ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERSPresentation by Inbar Schapsis

RAISE YOU HAND IF…

You regularly use artificial sweeteners

YOU’RE NOT ALONE!

About 86% of Americans use low-calorie, reduced-sugar, or sugar-free foods and drinks!

RAISE YOU HAND IF…

You’re cautious or worried about using artificial sweeteners

YOU’RE NOT ALONE!

A Mintel survey found that over 60% of respondents were concerned about the safety of “artificial” sweeteners.

RAISE YOU HAND IF…

You feel children or pregnant women should avoid artificial sweeteners

OBJECTIVESTODAY WE WILL LEARN…

What are artificial sweeteners?

Who regulates them?

What does research say regarding their safety?

Are they helpful with weight loss?

WHAT ARE ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS?

Artificial sweeteners usually refer to non-nutritive (or non-caloric) substances

Interact with taste receptors to give a sense of sweetness

They are usually MUCH sweeter than regular sucrose sugar Can exceed sweetness of sucrose by a factor of

30-13,000 times!!!

WHO REGULATES THEM?

The FDA regulates artificial sweeteners as food additives.

Normally, the manufacturer of the product is required to submit evidence in the form of research to prove the product is safe

However, if the compounds are already on the list of substances considered “generally regarded as safe” (GRAS), they are not viewed as food additives

WHAT HAPPENS WITH GRAS ITEMS?

In the case that the compound is GRAS, it becomes the responsibility of the FDA to show the substance is unsafe.

The acceptable daily intake levels are based on data from animal experiments The “no observed adverse effect level” with daily

exposure

THE THREE MOST COMMON

In the US, the three most common artificial sweeteners are:

Saccharin Aspartame Sucralose

SACCHARIN

Saccharin was first discovered in 1879 quite by accident!

SACCHARIN

Saccharin was first discovered in 1879 quite by accident!

In use since 1900 and obtained FDA approval in 1970

After ingestion, saccharin is NOT absorbed or metabolized: excreted unchanged through the kidneys.

SACCHARIN

Studies in the 70s shows that rats exposed to a diet of at least 5% saccharin had increased frequency of bladder cancer (especially in males)

Results from above study resulted in prohibition of saccharin in Canada and proposed ban in US (withdrawn in ’91)

Instead, foods containing saccharin had to have a warning label saying it contains a potential cancer causing agent

SACCHARIN

Future mechanistic studies showed that the results only applied to rats it supressed humoral antibody production in rats.

Moreover, later studies showed that the rats used in the trial were frequently infected with a urinary parasite.

Human epidemiology studies have shown no consistent evidence that saccharin is associated with bladder cancer incidence (cancer.gov)

Warning label was therefore overturned in 2000.

ASPARTAME

In 1965, a chemist was working on gastric ulcer treatments, when(again) some of the compound got on his hand.

Approved by FDA in 1981 as a table-top sweetener; in 1996 as general-purpose sweetener.

It is 200 times sweeter than sugar Most controversial sweetener!

ASPARTAME

Since it contains phenylalanine, FDA requires the package bear a warning label to protect individuals with PKU.

Upon ingestion, aspartame is hydrolyzed in the intestines into aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol absorbed into blood and metabolized

Hypothesized that these substances do not accumulate and are metabolized the same way as if they were from food

ASPARTAME Research in 2005 on fetal rats showed significant

increase in malignant tumors, lymphomas, leukemias, and mammary cancer.

Following these results, the FDA decided to investigate further into the results and found several discrepancies Doses given to rats were equivalent to drinking 8-2083 cans

of diet soda per day Number of cancer incidences did not increase with increasing

aspartame

FDA released a statement in 2006 regarding this study:

FDA STATEMENT

“…review of ERF's (European Ramazzini Foundation) study concluded, among other things, that on the basis of all evidence currently available to EFSA (European Food Safety Authority): ERF's conclusion that aspartame is a carcinogen

is not supported by the data; and EFSA sees no need to further review its earlier

scientific opinion on the safety of aspartame or to revise the Acceptable Daily Intake”

MORE ON ASPARTAME…

In humans, doses of 2-100 mg/kg resulted in increases of phenylalanine, but no behavioural/cognitive performance changes.

