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Artificial sweeteners have become a popular solution for many people looking to cut calories and sugar from their diets, without sacrificing the flavor of sweet foods and beverages they enjoy.

But there’s also a lot of suspicion about the health effects of consuming artificial sweeteners, especially over a long-term period.

What’s the truth?  Are these artificial sweeteners safe?

BENEFITS OF ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

The most obvious benefit of artificial sweeteners is that they provide virtually no calories–unlike sugar or most natural sweeteners, which can provide a lot of calories, even in small amounts.

Although most artificial sweeteners do technically contain calories, the sweetness level of most is so high that only a tiny amount is necessary to sweeten food.

Also, since most artificial sweeteners don’t affect blood sugar levels, they are usually safe for diabetics to consume.  The main exception to this rule regards sugar alcohols, which can affect blood sugar levels, though not as much as “real” sugar.

RISKS(?) OF ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

Artificial sweeteners have been accused of contributing to possible increases in cancer or heart disease, depending on the brand/type of sweetener.

However, these products have been rigorously tested, and studies indicate that the risk of significant health issues to the average person is negligible; most health issues are limited to individual reactions to specific formulas of sweetener, and are usually minor.

OTHER CONCERNS

Studies have indicated that consumption of artificial sweeteners can result in increased levels of appetite, and can specifically lead to increased desire for sweet foods.

The effects can vary from person to person or sweetener to sweetener.  Not all sweeteners will produce these effects on all people.

CAN YOU OVERDOSE?

Not easily.  The FDA sets an “acceptable daily intake (ADI)” level for each type of sweetener.  This is how much the FDA recommends you consume each day.

You usually need to consume around 100 times the ADI level–and all at once–in order to risk any ill effects on your health.  This is very difficult to do, even intentionally.

POPULAR SWEETENERS

Here’s an overview of some popular sweeteners on the market in the United States and elsewhere in the world.

Saccharin (Sweet’N Low, Sugar Twin):

Saccharin is one of the oldest sweeteners in use, dating back to the 1800s, and is still one of the most popular.  Saccharin has virtually no calories and is safe for consumption by diabetics.

Saccharin can leave an aftertaste, especially in large amounts.

Saccharin was at one time linked to a possible risk of bladder cancer due to testing performed on rats.

However, the tests performed used levels of saccharin hundreds of times greater than what a human would consume; later tests on humans revealed that there was in fact no risk of bladder cancer in humans, due to the differences in the way human biology and rat biology process saccharin in large quantities.

Saccharin is generally agreed to be safe for consumption.  No other health risks are associated with saccharin consumption.

 Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet):

Aspartame was created in the 1960s, and is one of the more popular sweeteners on the market today.  It isn’t completely calorie-free, and doesn’t taste exactly the same as real sugar, but is very low-calorie and is safe for diabetics to consume.

However, aspartame is not safe for people with phenylketonuria to consume, as it contains an amino acid that can’t be metabolized properly by people with this condition.

Apart from the health risks for people with phenylketonuria, there are no other known, verified health risks associated with aspartame consumption.

Many accusations have been leveled against the safety of aspartame, but none of them have been proven, and aspartame is approved for use in over 90 countries.  Still, testing continues to be performed on aspartame, due to the amount of controversy surrounding it.

There have been accounts of aspartame causing relatively mild side effects in specific people, such as headaches or increased appetite.  These effects aren’t common enough to be of concern to the FDA, but are worth looking out for–if you experience these, try a different sweetener instead.

Sucralose (Splenda):

Sucralose has been in use since the 1990, making it one of the newest artificial sweeteners on the market.  It’s also one of the most powerful in terms of its sweetness.  It has virtually no calories and is safe for consumption by diabetics.

Due to the fact that sucralose has only been on the market a limited amount of time, no long-term studies on the effects of consumption have been performed; however, short-term studies indicate no particular health risks.

There have been suggestions that the chlorine in sucralose might be of concern, but testing hasn’t confirmed this to be cause for alarm.

Acesulfame Potassium/Acesulfame K (Sweet One, Sunett):

Acesulfame is a fairly new sweetener introduced in the late 1980s, and isn’t as well-known as other varieties.  It’s a little controversial because due to its young age, it hasn’t been as rigorously tested as some other sweeteners.

It also contains an ingredient which is suspected as potentially carcinogenic; ill effects from this ingredient haven’t been confirmed in studies, but many people call for additional testing before it can be considered safe.

Acesulfame is safe for consumption by diabetics.

Neotame:

Neotame is a variant of aspartame which is even sweeter.

Due to its chemical composition, it can be consumed safely by people with phenylketonuria.  It’s also safe for diabetics.

