Abstract
The role of sugar in the diet is an issue that has been under major discussion for a long period. There is so much controversy that has been raised with the claims that sugar is the leading cause of obesity and overweight issues in the United States, among other issues like tooth decay, dental cavities, osteoporosis, and other mineral and vitamin deficiency. Artificial sweeteners are used to provide a similar gratification that sugar causes without increasing the calorie levels in the body. However, those against artificial sweeteners claim that they also result in extreme weight gain and that most of them are carcinogenic. This is an issue that has been under research, and this paper presents the extensive research findings in a bid to understand why artificial sweeteners are still consumed around the world.
Introduction
The role of sugar in the diet is an issue that has been under major discussion for a long period. Many people believe that sugar is the leading cause of obesity and overweight issues in the United States. Other issues like tooth decay, dental cavities, osteoporosis, and other mineral and vitamin deficiency are attributed to excessive consumption of sugar. The problem is that so many people tend to take high-sugar foods in the place of meals that are more nutritionally balanced, and this results in escalating health problems. It is, therefore, essential to be conscious about the sugar content in the foods that we consume. Sweeteners from the basic food groups like vegetables, grains, oils, milk, and meat are considered to be nutritive and they offer nourishment for the body. Any sweetener that does not offer any nourishment is considered to be non-nutritive ( Sharma, Amarnath, Thulasimani & Ramaswamy, 2016) . The FDA has given a general guideline on what is considered as a food additive and what is a sweetener. In this case, qualified experts are aware of the generally available information and data regarding a sweetener and they have accepted it. These experts have also reached an agreement the safety of the substance for use in the intended conditions. On the other hand, the data and information regarding the use of a food additive are held privately, and the information is sent to the FDA for safety evaluation purposes (Betty Kovacs Harbolic, 2018) . Artificial sweeteners are consumed because they provide a similar gratification that sugar causes without increasing the calorie levels in the body.
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Artificial sweeteners is a term that is used to refer to a wide range of individual additives that are used to save on calorie intake and cut on sugar content. They are used to give the same taste gratification that is offered by sugar without adding on the calorie content (Kay, 2016). However, artificial sweeteners have become hard to embrace due to the fact that media sensationalism bring them out as food innovations, something that many are sceptical about. Also, many people believe that artificial sweeteners affect the consumer’s appetite in a negative way by excessively increasing it (Strawbridge, 2012). Artificial sweeteners offer the same (or even more) sweetness like sugar, but with a lower calorific content. It is, therefore, important to consume them within the recommended limits and to track your consumption and the effects
It is important to understand the different kinds of sweeteners and their pros and cons. Sugar alcohols are nutritive substitutes of sugar that act as an extra source of calories. Sugar calories also contain a lower calorie amount in comparison to sugar. Sugar alcohols are neither sugars nor alcohols, as the name suggests. Rather, they are carbohydrates whose structures resemble alcohol and sugar only. Foods containing sugar alcohols are considered to be sugar-free and they are naturally occurring in many fruits and vegetables. However, sugar alcohols are not fully absorbed in the body, and this makes them causative agents of diarrhoea and abdominal gas when consumed in excessive quantities (“ Low-Calorie Sweeteners ”, 2019). The FDA gas approved five non-nutritive sweeteners, which include saccharin, neotame, sucralose, aspartame, and acesulfame potassium, sucralose. Saccharin has no calorie content and it does not increase the blood sugar levels. It has an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 5 mg/kg of body weight. However, saccharin is considered to be a human carcinogen and it could also result in allergic reactions ( Sandee LaMotte, 2018) . Aspartame as a general purpose sweetener that is taken in small amounts due to its caloric content. The problem is that the sugar is not metabolized, which makes it unsuitable for people suffering from metabolism disorders. FDA studies on sucralose show that the sweetener does not pose any neurological, carcinogenic, or reproductive risk to human beings. The sweetener has an ADI of 5 mg/kg of body weight per day. However, sucralose contains chlorine, which makes its excessive consumption dangerous. It also contains high levels of calories, which results in weight gain and cancer (Artificial Sweeteners and Cancer, 2016). Acesulfame K was approved as a sweetener in 1988 and it is used as a flavour-enhancer with an ADI of 15 mg/kg of body weight per day. However, the product contains methylene chloride that could result in headaches, kidney effects, liver effects, mental confusion, depression, cancer, and nausea in humans. Neotame is another flavour enhancer that is considered safe for use by people of all gender and ages, and this includes breastfeeding or pregnant women. However, studies on neotame do not address its long-term health implications (Betty Kovacs Harbolic, 2018) .
