When you begin your SHAPE Reclaimed journey, you may be disappointed to learn that your favorite diet soda is on the “NOT-Approved” list. “But it only has one calorie! Why?!” Our answer? “That is the most poisonous calorie you will ever ingest.”
What are artificial sweeteners? 
Artificial sweeteners are a laboratory mixture of unnatural chemicals that taste sweet like sugar but, unlike sugar, have little to no caloric weight. Our bodies are like machines that operate today just as they did thousands of years ago. They don’t understand these man-made chemicals and cannot fully process them. Because of this, these chemicals either accumulate in your vital organs, pollute your blood stream, and/or create eventual mutations of your cells (cancer). Forcing foreign materials into your body is like pouring shampoo in your car’s gas tank: it wasn’t meant to process it, so the engine stalls and stops working.
Common products that contain artificial sweeteners include diet soda and juices, sports and energy drinks, powdered drink mixes, protein powders, protein and energy bars, chewable and liquid vitamins, chewing gum, sugar-free/diabetic-“friendly” candy and chocolate, yogurt, some baked goods, and anything labeled “Sugar Free,” “Zero Calorie,” “Diet,” “Lite,” “Light,” or “Low Carb.” It’s easy to feel like you’re making a smart choice choosing these products, but these claims usually just mean, “Highly Toxic and Deadly.”
Consumption of artificial sweeteners has increased 200% [hyperlink] over the years, which is in direct correlation to the rise in obesity and chronic disease in the U.S.
Symptoms associated with the use of artificial sweeteners include:
- ADD/ADHD
- Blood in the stool
- Blood pressure changes
- Brain fog
- Chronic fatigue
- Depression/Anxiety
- Digestion issues
- Dizziness
- Edema
- Endocrine imbalances
- Environmental sensitivities
- Fibromyalgia
- Headaches/Migraines
- Insulin resistance
- Joint pain
- Memory loss
- Muscle tremors
- Night blindness
- Numbness and tingling
- PMS
- Respiratory issues
- Seizures
- Skin rashes
- Sleep problems
- Weight gain
This list could continue several more pages, but these are the most common. What is even more startling and of greater concern is that younger and younger people are developing auto-immune disorders, Type II diabetes, heart disease, and cancer in epidemic numbers. Since the mid-2000s, there has been a 400% increase in ADD, ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Syndrome. It is our opinion that this may be related to the use of artificial sweeteners in women before and during pregnancy, and even in men before conception. Children are being over-saturated with foods their bodies cannot process, leading to chemical poisoning and associated illnesses, behavioral and otherwise.
Could it be plausible that toxic chemicals being ingested daily are causing the health crisis in the U.S.? We believe the answer to be unequivocally yes! What’s it going to take before mainstream America realizes they are being deceived by the food industry? Not only has the general public been brainwashed about the safety of artificial sweeteners, too many health care professionals have bought into the sham as well.
If they’re so harmful, why do artificial sweeteners exist?
In 1975, William Dufty published a book called Sugar Blues. It exposed the history of sugar, its use in the food industry, and its relationship to declining health. While he wasn’t entirely wrong, Dufty’s fanaticism about sugar contributed to a societal panic and desperate search for an alternative.
Let’s take a closer look at the top three artificial sugar alternatives: saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose.
Saccharin
Saccharin (the pink packet, brand names Sweet’N Low and Sugar Twin) is a white, crystalline coal tar compound that is about 500 times sweeter than sucrose. It was discovered in 1879, while scientists were researching toluene derivatives (toluene [hyperlink] is produced during the process of making gasoline and other fuels). Commercialized not long after its discovery, by 1912 saccharin was banned due to possible health risks. But in 1914, the sugar shortages of World War I created a demand for artificial sweeteners. Abandoning previous health concerns for economic growth, the ban was lifted. World War II had a similar effect, and by 1945 saccharin made its claim to artificial fame. By the 1960s, it was the sweetener of choice by the diet soft drink industry (remember TaB?). In 1971, saccharin was quietly removed from the GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) list by the FDA because of proven cancer-causing effects. And yet, saccharin is still used by the food industry and public today.
Aspartame
Discovered in 1965 and approved by the FDA in 1974, aspartame (the blue packet, brand names Nutrasweet, Equal, and Aminosweet) is 200 times sweeter than sucrose and the most controversial artificial sweetener to date. It is scientifically known as 1-aspartyl 1-phenylalanine methyl ester and according to Dr. Joseph Mercola, M.D., aspartame is completely metabolized by the body. When words like wood alcohol, paint remover, and formaldehyde turn up in a discussion regarding the breakdown of aspartame, you don’t have to be a scientist to know that these should never be ingested.
