They're Called Artificial For A Reason

Definition of Artificial -
       
        1. Made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally, typically as a copy of something natural: "artificial light".
        2. Not existing naturally; contrived or false: "the artificial division of people into age groups".

Artificial sweeteners are chemical substances not naturally produced on this planet. All of them are made in a laboratory by scientists mixing chemicals together. Chemicals that are proven to cause major human health issues. The general population needs to wake up and realize that the more we use artificial sweeteners, the more we are poisoning our bodies.

How Our Artificial Sweeteners Are Produced:

Aspartame: Synthesized from combining phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol into one compound in the form of a white powder. Phenylalanine is harvested from the feces of bacteria that have been genetically modified to produce more phenylalanine. All three chemicals are hazardous, even if phenylalanine is naturally produced in humans. Aspartame consumption can lead to an excessive build up of phenylalanine.

Sucralose: Made by replacing three Hydrogen-Oxygen groups with three Chlorine atoms on a normal sugar molecule.

Saccharin: Can be created by either Remsen-Fahlberg process or Maumee Process.

• Remsen-Fahlberg: Combines toluene (sweet-smelling chemical) with chlorosulfonic acid (colorless liquid), then synthesized with potassium permanganate and ammonia. Then heated to produce saccharin.
• Maumee: Converts phthalic anhydride (used to make plastic), into anthranilic acid. This is mixed with nitrous acid, sulfur dioxide, chlorine and ammonia. No heat needed

Neotame: Created the same way as aspartame, but adds a neohexyl group to it as well. As Taylor said in an earlier post, it's aspartame on steroids.

Acesulfame-Potassium: This sweetener is synthesized through the combining of a potassium salt and acetoacetic acid.

Here's the problem with all of these non-nutritive, artificial sweeteners. They are a mix of hazardous chemicals used to "solve" a short term problem with little care about what problems lie in store for consumers in the future. I'll say this and stand by it for the rest of my life, stick to all natural substances and be wise about sweet consumption, rather than settle for "diet" products.

Sources:
http://discovermagazine.com/2005/aug/chemistry-of-artificial-sweeteners#.UYQjNIKSZ1k
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/worlds-top-sweetener-is-made-with-gm-bacteria-1101176.html
http://www.foodinsight.org/Resources/Detail.aspx?topic=Everything_You_Need_to_Know_About_Sucralose
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7483545_saccharin-made.html
http://www.janethull.com/newsletter/0410/neotame_what_is_it.php

Sources for photos found via Google:
images.yourdictionary.com

More on Stevia.

Stevia, set to some nice elevator music.

Enjoy.

Stevia: The One Beacon of Hope

As depressing a blog as this may seem, we at Non-Nutritive Sweeteners want you to know there is a middle ground. There is hope among a chemical filled world with questionable ethical food standards. Stevia.

Our story takes us to what is now Paraguay, where the Guarani Indians have been averse to this sweet taste since ancient times. When the Spanish Conquistadors came to Paraguay in the 1500's, they learned of the sweet plant, but it was not until the 1800's when they took a heavy scientific interest in it. In the late 1800's a Spanish physician named Pedro Jaime Esteve named the genus type for the plant giving it the (clever) name, Stevia, a play on his last name. Little developments happened after that until the 1970's, when Japan introduced it to their sweetener market. Also at this time Japan completely eradicated artificial sweeteners (nice!) and allowed Stevia to make a heavy dent in the sugar market. Stevia now occupies roughly 40% of the total Japanese sweetener market.

Stevia is still a relatively small player in the U.S market for sweeteners, dwarfed by sugar and non-nutritive sweeteners. That being said, Stevia possesses all the tools to make large impact in improving the overall health of Americans. It is sweeter than sugar, but still heat and pH stable, and non-fermentable making it safer to consume than Sucralose and the like. It has also been show to have negligible effects on blood glucose levels, making it a viable option for those with diabetes.

It is my opinion that Stevia will never make heavy waves in the U.S. sweetener market, or at least not anytime in the near future. Sweeteners such as aspartame and Sucralose are owned by large conglomerate corporations with vested interests in keeping them in many of the beverages we see daily. These corporations are the same ones who have a heavy hand in Congress and the laws passed in this country. Business is business, and eradicating these sweeteners from the market would be exceptionally difficult, if not impossible in this current climate. The best course of action one can take against these harmful sweeteners is to choose not to buy them, and encourage others to do the same.


