Sweet Deception: The Bitter Truth About Sweeteners

by Andy on April 23, 2010

Due to their lower number of calories per serving, artificial sweeteners are often pitched as healthier alternatives to sugar. However, many of the chemicals that comprise these substitutes are less-than-ideal items to be consuming. Below is a side-by-side comparison of the facts surrounding some of the most popular artificial sweeteners on the market today.

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{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }

1 pingyoo April 25, 2010 at 8:53 pm

Wow truly incredible. NEver thought about it that way before.

Lou http://www.anonymous-vpn.tk

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2 cameron April 25, 2010 at 9:17 pm

Lots of research has been done on sweeteners. The side-effects here are not only fairly minor for the most part, but also extremely uncommon. Increased appetite can be overcome with some restraint… then again, if your goal is soley dental care, you're set. Most people experience no adverse effects from sweetener.

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3 Jaydge April 27, 2010 at 8:21 pm

Most of the research you mention was funded by grants from the very companies that make the sweeteners, so there's a definite bias. Also, this chart doesn't even mention cancer from saccharin, which is required by law in some areas to be labeled on any saccharin-based products (ie CareFree gum at least used to say "known to cause cancer in lab rats").

Bottom line is, your body knows how to process sucrose, a naturally occurring substance, but your body cannot process the artificial sweeteners including high fructose corn syrup – and any time chemical substances aren't able to be processed by your body, it has a negative effect on health. Especially in the huge quantities HFCS is consumed.

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4 Guest May 10, 2010 at 4:46 pm

A little more research and you find out the extensive list of health issues. Like the trace amounts of Mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup. It's only a trace, but in many foods and it accumilates. Even "White Sugar" is processed in a way that isn't too good.

Cane Sugar or Stevia are the only thing my family uses.

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5 Will April 25, 2010 at 9:39 pm

An interesting look at sugar itself including a breakdown of the metabolic pathways. Pretty convincing argument with a few excessive claims (fructose/sucrose a toxin?) A lot of people claim that artificial sweeteners might be bad because they break down to alcohols, but your table sugar and high fructose corn syrup do basically the same thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

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6 @BobIngersoll April 25, 2010 at 10:03 pm

It would be nice if the makers of this graphic would cite their sources. There is a huge difference between unsubstantiated claims and those backed by solid evidence.

BTW, apples cause AIDS!

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7 Jason D May 21, 2010 at 9:59 pm

they did. Bottom right corner of the graphic is a stack of them.

Reading causes knowledge!

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8 John April 25, 2010 at 10:15 pm

Also 1gram as a serving size is ridiculous. 1 can of Coke Zero has around 70mg of Aspartame. Meaning it would take 14 cans to match the 1gram for this "serving". While I probably drink 3 cans a day give or take 1, I am nowhere near the suggested "serving" size. Also the claims made are unsubstantiated and wrong.

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9 Jaydge April 27, 2010 at 8:24 pm

Coke Zero might be an exception. One packet of Nutrasweet for coffee has exactly 1 gram, and most folks use more than one packet per cup.

See the label on this image: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3KC6jnGUeeM/Sd_0×0ABAGI...

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10 @RobRWhitley April 25, 2010 at 11:49 pm

The question is what is "excessive use". Those that might be using artificial sweeteners excessively are probably the same people whose diet may not be too great to begin with, thus contributing to the listed risks above.

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11 Derek Shirtington April 25, 2010 at 6:07 pm

It’s interesting that this “info”grafic is called “the bitter truth”, because that’s the same title of the video that kickstarted all this recent anti-fructose sentiment on the internet. Unlike the maker of this rubbish, the guy in the video has extensive medical qualifications, experience and responsibility, he cites dozens of references, he explains everything down to the level of biochemistry, and he knows that high fructose corn syrup is a much greater public health problem than the other sweeteners. watch this video if you have the time and attention span, especially if you want to really know the “bitter truth” about sweeteners.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

and whoever made this graphic, next time cite sources.

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12 Nicole April 26, 2010 at 4:30 am

Thanks Derek, excellent Video

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13 Robert Townsend April 25, 2010 at 10:08 pm

One person anecdotal evidence (not scientific), but I consumed quite a lot of sucralose one day and broke out in a rash, and had a general feeling of malaise. I had previously read about these rashes on the internet and discounted those readings, but then experienced it myself. You can do what you want, but I stay away from all sweeteners now.

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14 @krowface April 26, 2010 at 5:09 am

seriously, citations needed.