Like acesulfame, netotame hasn’t been on the market long enough to determine if there’s any significant risk of long-term effects.  Also, it can have some of the same short-term effects as aspartame, such as headaches.

Cyclamate:

Cyclamate is less powerful than most other artificial sweeteners, and is frequently combined with other sweetener types to enhance its effect.  It leaves less aftertaste than saccharin.  It is safe for consumption by diabetics.

Cyclamate is not available in the United States, though it is used in many other countries in the world.

The ban on cyclamate in the United States is due to studies on rats that produced similar results to the studies performed with saccharin.  However, like the studies performed with saccharin, the amount of cyclamate given to rats was hundreds of times higher than what a human would consume daily, and subsequent tests could not reproduce these results.  The FDA has since acknowledged that cyclamate poses no proven health risk to humans, but has not lifted the ban.  It seems likely that cyclamate will be legal for sale in the U.S. in the future, though exactly when is undetermined.

Elsewhere in the world, cyclamate is used in dozens of other countries (such as much of Europe) without restriction.

Sugar Alcohols:

Sugar alcohols are a type of carbohydrate that are similar in chemical structure to sugar and alcohol, but are different from either.  Sugar alcohols aren’t considered an “artificial” sweetener, but are instead considered a “sugar substitute”.

Sugar alcohols are generally not quite as sweet as regular sugar, but they also provide less calories than sugar.  They are often used in conjunction with other artificial sweeteners to improve their effectiveness.

Sugar alcohols are not completely safe for diabetics; their effects on blood sugar are less than the effects of real sugar, but consumption still needs to be limited.

Sugar alcohols aren’t completely absorbed by the body during digestion, which is why they provide fewer calories; however, as a result of this lack of absorption by the body, consumption of sugar alcohols can cause gastrointestinal discomfort (gas, bloating) or have a laxative effect.

This usually only occurs when consumed in fairly large quantities, though the amount required can vary from person to person.

IS THERE ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT?

Despite all the suspicion that gets thrown towards artificial sweeteners, pretty much all studies and research have indicated that they are safe–a viewpoint that is backed up by their consumption–and mass acceptance–by millions of people.

Even suspicions of ill effects due to long-term use of sweeteners is dubious.  Most artificial sweeteners have been on the market for several decades (in the case of saccharin, over 100 years!).

They’ve been consumed by millions of people over many years, without any notable negative effects.

The only possible exception is with relatively recent sweeteners such as sucralose, where their long-term effects over decades of use hasn’t been established; even then, studies indicate there is little to no risk of injury to health from long-term consumption.

So, unless you have phenylketonuria, and can’t consume aspartame, you really have nothing to worry about, unless you simply don’t like a certain kind of sweetener for one reason or another.

DON’T GET CARELESS WITH THE REST OF YOUR DIET!

Your main concern is making sure that you maintain a healthy diet so you don’t offset the calories you save by consuming artificially sweetened food and drink!  You see, just because artificial sweeteners are calorie-free doesn’t mean that the food products that use them are calorie-free as well.

Many artificially sweetened food products still have a fairly high amount of calories–they just have less than naturally sweetened versions would have.

Also, make sure you don’t offset the benefits of low-calorie artificially sweetened foods by overeating foods that are high in calories.

Sure, maybe you can eat more of the stuff you like and still break even, but you won’t lose weight this way–and if you’re not careful, and take in more calories from “regular” food than you saved by eating artificially sweetened foods, you’ll still gain weight.

As mentioned before, some artificial sweeteners can produce a feeling of increased appetite in some people.  Be wary of this!

If you find yourself still feeling hungry after consuming foods or drinks made with artificial sweeteners, consider trying a different sweetener to see if the feelings of hunger go away.

We got a lot of great feedback on our first fast food strategies post, so we wanted to do a more in depth look at fast food strategies. If you like a post and want more on the same topic, SHARE it and leave a comment about what you liked about it.

Let’s face it–very little good ever comes from dining at a fast food restaurant, at least as far as your health is concerned.

You’re paying for convenience, not good nutrition.  With that said, don’t let your waistline pay the price.  Follow these strategies to help lessen the damage from trips to fast food joints.

STAY AWAY FROM COMBO MEALS

Combo meals are great if all you care about is getting as much food as you can for the lowest price possible.

Of course, fast food tends to be loaded with calories, sodium, and fat–when it comes to these, “more” is rarely a good thing for your health.

Instead, simply order a couple of individual small items–say, a regular burger/sandwich and a small fry.  Skip the drink (we’ll explain more a bit later).  You’ll still get your fast-food fix, but can easily shave hundreds of calories off your meal this way!