Protect your health, drink water!



http://www.livestrong.com/article/347247-the-history-of-stevia/

Diabetes and Aspartame

We are already aware of the wide range of adverse health implications ingesting artificial sweeteners can have, but how exactly can your intake of an artificial sweetener, such as aspartame, affect your risk of diabetes?

People with diabetes are inherently forced to find alternative to sugar, or at least steeply limit their intake of it. One way of replicating the sweet taste sugar provides is to turn to sweeteners. Initially when these sweeteners came out onto the market, it seemed there was finally a good alternative to sugar. However tests in recent years have shown diabetes sufferers to be among the highest risk for the adverse effects of sweeteners such as aspartame.

According to diabetes specialist, Dr. H.J. Roberts, many patients develop "serious metabolic, neurological and other complications that could be specifically attributed to using Aspartame products."Aspartame can lead to an intensification of hyperglycemia, convulsions due to insulin levels, and neuropathy.

Another doctor, Dr. Russell Blaylock states, "excitotoxins such as that found in aspartame can precipitate diabetes in persons who are genetically susceptible to the disease."The number of people in this country who are already at hereditary risk for diseases such as diabetes and hyperglycemia is already very large, and the continued influx of aspartame in foods and drinks consumed on a regular basis is worsening the problem.

Hyperglycemia is one of the largest linked diseases stemming from diabetes as aspartame is generally known to cause the pancreas to emit too much insulin. Aspartame has also showed to change cellular receptor sites for insulin, in turn making diabetic patients increasing resistant to insulin.

To conclude, aspartame has so many other more mainstream side effects, it should not even get to this point where one is learning about them. Those with diabetes are already at such a health risk where everything put into their body needs to be carefully managed. Aspartame is affecting the pancreas in very direct, harmful ways, and should not be ingested by those who have diabetes, or are at risk to get it.

Protect you health, drink water!




http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/aspartame-and-diabetes.html

The Precursor to Them All: An Informative History of Saccharin

Saccharin is one of the "Big 6" artificial sweeteners. It was once the most widely demanded sweetener on the market but has since endured a decline. Here is an informative history.

Saccharin was discovered in 1878 in a laboratory at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore. A chemist named Ira Remsen was commissioned by H.W. Perot, an importer, after he and the U.S. government questioned the purity of a batch of sugar sent into Baltimore.

Remsen sat down to dinner one evening after work and bit into a roll. He immediately remarked at its exceptionally sweet taste and determined that the sugar and compounds he was testing were the cause of it. The next day he went into work and began mixing sugar with each different possible compound the solution could be. Finally, he found the taste to come from a mixture of phosphorus chloride and ammonia, producing benzoic sulfinide. He had discovered Saccharin.

The chemist who commissioned Remsen to the test then filed for patents in the U.S. and Germany, where Remsen was from. Remsen put up little fight, saying he preferred recognition in the scientific community over monetary gains.

The first questions to Saccharin's nutritional value came in 1882 but were quickly dismissed. The next criticism came in 1908 when Department of Agriculture's Head Chemist, Harvey Washington Wiley took his case against it directly to President Theodore Roosevelt. Teddy Roosevelt quickly struck down the warnings of his appointed chemist, claiming he used Saccharin everyday to no adverse health affects.

In 1912 Saccharin was legally banned from being an ingredient in processed foods. This is also around the time when it became immensely popular among dieters, a craze which continues virtually unblemished over 100 years later.

Saccharin had it's greatest rise during the sugar shortage of World War II. During this time it became necessary to substitute it in for sugar as so much sugar was devoted to the war effort. It retained its popularity even after the war, and became used in many more products than before. However, as always, there were critics of Saccharin who realized early the potential health risk.

1968-1975 were highly important years for Saccharin. The government was becoming savvy to tests showing the link between the sweetener and certain cancers. Also during this time, Sweet'n'Low was produced by the Cumberland Packing Corporation. They and their peers, including Monsanto and Sherwin-Williams chemical company, vowed to fight any legislation against their products.