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15 Jason D May 21, 2010 at 10:00 pm

they did. Bottom right corner of the graphic is a stack of them.

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16 Owen April 26, 2010 at 6:17 am

Don't forget cancer in rats!

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17 nobregui April 28, 2010 at 11:03 pm

Don't forget cancer in rats! [2] ;D

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18 terrabyte April 26, 2010 at 7:57 am

How does stevia compare?

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19 Matt April 26, 2010 at 3:35 pm

Notice how the risks are associated with excessive use. Weight loss/control is all about self control.

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20 no_neos April 26, 2010 at 3:36 pm

Use Stevia – made from the Stevia plant and has no chemicals, no calories, can be used by people with diabetes – nothing but sweet and it's good for you!

(the makers of artificial sweeteners use animals to experiment on – injuring and/or killing thousands of puppies and kittens to "test" the crap they produce)

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21 IvanTsarevich April 28, 2010 at 5:12 am

[citation needed]

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22 thomas April 26, 2010 at 4:10 pm

High Fructose Corn Syrup is not as benign as this graphic makes it appear. See a UCSF scientist's presentation (Sugar the Bitter Truth) here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

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23 @HunnyBurr April 26, 2010 at 4:57 pm

I really wish y'all would do your research more thoroughly before jumping to conclusions.

The amounts given to test subjects are often times 50x more than the typical person would consume on average. They are given a MASS AMOUNT of chemicals/products in one sitting that the average person would consume over a long period of time.

I think this is all just fear mongering.

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24 Dorkess May 5, 2010 at 6:05 pm

That's just because you're misinformed, gullible, and can't tell when a 500lb pharma/industry giant has its appendage up your backside.

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25 Dorkess May 5, 2010 at 6:05 pm

That's just because you're misinformed, gullible, and can't tell when a 500lb pharma/industry giant has its appendage up your backside.

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26 john April 26, 2010 at 5:00 pm

what about stevia extract?

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27 Think4Yourself April 26, 2010 at 5:24 pm

Hey dipshits. Stick to your twitter. If you _truly_ believe these sweeteners are fine for your consumption, please, hurry to the store.

We don't need people like you around breeding.

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28 Tom Rellen April 26, 2010 at 11:33 am

Andy, as others in the comments have noted, since you cite no sources for the data you’re presenting here, it’s hard to take your presentation seriously.

Studies have been done regarding Aspartame (found in Nutrasweet and Equal), and the reference details can be found in the Wikipedia article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame_controversy Similarly, the Wikipedia entries for Sucralose and Saccharin point to the necessary studies for anyone interested in further review.

The summary of all of these safety studies is this: for any of these artificial sweeteners, when they are taken in normal doses, there are no harmful effects.

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29 Rellen? May 5, 2010 at 6:07 pm

I wonder, Tom, whether perhaps, just maybe, maaaaybe, the Wikipedia might display signs of systemic bias on every conceivable controversial topic, because, of course, the makes of this garbage, would never ever want to convince you that its safe when it isn't. Please, go ahead, eat 20kgs of the stuff, let natural selection take its course.

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30 jonny April 26, 2010 at 3:49 pm

one glaring omission from this page is well documented research that the psychological impact of something sweet in your mouth- ie all low calorie artificial sweeteners- essentially tricks your body and prepares your gut for the calories it then doesnt receive- this can throw your body metabolism way out of whack and most research suggest that consuming artificial sweeteners in the pursuit of weightloss actually has the opposite desired effect- this is also cited as a cause for stomach ulcers in excessive use – especially excessive gum chewing as your body is producing difgestive enzymes that then have nothing to digest- not to mention the possible links to cancer and such that have been claimed by some studies that aspartame has- did you know that aspartic acid is a neurotransmitter? this is cited as a healthy reason to consume it as it occurs naturally in the body- ok ill drink a liter of bile and ill be fine will i?
interesting fact that dick cheney pushed aspartame through fda testing a little too quickly (president of searle-it maker at the time) for reasons that were purely financial and with scant regard for rigourous testing that flagged up some issues wiith it.
regarding as to what is wrong with normal sugar and why on earth we would need an artificial replacement for any reason is beyond me- if you really want to lose weight normal sugar is proven to be better (a sugar bust raises the mkertabolism- its excess that does the damage)and its been tested for hundreds of thousands of years.
google the “shangri la diet” if your interested in losing some weight without resorting to chemicals we are not entirely sure are safe- thats a good reason not to put them in your mouth!
not a sales pitch its basically a “little but often diet” that addresses hunger in a scientific way as oppose to simply playing a trick on your taste buds and throwing your fat storing and metabolistic processes out of whack.
trust nature or dick cheney? its up to you.