Doses of 30-77 mg/kg/day over 13 weeks in 126 children showed no impact on renal or hepatic function, hematologic statues, or eye function.

MORE ON ASPARTAME…

2007 toxicology review found that studies conducted in rodents and dogs with aspartame and its metabolized products have found no adverse effect with doses up to at least 4000 mg/kg/day.

Current ADI (acceptable daily intake) of aspartame is 50mg/kg/d

SUCRALOSE

SPECIAL TREAT ALERT!!! Can anyone guess how this was discovered?

Sucrose molecule in which 3 hydroxyl groups are replaced by chlorine

SUCRALOSE

SPECIAL TREAT ALERT!!! Can anyone guess how this was discovered?

Sucrose molecule in which 3 hydroxyl groups are replaced by chlorine 600 times sweeter!

Cl

Cl

Cl

SUCRALOSE

NOT digested by the body most that is given to mice, rats, dogs, and humans passes through the GI and eliminated in the feces unchanged.

Toxicology studies show little effect

Most significant study showed shrunken thymus glands with diets of 5% sucralose

Further studies showed that the changes were NOT caused by toxicity, but as a result of nutritional deficit

SUCRALOSE

Since this sweetener was not GRAS, the FDA has to review over 100 safety studies to assess risk and ensure consumer safety

Studies show no evidence that sucralose causes cancer or pose any other risk for to human health

WHAT ABOUT WIC CLIENTS?

The American Pregnancy Association states that both aspartame and sucralose are safe to use during pregnancy and lactation.

While saccharin is deemed safe for the general population, studies show that it can cross the placenta and can remain in fetal tissue

American Academy of Pediatrics has no official recommendations, though AND states that they can be incorporated into a healthy diet.

BREAK TIME!

Let’s do a little taste test…

WHAT ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS?

Artificial sweeteners are non-nutritive, meaning they provide 0 calories.

That should be a no-brainer!

Data from epidemiological studies show a correlation between diet beverage use and weight gain in children.

Randomized trials in children very limited…

WHAT ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS?

In adults, the data is very inconsistent… While many controlled trials show a decrease in

weight loss, many show no effect.

Some show that users experience a “compensatory effect”

Conclusions: we simply don’t know if they work for weight loss in the long run.

AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION

“The evidence reviewed suggests that when used judiciously, NNS could facilitate reductions in added sugars intake, thereby resulting in decreased total energy and weight loss/weight control, and promoting beneficial effects on related metabolic parameters…

AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION

“… However, these potential benefits will not be fully realized if there is a compensatory increase in energy intake from other sources.”

QUESTIONS? LET’S DISCUSS!

SOURCES Artificial Sweeteners and Cancer. (2009). Retrieved January 30,

2015, from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artificial-sweeteners

Artificial Sweeteners and Pregnancy. (2012). Retrieved January 30, 2015, from http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/artificial-sweeteners-and-pregnancy

Brown, R., De Banate, M., & Rother, K. (2010). Artificial Sweeteners: A Systematic Review Of Metabolic Effects In Youth. International Journal of Pediatric Obesity, 305-312.

FDA Statement on European Aspartame Study. (2006). Retrieved January 30, 2015, from http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2006/ucm108650.htmPotential toxicity of artificial sweeteners

Magnuson, B., Burdock, G., Doull, J., Kroes, R., Marsh, G., Pariza, M., ... Williams, G. (2007). Aspartame: A Safety Evaluation Based on Current Use Levels, Regulations, and Toxicological and Epidemiological Studies. Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 629-727.

Whitehouse, C., Boullata, J., & Mccauley, L. (2008). The Potential Toxicity Of Artificial Sweeteners. AAOHN Journal, 251-259.