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