In Dr. Mercola’s book, Sweet Deception, Aspartame is responsible for 80% of the complaints made to the FDA regarding food additives. Since its introduction, it’s been evaluated, re-evaluated, and study upon study has been conducted to prove/disprove its safety – the National Library of Medicine has indexed over 800 studies on aspartame alone. Why? Because, while no one has been able to fully prove it’s unsafe, no one has proved its safety, either.
The initial studies that led to Aspartame’s FDA approval were funded by Aspartame’s manufacturer (this should be illegal, but unfortunately it happens all the time). Subsequent studies were only looking for whether aspartame causes cancer, using rats most of the time. The issue here is that there are a lot of things that can go wrong before cancer develops, like migraines, memory loss, and mood problems. And you can’t exactly ask a rat if their depression has gotten worse since introducing aspartame into their diet.
Fortunately, diet soda sales [hyperlink] have been dropping over the last several years, as consumers are starting to become more educated on the devastatingly harmful effects of aspartame, the most common diet soda sweetener. Let’s keep this trend going!
Sucralose
With increasing controversy over the safety of aspartame, sucralose (the yellow packet, brand name Splenda®) comes to the “rescue.” After being denied approval for eleven years, the FDA approved sucralose in April 1998. It is 600 times sweeter than sucrose and is found in nearly 4000 food products. Like the two previous artificial sweeteners, sucralose was also discovered by accident. Chemists were trying to create a new insecticide, and after experimenting with hundreds of chlorinated sugars, three chlorine ions were exchanged for three hydroxyl groups on a sugar molecule creating 1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-beta-D-fructofuranosyl-4-chloro-4-deoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranoside. It was named sucralose, eerily similar to sucrose (table sugar), so that it would sound “natural.”
From Sweet Deception by Dr. Joseph Mercola, M.D.:
“McNeil Nutritionals [Splenda’s manufacturer] has gone to great lengths to suggest that Splenda is natural and safe by using the slogan, ‘Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar.’ But after the sugar has been treated with trityl chloride, acetic anhydride, hydrogen chlorine, thionyl chloride, and methanol, in the presence of dimethylformamide, 4-methylmorpholine, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, acetic acid, benzyltriethylammonium chloride, and sodium methoxide, it is anything but a sugar molecule. Nowhere in nature is there any form of sugar that remotely resembles the resulting chlorinated hydrocarbon known as sucralose. This product is not natural, nor is it a real sugar. It isn’t even close.”
It’s simply a matter of time before sucralose catches up with aspartame’s devastating outcome.
Dis-Honorable Mentions
While saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose are the most prevalent artificial sweeteners in foods today, there are a few others of which you should be aware:
- Acesulfame Potassium (Sunett, Sweet One) – most commonly found in conjunction with aspartame and/or sucralose, very rarely on its own. It is 200 times sweeter than sucrose. Like the others, it is extremely controversial, with no study confirming its safety.
- Alitame – also similar to aspartame, is 2000 times sweeter than sucrose. Is technically not an approved sweetener in the U.S. but be on the lookout regardless.
- Neotame – extremely similar to aspartame, but potentially even more toxic [hyperlink]. It is 13,000 times sweeter than sucrose, and 30 times sweeter than aspartame.
- Sodium Cyclamate – is 30 times sweeter than sugar, is not technically approved in the U.S. because of potential cancer and male infertility risk.
As with any subject on health, you’ll find information both for and against the use of artificial sweeteners. Keep in mind, authors who say they’re safe and beneficial are almost always trying to sell you something. Authors who say they’re harmful and addictive are almost always not trying to sell you something. It’s all about the often not-so-hidden agenda.
Consider this: food manufacturers use artificial sweeteners to save a buck, create a more palatable product, and get a consumer addicted. They choose financial gain over your health and well-being and then lie to you about it. Why are we surrendering our long-term health to this sham? Could it be that we are out-of-control sugar-holics that overlook the truth to satisfy our addiction? Look around. If the obesity epidemic hasn’t gotten your attention, surely the demise of your health or someone you love has you wondering.
If you’re dealing with health problems, where’s the harm in avoiding these altogether to see if some of your symptoms improve? Rather than switching to regular soda to avoid the aspartame, why not just cut out soda altogether? There is a chance of harm by eating manmade food – but there’s absolutely NO harm in eating real, whole food.