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When Did "Artifical Sweetener" Become Just "Sweetener?"
By Dr. Ben Kim on December 03, 2004
A few months ago when my wife and I met some friends for tea at a local coffee shop, one of our friends reminded me to ask for some sweetener for her coffee. I wasn’t sure if she meant sugar or artificial sweetener, so I asked “artificial sweetener?”
“Yeah, sweetener,” she replied, looking a little confused.
As I stood in line waiting to place our order, I found myself wondering when in the world people began dropping the word “artificial” from “artificial sweetener.” Could this be the result of the artificial sweetener industry doing a clever job over the past several years of having the general public believe that artificial sweeteners are harmless? Kind of like how good ol’ Kentucky Fried Chicken simply became KFC.
If you are still eating and drinking foods and beverages that contain artificial sweeteners, perhaps you are not aware of the staggering evidence that links artificial sweeteners with numerous chronic, degenerative diseases.
Aspartame - the technical name for popular brand names NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure – has been documented by the United States FDA as a cause of the following symptoms:
- Inability to concentrate
- Short-term memory loss
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Trouble sleeping
- Depression and irritability
- Seizures
- Nausea
- Numbness
- Muscle spasms
- Fatigue
- Trouble breathing
- Heart irregularities
- Joint Pain
Why is Aspartame Harmful to Your Health?
Aspartame is extremely toxic to your nervous system. Once in contact with your brain, aspartame attaches itself to receptors on your nerve cells, which causes so much stimulation within these cells that they are literally excited to death.
In addition to being toxic to your nervous system, aspartame is broken down in your body into methanol and formaldehyde. Methanol – also know as wood alcohol – is a toxin that can cause blindness. Formaldehyde is a known cause of cancer.
What About Splenda?
Sucralose - sold under the brand name Splenda - is made by adding three chlorine atoms to a single molecule of sugar. These chlorine molecules are what make sucralose approximately 600 times sweeter than regular table sugar.
As of February 26, 2005, there have been no long term studies on the effects of sucralose on human health. Although some nutritionists and alternative health care practitioners cite specific studies that support staying away from sucralose, I have not come across any solid scientific evidence that clearly indicates that sucralose is harmful to human health.
With that being said, I recommend staying away from sucralose completely because we just don't know enough about it at this point. I don't like the idea of putting a man-made, chlorinated chemical into my body. Whenever possible, it just makes sense to get our nutrients from whole, minimally processed foods.
If you aren't convinced that artificial sweeteners are dangerous to your health, I highly recommend that you read Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, by Russell L. Blaylock.
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Artificial Sweetners/Headaches
I have suffered from migraine headaches since the age of 15, (I am 32 now). Five years ago, after keeping a food journal, I finally figured out the triggers for my headaches-artificial sweetners. It was a long road to figure out, because I would get a headache even after cutting out diet drinks/foods and etc. Well to find out, the chapstick I used had artificial sweetner in it. Almost ALL gum, even the kind containing sugar, contains aspartame! Aren't there labeling guidelines for this? As bad as my headaches are, I wish there were some type of guidelines for this!
artificial sweeteners and migraines.
I am 25 years old and use to suffer from migrain headaches. One night about 5 years I saw something on the news about aspartame along with a long line of other things that could cause migraines. I decided to start with the artificial sweetner and lay off those and as soon as I did I didn't have any more migrains. Until last year when I was taking Nyquil and got so sick with a migrain that lasted about three days. I read the ingrediants and it said it contained sodium saccarin then I realized that is an artificial sweetner. So now I make sure I read all the labels of everything I buy. I feel so much better now and haven't even had a headach since. Unless its a sinus headach. Now I just have do away with allergies.
Artificial Sweeteners & Headaches
I premise my comment with the fact that I am NOT a biolgist, doctor, nutritionist or anything remotely close to BEING a person with medical background... In fact, the closest I come is that I am related to doctors & nurses. However, I would like to share a personal observation.
I have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), and to combat it I eat less sugar to keep my pancreas from overproducing (leading to eventual shutdown). So, I am quite familiar with the affects - everything from headaches to fainting spells. In EVERYTHING I have read about artificial sweeteners, the side-effects are similar to the affects of low blood sugar. That said, I cannot help but believe that our bodies are responding to our intake of the artificial sweeteners as if we are actually consuming the amount of sugar we normally would take to have our food "taste good."
Again, I am not a professional in this field, but our bodies are designed quite well to the point that if we give it what it truly needs it will cure itself of MANY of the ailments we try to fix today. In my opinion, ALL artificial sweeteners are bad for the body, and it is simply wise to consume real sugar (as unprocessed as possible) in a much lesser amount.
Splenda
I have known for many years about the dangers of aspartame. So, I switched to splenda. Thank you for your information that it may also be dangerous. It had not occurred to me that it also contained chlorine. Thank you.
Finally, reasons to the pain
Since I was very young, I've had to avoid artificial sweeteners. If I accidently ate something with saccarin or Aspartame I'd end up with a headache so bad I can barely function. My mother always thought I was making it up because I didn't like the after taist. But now I find out that they break down into methanol and formaldehyde, it finaly makes sense. I'm very chemicaly sensitive, and no one else in my family is.
I don't know how I react to Splenda because I avoid it due to it being artificial. I just don't want to take the chance.