Despite much backlash, Saccharin was banned in 1977. Government officials couldn't hold onto the ban though, as fierce debate sparked questions like, "How much is too much?" and "Isn't too much of anything bad for you?" It was determined more research was needed, and with that Saccharin was back on the market.

One of the biggest repercussions of Saccharin's creation is the market for non-nutritive sweeteners it created. Aspartame, Sucralose, and Neotame are all by-products of Saccharin's incredible success.



Protect your health, drink water!

Not So Sweet Findings, Part 2

Video uploaded to Youtube by: HealthRanger7

I Couldn't Resist...

I couldn't resist....

Source for photo found via Google:
www.newmediaexplorer.org

Brain Food? Far From It

Who would want to consume something that is detrimental to their brain? It is the focal point of what makes us, well, us. Would you want to screw up such an important organ?

 SO WHY ARE WE CONSUMING NON-NUTRITIVE SWEETENERS?!

According to a study published in Physiology and Behavior, non-nutritive sweeteners have some serious neurological side effects. The study focused primarily on the altered processing of the "sweet taste" in the brain associated with consuming diet soda. When we eat something sweet, our body releases a hormone known as dopamine, which gives us a sense of reward and satisfaction. These non-nutritive sweeteners, primarily aspartame, were shown to hinder dopamine release within the brain which would lead to lack of satisfaction and cravings to consume more sweet things.

Continuing with the subject of aspartame, let's talk about how it breaks down into Aspartic Acid, Methanol, and Phenylalanine within our body.

Aspartic acid has been found to excite brain cells and neurons to the point of exhaustion and/or death within the brain. It has also been linked hyperactivity in children.

Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, is a very poisonous substance. It is known to cause blindness and cellular death within the brain and spinal cord.

Phenylalanine is an amino acid already found in the brain. Consistent consumption of aspartame has been proven to show very increased levels of phenylalanine in the blood stream. Having an excess amount of phenylalanine can cause a decrease in serotonin production, causing drastic emotional and mood disorders, such as depression.

Sources:
Green, Erin and Claire Murphy. Nov 2012. "Altered processing of sweet taste in brain of diet soda drinkers." Physiology and Behavior. 107(4):560-567

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/aspartame-most-dangerous-substance-added-to-food.aspx

Sources for photos found via Google:
www.sodahead.com
www.gamebanana.com

Not So Sweet Findings

Special thanks to the iHealthTube channel on Youtube for this video!

Acesulfame Potassium......Isn't that stuff in Bananas or something?

Acesulfame Potassium, most commonly seen on labels as Acesulfame-K or Ace-K, is another non-nutritive sweetener currently amidst the public's low-calorie food supply. It is a sweetener that is 200x sweeter than normal table sugar and is most commonly used in conjunction with other sweeteners, most often aspartame, due to a bitter aftertaste. It is not only used in food and drinks, but in toothpaste, cough drops, and mouth wash as well

Ace-K is another sweetener that was discovered through taste by scientists. In 1967, Karl Clauss and Harald Jensen were working on a making a different, but similar, compound but ultimately discovered Ace-K through hand to mouth contact. Apparently chemists aren't good at washing their hands, since most of these non-nutritive sweeteners were discovered by licking fingers.

The scientists licked their fingers and they seemed to be okay. So that must mean it is safe to consume, right? Wrong. Like all the other commonly used non-nutritive sweeteners, Acesulfame-K is starting to show signs of being carcinogenic. The main concern is that it contains a substance known as methylene chloride. A substance that is highly carcinogenic due to the fact that it metabolizes into carbon monoxide within the body. Constant consumption of methylene chloride has been reported to cause nausea, headaches, mood issues, problems with the kidney and liver, and even poor eyesight. All on top of the cancer causing aspect...

Studies on lab rodents given doses of Acesulfame-k have concluded with links to tumor development on the lungs, thymus, and breast. Leukemia and chronic respiratory disease were also seen.

Seriously folks, why are we putting this into our bodies?

