“Sugar, spice, and everything nice” has been a commonly used saying for decades, but now if you were to ask someone about sweeteners they my say “Splenda, spice, and everything nice”. Artificial sweeteners are becoming increasingly popular throughout our society. For a variety of people, there is nothing more appealing to them than the two words; “zero calories”. For that reason, artificial sweeteners are preferred by many. The most common sweeteners include: sucralose (Splenda), acesulfame potassium (Sunett, Sweet One), aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet), neotame, and saccharin (SugarTwin, Sweet’N Low). Most of these sweeteners are created by replacing the hydrogen and oxygen atoms in sugar molecules with chlorine atoms. 
Now you may wonder why using artificial sweeteners instead of sugar is such a big deal, and one main reason is that these sweeteners can lead to health problems, possibly even cancer. Due to this concern, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has placed limitations and regulations on the consumption and the production of artificial sweeteners. As a result, all of these products must be reviewed and approved by the FDA before they hit the shelves. Laboratory studies have been conducted that have linked artificial sweeteners to cancer. In the early 1970s experiments with rats resulted in the discovery that saccharin lead to the development of bladder cancer. However, these results did not always apply to humans leaving researchers with no clear evidence until Aspartame came into the picture. Aspartame contains methanol which is bound to pectic (a fiber which enables methanol to move through your body without being metabolized). According to an article, since pectic is never metabolized it transforms into formaldehyde which impacts your body dramatically. Formaldehyde is most commonly found in paint remover and can be just as poisoning as ethyl alcohol. By allowing such harmful toxins into your body, you are putting yourself at higher risk for developing cancer. 
Artificial sweeteners can also make it extremely difficult for an individual to lose weight. This statement is shocking to most people considering all of these artificial sweeteners contain zero calories. Purdue scientists conclude that “fake sugar in diet sodas teases your body by pretending to give it real food. But when your body doesn’t get the things it expects, it becomes confused on how to respond.” So even though you make think you are intaking zero calories, your body is simply not satisfied by these products which will lead you to eat more than you would have if you had just eaten regular sugar.
Just like most products out there, using them in moderation isn’t going to completely kill you. You just have to be aware of the potential risks and make smart healthy decisions when substituting these products into your foods.
Sugar only. That is my motto. I have never liked any artificial sweeteners. However, people always thought I was crazy. It is nice to have some support. Also, I never knew that artificial sweeteners actually could inhibit weight loss. The explanation for why was very fascinating. Besides artificial sweeteners, however, many people are turning to stevia as a new sugar replacement. I do not like the taste of that either, but people say it is healthier. I wonder if it, too, has hidden vices.
I have always heard that artificial sweeteners are not healthy but now I actually know why! The same goes for drinks like diet coke. Society is so focused on the “zero calories” that we are often blinded to the actual health implications!
I think i can relate to this topic! I had a friend in middle school whose father worked at Splenda, and he definitely would not allow any Splenda products inside of their house. I once remember him telling me that they contain all different types of additives.
Wow this was really interesting! I have always been cautious of how often I put splenda into my coffee, but I never really thought about it in substances such as diet coke. Also, there is artificial sugar in gum so I should probably reduce the amount of times I chew it a day. A lot of people also have the misconception that you will lose weight for drinking artificial sugar instead of real sugar, but finding out artificial sugar makes it hard to lose weight was intriguing. If I ever go on a diet I will make sure to stay away from artificial sugar. Thanks!
I did a project in grade school and came to the same conclusion. This was a good topic to choose because it’s relevance today. A lot of people don’t understand the effects of something that is supposed to be dietary.
Considering I am a fan of all things diet (diet coke, dr. pepper, mtn dew etc.) this post really grabbed my attention. I must say though, that after reading this post I am going to think twice about my diet soda drinking habit. I always thought that aspartame was a healthier alternative to sugar, I never once thought that it would contain things such as methanol!!!
I know you mentioned the facts about both diet soda and normal soda, but I actually found a really interesting study on Time.com about diet soda that reported “A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that people who drank diet soda gained almost triple the abdominal fat over nine years as those who didn’t drink diet soda”.
In conclusion after reading through your post and the post that I researched separately, I am NEVER going to drink soda (diet or regular!) EVER again!!! Thank you for opening my eyes to this!
Considering I am a fan of all things diet (diet coke, dr. pepper, mtn dew etc.) this post really grabbed my attention. I must say though, that after reading this post I am going to think twice about my diet soda drinking habit. I always thought that aspartame was a healthier alternative to sugar, I never once thought that it would contain things such as methanol!!!
I know you mentioned the facts about both diet soda and normal soda, but I actually found a really interesting study on Time.com about diet soda that reported “A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that people who drank diet soda gained almost triple the abdominal fat over nine years as those who didn’t drink diet soda”.
In conclusion after reading through your post and the post that I researched separately, I am NEVER going to drink soda (diet or regular!) EVER again!!! Thank you for opening my eyes to this!
Considering I am a fan of all things diet (diet coke, dr. pepper, mtn dew etc.) this post really grabbed my attention. I must say though, that after reading this post I am going to think twice about my diet soda drinking habit. I always thought that aspartame was a healthier alternative to sugar, I never once thought that it would contain things such as methanol!!!
I know you mentioned the facts about both diet soda and normal soda, but I actually found a really interesting study on Time.com about diet soda that reported “A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that people who drank diet soda gained almost triple the abdominal fat over nine years as those who didn’t drink diet soda”.
In conclusion after reading through your post and the post that I researched separately, I am NEVER going to drink soda (diet or regular!) EVER again!!! Thank you for opening my eyes to this!
Considering I am a fan of all things diet (diet coke, dr. pepper, mtn dew etc.) this post really grabbed my attention. I must say though, that after reading this post I am going to think twice about my diet soda drinking habit. I always thought that aspartame was a healthier alternative to sugar, I never once thought that it would contain things such as methanol!!!
I know you mentioned the facts about both diet soda and normal soda, but I actually found a really interesting study on Time.com about diet soda that reported “A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that people who drank diet soda gained almost triple the abdominal fat over nine years as those who didn’t drink diet soda”.
In conclusion after reading through your post and the post that I researched separately, I am NEVER going to drink soda (diet or regular!) EVER again!!! Thank you for opening my eyes to this!
Considering I am a fan of all things diet (diet coke, dr. pepper, mtn dew etc.) this post really grabbed my attention. I must say though, that after reading this post I am going to think twice about my diet soda drinking habit. I always thought that aspartame was a healthier alternative to sugar, I never once thought that it would contain things such as methanol!!!
I know you mentioned the facts about both diet soda and normal soda, but I actually found a really interesting study on Time.com about diet soda that reported “A new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that people who drank diet soda gained almost triple the abdominal fat over nine years as those who didn’t drink diet soda”.
In conclusion after reading through your post and the post that I researched separately, I am NEVER going to drink soda (diet or regular!) EVER again!!! Thank you for opening my eyes to this!
I liked reading this article because its one of those things that people don’t usually think about. I always find myself deciding between sugar and Splenda, now I know that I should not be using artificial flavoring because of its health risks. Here is a link that talks about how bad Splenda is: http://draxe.com/splenda-side-effects/