Methods
Non-nutritive sweeteners were initially used as chemicals for different purposes until the 1950s, when a researcher tasted them and found them to be sweet. Over 6,000 artificial sweeteners were produced between the years 1999 and 2004 only, under the claim that they help in the management of weight loss. An estimation by the National Household Nutritional Survey showed that up to 15 percent of the American population were regular consumers of artificial sweeteners as of 2004. A research conducted in 1977 showed that the ingestion of saccharin resulted in bladder tumors in rats. As a result, the FDA proposed a ban of this product, which was lifted after the public opposed it in the claim that it was the only nutritive artificial sweetener at the time. However, a warning on the hazardous effect of the product is placed on any item that contains it. Over 30 human studies conducted on the product show that the effects registered in rats do not translate to humans. Saccharin is, therefore, safe for human consumption. A couple of studies have been conducted to confirm the effects of aspartame, where randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled studies were conducted on over 200 adults suffering from migraines. A further study was conducted on 40 patients suffering from depression but it was cut short after the first 13 patients registered severe reactions. Other tests were conducted on rats and humans to confirm the carcinogenic nature of aspartame. The sweetener was also given to 14 dieters in a study to check for the effect that it had on appetite ratings. In a similar study, 42 males were given aspartame lemonade instead of sucrose-sweetened lemonade (Betty Kovacs Harbolic, 2018) .
In another study conducted on artificial sweeteners, a team based in the Weizmann Institute in Israel conducted an 11-week test where they fed mice three water samples, one containing saccharin, another sucralose, and another aspartame, each at a concentration of 20 percent. A control sample was fed on normal water or water containing a 10% glucose solution. The team also used antibiotics to deplete the gut microbiome of the mice with the goal of testing whether this had an effect in their glucose intolerance (Baze, 2015) .
Results
The three randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled studies conducted to test the effects of aspartame showed that the consumption of the sugar resulted in more frequent and severe headache cases. The study on the effect of aspartame on depression patients showed that the product resulted in increased sensitivity to mood disorders. The cancer test of aspartame showed that there is no direct connection between the sweetener and cancer in human beings. The studies on the hunger and appetite effect of aspartame showed that the sweetener does not result in increased food intake or hunger ratings ( Kresser, 2018) . The studies conducted on the absorption of sucralose showed that the product affects the absorption of other prescription medications.
In the study conducted at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, the mice that were given water containing artificial sweeteners had a higher fasting glucose level in comparison to the mice used for the control experiment. The depletion of the gut microbiome on the mice was shown to cause the disappearance of their glucose intolerance, which returned after the mice were transplanted with bacteria from another saccharin-consuming rodent (Baze, 2015) .
Discussion
It is the responsibility of the FDA to ensure that anything that is allowed to our food, whether it is nutritive or non-nutritive, is safe. The safety of any component is dependent on its characteristics, the targeted population, and the estimated dietary intake. One of the biggest argument against artificial sweeteners is that they are claimed to cause weight gain (Stiehl, 2016). However, results from various studies prove that this is not the case. It could be that the body expects calories when it senses sweetness in food, and when the artificial sweeteners fail to provide this, then the body continues craving for the calories. As a result, one ends up consuming more calories, and this is evidenced in the mice that were fed on artificial sweeteners compared to those that were fed with sugar foods. The only way to understand the actual effect that artificial sweeteners have on your weight to intentionally experiment on the same by cutting back and observing the reaction of the body ( Killoran, 2019 ). There is a reason why there ADIs of various sweeteners have been set, and the best way to remain safe when consuming the same is to remain within the recommended levels.
The disappearance of glucose intolerance in mice whose microbiome had been depleted is an indication that most artificial sweeteners usually go to the intestines without any digestion through the normal GI tract. As a result, the sweeteners end up influencing the content and makeup of the bacteria within the gut. Similar effects were also noted for the case of human beings. Further research is still being conducted to confirm the clinical relevance of these harmful effects of artificial sweeteners on the gut microbiome (Hellsten & Dawson , 2016) . The relevance of most of these studies is limited by the fact that they used extremely high amounts of artificial sweeteners, and very few people consume such an amount daily. Also, these studies were conducted on mice, which have completely different metabolic systems compared to humans. That said, the use of artificial sweeteners within the confined daily limits is not harmful for people who need to drop some fat ( Why Artificial Sweeteners Could Be Hindering Your Fat Loss. 2016) . It is essential that the consumer tracks their calorie intake to ensure that their consumption of the artificial sweeteners does not have a negative effect on their satiety for other high-calorie foods ( LaFountain, 2017) . Artificial sweeteners are consumed because they provide a similar gratification that sugar causes without increasing the calorie levels in the body. However, the consumption of artificial sweeteners could trigger the desire for certain foods such as canned soup, rice cakes, sugary cereal, rice bread, microwave popcorn, granola, alcohol, sports drink, a meal without proteins, nutrition bars, flavoured yogurt, pasta, fruit juice, bottled salad dressing, packed deli meat, flavoured oatmeal packets, trail mix, pretzels, and frozen yoghurt, among others. All these are foods that an athlete should avoid at all costs because they raise the calorie of the body to extreme levels (Tgagnon, 2018).
References
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