Sources:

http://www.beneo-palatinit.com/en/Intense_Sweeteners/Products/Acesulfame_K/
http://www.myhealthnwellness.com/index.php/wellness/food-and-nutrition/food-supplements/104-acesulfame-k-what-you-need-to-know
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/top-number-most-dangerous-artificial-sweeteners.html

Sources for photos gathered via Google:
commons.wikimedia.org
www.canigivemydog.com
www.babiestravellite.com
www.amazon.com

Sucralose Rhymes With.......Gross!

Sucralose is a non-natural sweetener that is used as sugar substitute in over 4,500 food products nationwide. This is no secret either. We see it all the time when we go to diners and/or coffee shops, it likes to hang out in bright yellow packets with the word "Splenda" written in blue across it. What most people aren't aware of is the overlooked danger of sucralose that is hiding right under their noses.

Let's start with how Sucralose came into the picture. During the mid-1970's, scientists at the British company, Tate & Lyle, were looking to develop a new insecticide. They were working on adding chlorine to table sugar (sucrose); a chlorination process commonly used for insecticides. During a conversation between scientists, a misinterpretation led a scientist the "taste" the compound rather than "test" it. Upon tasting the newly created substance and noting it's sweet taste, they began exploring it's uses as an artificial sweetener. An artificial sweetener that is 600x sweeter than regular table sugar.

So now we have an artificial sweetener containing chlorine with a similar chemical structure to the now-banned pesticide, DDT.

DDT Chemical Structure

If we look into the negative effects that chlorine has within in the body, we can understand how bad it is that we are consuming sucralose. Side effects associated with having chlorine within the body include head and muscle aches, diarrhea, bladder issues, stomach cramps, skin irritation, dizziness and inflammation, just to name a few. In another animal study, sucralose was shown to reduce healthy gastrointestinal bacteria need for proper digestion.

Further research is beginning to show that sucralose is playing a role in the shrinking of the thymus gland, an important gland in immune system regulation.

It's scary how much our society is obsessed with these non-nutritive sweeteners. Everyone is focused on being as "healthy" as possible and will turn to anything for a short-term fix without concern of the potential long-term implications. Non-nutritive sweeteners are never a good choice. So pass up that offer to add some Splenda to your morning coffee and look for some other alternatives such as Stevia or natural cane sugar.

Sources:
http://www.medicinenet.com/artificial_sweeteners/page9.htm
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/top-number-most-dangerous-artificial-sweeteners.html


Photos taken from Google via:
www.tuberose.com
www.icanhasscience.com
commons.wikipedia.org
www.aliexpress.com

The "Next" Generation: Pepsi's Latest Concoction

On March 26th of this year, Pepsi introduced a brand new product on the market. It is called Pepsi Next, and is marketed as having 60% less sugar than regular Pepsi. This at first may seem like a happy medium between sugar sweetened Pepsi and Diet Pepsi, as it contains much less sugar while not having the zero calorie label on it. However, the situation is quite the opposite.

It seems that at the expense of sugar, Pepsi has instead included aspartame in Pepsi Next. And Sucralose. And Acesulfame Potassium. Most diet drinks include one or two of these substances, but this seemingly toxic combination of the three has truly brought us into a new era. This product is also being tested in flavors such as vanilla, cherry, and mango.

Since this drink has only been on the market since March, it cannot be concluded with certainty that there would be any newfound health risks by ingesting three of the worst non-nutritive sweeteners. We can only advise the reader to think carefully about what they are putting into their body.

Protect your health, drink water!



http://blog.fooducate.com/2012/04/04/pepsi-next-the-worst-of-2-drinks-combined-into-one/
http://www.naturalnews.com/035646_Pepsi_next_generation_chemical_sweeteners.html

Look How Much Artificial Sweetener the Average American Intakes Per Year!

Artificial Sweeteners I What The Heck Are You Eating I Everyday Health

Research on Rats and Weight Gain.

Researchers at Purdue University did two groups of studies on rats and found that those fed yogurt sweetened with saccharin, a zero-calorie sweetener, ate more and “gained significantly more weight” than those that ate the same food containing regular sugar.  The researchers state that artificial sweeteners may change the body’s response to food and may distort the ability to control calorie consumption. 

Research also shows that artificial sweeteners stimulate taste receptors that sense sweetness in both the esophagus and stomach. Anticipating energy, the pancreas releases insulin, an important hormone for accumulating body fat. At the same time, chemicals are sent to the brain’s satiety center, which becomes confused as to whether or not the body is actually receiving calories. The result? You feel even hungrier and less full, which can lead to weight gain.

