Most of you know that artificial sweeteners are in diet foods and soft drinks. But what you might not know is that they’re becoming increasingly common in other foods such as yoghurts, snacks, desserts, mints, cordials, juices, instant coffee, drinks, vitamins and medicines. Worryingly they’re also becoming associated with a range of adverse health effects.
The range of symptoms attributed to aspartame includes:
It has also been found in experiments to cause brain tumours in rats.
Technically, aspartame is what’s called an excitotoxin. This means that when it comes into contact with nerve cells in the brain it causes them to be stimulated. If they’re stimulated too much they’ll die. The “blood-brain barrier” prevents toxins from reaching nerve cells in our brains but if we’re exposed to high concentrations then they get through.
What’s high? Good question. If you’re having aspartame daily in your food and drink, then it’s not unthinkable that your levels are getting close to the danger zone. While this is a concern for everybody, it’s of particular concern for babies and children as their blood-brain barrier isn’t fully developed. For this reason the official recommendation is that aspartame shouldn’t be given to children at all, and it should be avoided by pregnant women.
Other common artificial sweeteners in Australian foods include saccharin, acesulphame potassium, sucralose and cyclamates. There is building evidence that these substances may be cancer-causing in humans, although more research needs to be done. It’s advisable to reduce exposure to these substances as much as possible.
To find out if the foods you’re eating contain artificial sweeteners it’s really important to read the labels. Brand names to watch out for include Nutrasweet, Equal, Splenda and Sweet’N Low. Sweeteners may also be listed on labels as numbers. Below are the numbers of common artificial sweeteners in our foods.
950 Acesulphame potassium
951 Aspartame
952 Calcium cyclamate or sodium cyclamate
954 Saccharin or calcium / sodium / potassium saccharin
955 Sucralose
So, the moral of the story is? The more untouched and unprocessed your food is, the healthier it’s likely to be. We have a number of books in the clinic that you might want to look at to give you some ideas. We also have a dietician who you can consult with to get a clearer idea of what you can do to improve your eating habits.
Aspartame information from:
“Additive Alert: Your Guide to Safer Shopping” by Julie Eady (2008)