How Safe Is Stevia?

After reading the article "Sweeteners: Facts and Fallacies" the alternative sweetener I have chosen is stevia. Upon the completion of reading facts on stevia, I refute the toxicology safety of consumer use on this alternative sweetener. According to the article "The Sweet Facts on Stevia" it was only sold as a dietary supplement in the 1980's after being linked to cancer and reproductive problems in animals. In 2008, stevia manufacturers petitioned the FDA until Reb A, the plants sweetest sugar molecule, was deemed "generally recognized as safe" or GRAS. "According to CSPI, the FDA did not perform the amount of testing usually required for GRAS status, and further testing on Reb A is needed (Palmer, 2013). With the number of different

Sucralose is most commonly found in little yellow packets under the brand name Splenda. It is a popular substitute for table sugar because of its non-caloric nature as well as being 320 to 1,000 times sweeter than table sugar ("Food additives permitted," 1998) and can be used in baking, unlike other artificial sweeteners because of its highly stable nature and ability to withstand high levels of heat. It is also found in a wide variety of foods and drinks. Right now, it is in foods ranging from applesauce, to soft drinks, candies, maple syrup, cereal, and low calorie energy drinks. Nearly 84% of Americans report that they are incorporating sugar-free low calorie food into their daily meal plans, the great majority of these items are made with sugar substitutes such as Sucralose. (American Dietetic Association, 2006).

Part of the population today is addicted to sugar, which then leads to a great concern when it comes to being obese. In attempt to try to live a healthy life, people today are relying on artificial sweeteners as being the way to go to lose weight. With this notion, the question still today is if artificial sweeteners are healthy. This paper will discuss the biological effects that artificial sweeteners have on a person’s body and to see whether or not consuming them causes more harm than good.

As we hear of more studies exclaiming alarming findings of negative health concerns related to obesity and our continuously growing percentage of obesity in our country, particularly childhood obesity, sugar is in the spotlight. We often hear of dieticians and weight loss experts warning us that we

What is Sucralose one might ask? Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that is used as a replacement for sugar by drink companies and diet companies. Sucralose is located in any drink with a diet label. These sugar substitutes are can cause a large problem and the real question, is the consumption of sucralose really worth it? It is necessary to implement a healthier option to prevent the high risk of health problems associated with sucralose like obesity and diabetes. Though this will not be an easy decision as In this essay I will discuss the effect of Splenda on our bodies, arguments for the use of sucralose, and other affordable solutions to diet products in order to prohibit the selling of “sugar free” drinks in ERHS.

The use of artificial sweeteners in beverages and food has been on a steady rise since 1969, the year it was authorized in the United States of America. The popularity of artificial sweeteners has been on a rise because of the benefit that it is a zero calorie sweetener .Even though artificial sweeteners have some great benefits many scientists believe that it causes adverse effects such as cancer, weight gain and depression. I strongly believe that consumers are not aware of the side effects of artificial sweeteners hence the increase in consumption since 1969.

Unfortunately, the results expected for sucralose did not correspond to the experimental values. Indeed, the control, sucrose, was chosen due to the fact that the synthesis of sucralose begins with sucrose as its starting material and so was expected to behave in a similar fashion. Instead, it behaved alike to stevia, with a very similar minimum concentration (based off of experimental results), but with a range varying from 10-60 % inhibition versus 10-20 % inhibition for stevia. Yet again, the true comparison is difficult. In order to correct this mistake and so obtain comparable data, the initial concentrations of both sweeteners and that of sucrose should be the same, whereas in this particular experiment the concentration of sucrose was neglected. This explains the % inhibition being over 100% as can be observed in Figure 3. The stock solution, as well as the concentrations of the inhibitors, could have been increased to correspond with serving size (approximately 2-3g). These changes could have lead to more suitable data that will be analyzed based on real-life

Sweeteners are usually made from plants or fruits, such as Stevia or Erythritol. This means they have little or no calories. They taste just as sweet as sugar. Sweeteners can also lower blood pressure which is

Artificial sweeteners can be categorized as any substitute for simple table sugar (sucrose). This definition would include substances such as

One solution is using sugar substitutes like sucralose, aspartame, saccharin and xylitol to replace regular sugar (sucrose), which can help all Canadians who have sweet teeth, for keeping away from CVD and obesity. The purpose of sugar substitutes (artificial sweeteners) is to imitate the taste of regular sugar (sucrose), in bottommost calories subscription. (Larsen, 2012) As the result people can enjoy the sweetness of food and also control the amount of sugar intake at the same time. Short responding time is another benefit of artificial sweeteners.

Addictive and enticing, sweetness does not just come from sugar (BE#2). Artificial sweeteners add to the sugary taste of many foods and go by many names – saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose ¬– but they are all formulated by chemical engineers. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) describes artificial sweeteners as “probably safe,” and this statement has proven to be quite true (Nestle). For several years, aspartame and saccharin have been linked to weight gain and cancer in consumers and lab animals (Nestle). Because artificial sweeteners are used in many food products (most commonly diet sodas), people consume them quite often (BE#3). Also, humans tend to believe that if there are no calories and if there is no sugar, they should drink diet soda instead of regular soda. This trend leads to even greater intakes of sweet chemicals such as aspartame in people’s diets. Aspartame is a controversial and common ingredient in the American diet. “Aspartame, when reacted in the body, changes to methanol and then formic acid (a toxic substance)” (Nestle). According to the American Cancer Association, because aspartame contains phenylalanine, those who consume the substance regularly run the risk of having a build up of phenylalanine, which could constrict the flow of nutrients to the brain. Many people, though, do not show signs or symptoms of health complications consistent with aspartame (Amer. Cancer Assn.). Aspartame has the potential to be quite harmful, but because nobody has

The people of the United States trust the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate what goes into our food and keep us safe. The FDA is partially credible for the overuse of High Fructose Corn Syrup. Because of the government's loose definition on what is "all natural", these big companies are able to mislead consumers by advertising their "green", "healthy", "all natural products" to naive customers that fail to read the nutrition label. Customers often think they are making a smart health choice, and perhaps even pay more for a bottle that has "all natural" plastered all over the front of it. If the FDA would set stricter rules on how much artificial sweeteners can be used and how it must be advertised, these problems, including obesity, that may be caused by artificial sweeteners would be greatly

Kris Gunnars, a nutrition researcher, states that on average most people consume 10-20% of their calories as sugar. What that means is most people in the U.S eat so much sugar that it replaces other healthy foods. That’s why some Americans are moving on and finding better solutions such as artificial sweeteners. Some examples of Artificial Sweeteners are Acesulfame K, Sucralose, and Aspartame. People should use Artificial sweeteners and not sugar because they are better for diabetics, protect people from tooth decay, and help with weight control.

Upon your request, here is a short report of the investigation you assigned to Oliver Orenstein and I pertaining to sweeteners. As you probably already know, The Coca Cola Company and the Pepsi Company market many drinks using sweeteners that are new to the market.

Splenda is used every day when I drink my coffee so I made my choice to refute all things said about this nonnutritive sweetener. Did you know one packet of sweetener is 600 times sweeter than sugar? How much sugar does is take to get your tea just right? Nonnutritive sweetener has a few benefits, first it calorie free, instead of using mounds of sugar we can use maybe less than half a packet and you got the sweet taste. I refute this article, based on research I came across “Toxicity of Sucralose in Humans: A Review” the article providing information for the toxicology safety for the consumer use.