•  An average-sized combo meal (burger & medium fries) can easily set you back 1200 calories or more–and that’s even before the drink is included!
•  By comparison, a regular cheeseburger and small fries frequently come in around 600 calories (or even less).

Not only can you save hundreds of calories this way, but you’ll frequently even save a couple bucks compared to buying a full meal!

•  An average combo meal from a burger joint frequently exceeds $5 or more.
•  By contrast, a regular burger and small fry usually comes in under $2.50 (or less!).

SKIP THE SODA

The soda you get with a combo meal doesn’t just drive the price of the meal up–it can also be a huge source of hidden calories in your diet.

•  A medium drink can provide 200 calories or more–and that’s assuming you don’t go back for refills.
•  A large soda can easily top 300 calories!
•  A medium “juice” beverage (like Hi-C or Powerade) is a better alternative, at around 100 calories or so.

If you must have a soda, make it a diet–diet soda isn’t exactly healthy, but at least it has no calories.  Better yet, don’t get soda at all.  If you’re following our advice, and avoiding combo meals, then this means that any drinks you buy will be extra.

Consider this: most restaurants offer free water to patrons.  Water offers zero calories, so you can drink as much as you want without endangering your diet.

In fact, drinking a lot of water can be a great way to fill you up, preventing you from going back up to the counter for “seconds”.

Also consider that a small drink can cost over $1.50 or more at many locations–in fact, I was at a Burger King recently that was charging $1.89 for a small drink!  Do you want to spend almost $2 extra on a soda?

ALTERNATIVE SIDES

It’s customary for many restaurants to offer fries as a side dish.  But, a lot of restaurants have alternative options to fries.

For example, McDonald’s offers alternatives such as apple slices, side salads, and the Fruit & Yogurt Parfait.

KFC offers kernel corn & green beans.  Not all of these sides are low-calorie (the Fruit & Yogurt Parfait from McDonald’s, for example, has 160 calories), but almost all of them are a healthier alternative to french fries.

•  If you’re buying a combo meal, many restaurants will let you substitute fries for a side of your choice, although you may have to pay the difference in cost.
•  If you’re buying individual items (good for you!), then it’s even easier to pick healthy sides you enjoy.

BEWARE OF CHICKEN

Don’t think of chicken as being an automatic easy win for your diet.  When prepared correctly, chicken can be a great, healthier alternative to red meat like beef.

Of course, most fast food restaurants don’t serve healthy chicken–it’s processed, battered, and fried, and topped with calorie-rich sauces; by the time it’s done, it’s no better for you than beef (sometimes worse).

If you want to have fast-food chicken that’s as healthy as possible, look for grilled alternatives.  Most restaurants will have at least one or two grilled chicken items on the menu, but that’s usually it.

Other chains offer up many more options, such as:

•  El Pollo Loco offers lots of chicken items that are reasonably low in calories and fat–but beware, as many items are still somewhat high in sodium.
•  KFC also offers grilled items that are significantly healthier than the fried alternatives.  Just be careful when you pick a side dish.
• Chipotle offers all natural chicken, beef, and carnitas (quick tip – ask for half of two kinds of meat to get a bit extra serving).

SODIUM TRAPS

French fries are, not surprisingly, fairly high in sodium–but, there are a number of menu items that are much higher in sodium, and oftentimes they’re items that you wouldn’t expect to be!

•  USDA recommendation for sodium intake is less than 2000 mg per day–preferably closer to 1500 per day.
•  For example, a large french fry order from McDonald’s has 350 mg of sodium–a surprisingly low amount.
•  By contrast, an Angus Chipotle BBQ Bacon Snack Wrap has 1060 mg of sodium–half to two-thirds your recommended daily amount!

Processed meats tend to be suprisingly high in sodium–not just to add flavor, but also as a result of the processing methods used to prepare and preserve the meat.

Try to limit how much processed meat you get in one meal.  Of course, don’t take that as permission to go nuts with the french fries–they’re still high in calories and fat!

BE INFORMED

It’s actually becoming more and more common for fast food chains to post calorie content information on their in-store menus.

This alone can sometimes be a great deterrent against ordering something needlessly big–it’s hard not to feel guilty about ordering a giant cheeseburger when you can plainly see that it will cost you over half your calories for the day.

More complete nutrition information is sometimes posted near the ordering area; or, you can ask the cashier if they can give out pamphlets offering this information.

Not all chains will do this, but many of them will upon request.

Additionally, virtually every chain also makes complete nutrition information available on their websites–information such as fat content, sodium, and more.

Don’t be afraid to spend a few minutes doing research on the best options to select from your favorite restaurant before you place your order–it will save you a lot of time in the future trying to work off the extra pounds you’d build up by making poor decisions at the counter!