Avoid Artificial Sweeteners

Neotame: Aspartame on Steroids.

Oh but it gets sweeter.

Neotame was discovered in 1991 while researching structure of high-potency sweeteners, it is brought to you by Monsanto Company, the same company from the origination of NutraSweet, whom also developed aspartame.

 In fact, it contains two key amino acids also used in aspartame, phenylalanine and aspartic acid.  In 1998, Monsanto applied for FDA approval for neotame, "based on the aspartame formula" with one critical addition: 3-dimethylbutyl, which just happens to be listed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) most hazardous chemical list. 3,3-Dimethylbutyraldehyde is categorized as both highly flammable and an irritant, and carries risk statements for handling including irritation to skin, eyes and respiratory system. In other words, the NutraSweet company assures you that neotame is perfectly safe, while at the same time they manufacture neotame through a chemical reaction between aspartame and a substance that is highly flammable and a skin, eye and respiratory irritant (that must be handled with extreme caution by anyone involved in the manufacturing process).

So just how sweet is it?

7,000 – 13,000 times sweeter than table sugar!! It is the sweetest of all artificial sweeteners. And since its partner in crime is Aspartame, lets look at how much sweeter it is.

Drum roll.....

 30 – 60 times sweeter than Aspartame!! 

Since neotame is still not widely spread across the world, there are unsure facts of what its side effects can be. However, since it is derived from aspartame, most health forums suggest that consuming food and beverages with neotame in them, may come with the same side effects we see in Aspartame. 

Photo http://www.zfactory.net/logos.html

Sources 

http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/side-effects-of-artificial-sweeteners-6690.html

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/02/08/neotame-receives-fda-approval-but-is-not-widely-used-yet.aspx

Aspartame, Where does it come from and what is its effect on the body?

Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by James M. Schlatter while trying to produce an anti-ulcer drug. He discovered it when he licked his finger to turn the page of his notebook and noticed and unexpectedely sweet taste. It is made up of three different chemicals aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol and is synthesized using amino acids cultivated from GMO Bacteria Feces  

Mostly known as what is in “Equal” sweetener. 

Aspartame was approved for dry goods in 1981 and for carbonated beverages in 1983. It was originally approved for dry goods on July 26, 1974, but objections filed by neuroscience researcher Dr. John W. Olney and consumer attorney James Turner in August 1974, as well as investigations of G.D. Searle's research practices caused the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to put approval of aspartame on hold (December 5, 1974). In 1985, Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle and made Searle Pharmaceuticals and The NutraSweet Company separate subsidiaries. Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious, including seizures and death. A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: headaches, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, depression, insomnia, anxiety, memory loss, loss of taste, weight gain, etc. 

So what does aspartame do to the body?

Aspartate and glutamate act as neurotransmitters in the brain by facilitating the transmission of information from neuron to neuron. Too much aspartate or glutamate in the brain kills certain neurons by allowing the influx of too much calcium into the cells. This influx triggers excessive amounts of free radicals, which kill the cells. The neural cell damage that can be caused by excessive aspartate and glutamate is why they are referred to as "excitotoxins." They "excite" or stimulate the neural cells to death.

Aspartic acid is an amino acid. Taken in its free form (unbound to proteins), it significantly raises the blood plasma level of aspartate and glutamate. The excess aspartate and glutamate in the blood plasma shortly after ingesting aspartame or products with free glutamic acid (glutamate precursor) leads to a high level of those neurotransmitters in certain areas of the brain.

The blood brain barrier (BBB), which normally protects the brain from excess glutamate and aspartate as well as toxins, 1) is not fully developed during childhood, 2) does not fully protect all areas of the brain, 3) is damaged by numerous chronic and acute conditions, and 4) allows seepage of excess glutamate and aspartate into the brain even when intact.

Photos from-  http://www.medimanage.com/my-weight/articles/artificial-sweeteners-sugar-free-but-not-risk-free.asp http://www.sonjababic.com/Kids.htm

Source: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/aspartame-most-dangerous-substance-added-to-food.aspx