,000 times sweeter than table sugar, and Advantame (20,000 times sweeter) are OK’d to use in prepared foods, because they retain their sweetness when heated. And stevia and monk fruit (Luo Han Guo) are used under the GRAS provision — generally recognized as safe — of the FDA.

There is some data showing that consuming a lot of these sweeteners can mess with your blood glucose levels. And new research published in Plos Medicine looked at the dietary habits of more than 100,000 French adults and found that those who took in larger amounts of artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame and Ace-K, had a higher risk of cancer, notably breast cancer and obesity-related cancers. This may be directly from the sweeteners or because of the increased risk of cancer from obesity — it’s hard to know in a self-reported survey like this. There aren’t good randomized, controlled trials on the safety of these in other mammals or humans. FYI: Stevia is the choice that has the most safety data indicating no harm.

Another study done in the lab shows that the sweeteners sucralose and Ace-K interfere with a protein in liver cells that is essential for the liver to rid the body of toxins and to metabolize certain drugs.

While I think it is essential to eliminate added sugars and syrups from your diet, I also think that in very limited quantities, substitutes might help accomplish that. Note: very limited. Your real goals are: 1. Enjoy drinking water and black coffee and tea; 2. Steer clear of highly processed foods — whether they have sugar, fructose or artificial sweeteners.