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31 jonny April 26, 2010 at 3:59 pm

dont you find it a little strange that thgere are a lot of “dont worry its safe” quotes on here? none of them providing any detail?
aspartame as its a neurotransmitter and possible excitotoxin should be regulated as a pharmaceutical and listed with its possible side effects – i learnt from personal experience that one can of diet soda that contains aspartame gives me a migraine that lasts for hours- and im not a sufferer of migraines at all as long as i stay away from the stuff- and saccharin? that just tastes like shit- should have them for product description calling that stuff a sweetener cos it ceratinly doesnt taste wsweet its very bitter- so how how is it even a sweetener? go figure.
all i can say definitely is that dick cheney is evil personified and sugar was made by mother nature or god depending how mad/american you are.

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32 Jaydge April 27, 2010 at 8:32 pm

Yeah the "don't worry it's safe" crowd are probably the same folks who swallow the global warming hoax hook, line and sinker. They're the arrogant academic crowd who think anything new is better than the old, even though they haven't had any time to see it play out yet (chemical effects of supposedly safe substances can take years or even decades to appear in humans.) Just look at all the drug recalls made years AFTER the FDA approved them – there's no way you can prove a chemical is safe until it's been part of the human diet for at least 50 years. Whereas real food, including cane sugar, has been proven safe over thousands of years of human history.

And isn't it funny, if everything evolved randomly, that so much of the earth's vegetation is not only safe for human consumption but essential for good health?

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33 jonny April 26, 2010 at 4:17 pm

my apologies is was “Donald Rumsfeld” not “dick cheney” who was president of searle- got my fourth reich scumbags mixed up again sorry. heres a nice article that has real “science” in it and everything for those who dont neeed a misleading and kneejerk infographic in order to form a coherent thought
http://www.care2.com/news/member/185341883/831125

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34 punching judy April 26, 2010 at 8:27 pm

I like how you decided to leave off diabetes and tooth decay with corn starch. And by "like", I mean, why did you do that?

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35 @darthwonka April 27, 2010 at 6:53 pm

[citation needed]

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36 @darthwonka April 27, 2010 at 6:56 pm

@jonny, it is rare, but it is possible what you are suffering from is a reaction to Phenylalanine.. Which is what aspertame breaks down to. Some of these reactions are pretty intense.. You should consider getting tested.

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37 @darthwonka April 27, 2010 at 6:57 pm

@jonny, it is rare, but it is possible what you are suffering from is a reaction to Phenylalanine.. Which is what aspertame breaks down to. Some of these reactions are pretty intense.. You should consider getting tested. Also.. Did you know that Formaldehyde is produced naturally in your body? In fact, many things break down to Formaldehyde, it is a natural process.

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38 Loraine April 30, 2010 at 3:10 am

I don't buy the argument that a little won't hurt you… I am very sensitive, in many respects, (think of me as a bell weather or the canary in the mine) and when I use any artificial sweeteners, they cause headaches and usually have a bad after taste. My chiropractor/nutritionist said they act as Neurotoxins. The more processed and chemical laced, the worse they are for u. So I choose to try different alternatives and .

I now use Agave Nectar as my sweetener of choice. I use to have incredible blood sugar crashes after my morning intake of coffee, but don't experience that with the nectar. Stevia is OK too, but still has that bitter aftertaste. Honey is good too in moderation. PS, I'm not obese!

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39 Loraine April 30, 2010 at 1:51 pm

Correction: bellwether

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40 ulka May 5, 2010 at 5:39 pm

look @ the bottom of the image w/ the info

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41 DeadWasp May 5, 2010 at 6:14 pm

I worked in a bar where we served big 20oz glasses of diet coke. The bar used to be haunted by wasps. These were tough guys, and could land in and swim out of any cocktail (a couple got groggily out of Long Island Ice teas and then buzzed away unharmed). While I worked at the bar I noticed something odd. Every wasp that ever landed in an untended glass of diet coke died. Instantly. So use your common sense about sticking artificial crap in your body or swig more of the lies ladelled out to you all the time by your corporate masters.

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42 Shawn May 10, 2010 at 4:06 am
43 Heathyr July 5, 2010 at 5:24 pm

…Splenda measures cup for cup with sugar, so how can it be 600x sweeter? …

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