Sugar-free foods can be dangerous!

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14 Jul 2013: Sugar-free foods you so carefully pick to stay slim can be everything from toxic to anxiety-inducing, warn experts.

If you thought sipping diet colas was a smart ploy to hoodwink weight gain, a new research has taken the fizz out of the idea. A study at Purdue University, US, has found that diet sodas may cause health problems like obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Diet soda drinkers were also found to run twice the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, often a precursor to cardiovascular disease, than those who shunned it. Since these diet colas, like most, contained artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose and saccharin, the study has again highlighted their health risks. Artificial sweeteners have been increasingly preferred over table sugar by the ’health-conscious’ because they have virtually no calories. While a teaspoon of sugar contains 16 calories, and a can of cola can contains eight teaspoons of sugar, it’s understandable why these sugar substitutes score over the real thing. Yet, artificial sweeteners have been constantly subjected to intense scrutiny over their possible health risks. While research is divided on their negatives, what’s undisputed is that they are ’artificial’, that is chemically manufactured molecules.

Here’s why it’s best to avoid using these three commonly used artificial sweeteners regularly:

Aspartame

Found in: Diet colas, diet beverages, cereals

Aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar and is used liberally in diet colas. Consulting nutritionist Shwetha Bhatia says, "It is used as a table-top sweetener that’s added to bakeries and confectioneries. Since it is heat-unstable, it is always added to the baked or cooked foods towards the end. At high temperatures, it degenerates, leaving behind chemicals that are toxic in nature."

Though cleared by many FDAs, a gamut of studies have found that aspartame has at least 92 side effects, including headaches, anxiety, heart palpitations, weight gain, depression and neurological disorders. It is often referred to as the most dangerous of all artificial sweeteners.

However, Bhatia says that its Adequate Daily Intake of 50 mg per kg means that we will never come close to that. "You will have to drink 20 cans of diet cola or have 70 sachets of aspartame sweetener to reach that limit." The Purdue University study, however, has found that one diet cola can a day increases the risks of high blood pressure.

Sucralose

Found in: Sugar substitutes, bakery products, diet supplements

About 600 times sweeter than sugar and the most heat-stable of the lot, sucralose is widely used in baked foods and pastries, apart from frozen yogurts and chewing gums. Consulting nutritionist Mitalee Doshi says, "Like aspartame, sucralose should also be consumed sparingly. Artificial sweeteners are essentially chemicals that definitely have side-effects. In the long run, they are very likely to cause health issues." While sucralose causing the liver and kidney to enlarge is under debate, it can certainly cause stomach cramps and diarrhoea if had in excess. Doshi adds that sucralose and aspartame induce sugar cravings, because when consumed, they make the body expect a surge in glucose. When this doesn’t happen, your cravings can get the better of you and make you reach for sweets, which will eventually contribute to weight gain. A Purdue researcher noted, "They throw off the body’s ability to know how many calories it needs."

Acesulfame K

Found in: Dietary supplements, dessert mixes

About 200 times sweeter than sugar, Acesulfame K is considered unsafe not just because of its side effects like headache and depression. The US-based Center for Science in the Public Interest believes that not enough studies on this sweetener have been done to test its potential cancer-causing risks (it contains the carcinogen methylene chloride). Also, since it stimulates insulin release, it may confuse your body’s satiety signals and cause you to overeat. Doshi says, "To stay healthy, it’s better to be on the safe side and avoid using artificial sweeteners, and cut your overall sugar intake."

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