Sugar Substitutes: What Are They and Can They Cause Cancer or Other Diseases?

We all know that obesity is on the rise in the United States. And as millions of Americans try to cut down on their caloric intake, especially sugar, the use of sugar substitutes has increased dramatically. But what are these sugar substitutes and are they safe to consume?

When I was in high school, I remember thinking, "Why would I ever drink Diet Coke...or any diet drink, for that matter." Back then, I didn't worry too much about calories or gaining weight. I was quite active in sports and it never occurred to me that someday I would "slow down." Besides, I recall how horribly Diet Coke tasted. It seemed to have a weird after-taste to me. But times have changed. I got older and less active, and sugar substitutes got better tasting. So by the time I graduated from college and was working at my corporate desk job, I was more conscious of my food (and drink) choices.

Throughout the years, different sugar substitutes have come on the market. I don't know what the exact numbers are, but I'm sure that the sugar substitute market in the U.S. is huge. So what are these sugar substitutes? Here is a list of these products and some general information about each.

Sucralose

You may not have heard of sucralose, but you probably have heard of Splenda. Well, Splenda is a brand name for the sugar substitute sucralose. What is sucralose? It is actually a sugar molecule. What makes is a sugar substitute is that it has been altered so that it will pass through the body without getting digested. And if it doesn't get digested, it doesn't provide any calories. It reportedly has about 600 times the sweetness of sugar, and can be used in pretty much any recipe that calls for sugar. Because it basically tastes like sugar, it is probably the most popular sugar substitute on the market these days. It is used in everything from diet drinks to juices to salad dressing and even bread. Like other sugar substitutes, sucralose is rumored to cause health problems. However, most are just rumors. And the health concerns that point to actual studies indicate that you would need to ingest incredibly high doses (for example 10,000 packets per day) for it to cause harm.

Aspartame

NutraSweet and Equal are both brand names for aspartame. Aspartame is probably more familiar to people because it's been around for quite a while. In fact, it has been used for more than 30 years. Aspartame is made from two amino acids, and has almost zero calories. Some people think that there is a sort of after-taste in foods containing aspartame. I tend to agree with this (remember my Diet Coke experience in high school?). There is a lot of controversy over aspartame with claims that it causes headaches, nausea, and even cancer. In fact, the internet is rife with claims of all sorts of ailments attributed to the use of aspartame. These include: brain tumors, epilepsy, chronic fatigue, birth defects, depression, muscle spasms, memory loss, joint pain, vision loss, etc. However, there has not been any data shown to substantiate any of these claims. But the rumors and myths continue.

Saccharin

Saccharin is another sugar substitute. It probably isn't used as widely as sucralose and aspartame. This is possibly due to the fact that many years ago, a study did show that very large doses of saccharin was linked to cancer in animal, specifically bladder cancer. Although further studies indicated that there really in no risk to humans, the warning labels that were required after the animal study was enough to slow the sale of saccharin.

There are a few other sugar substitute sweenteners as well, like xylitol and sorbitol that are used mainly in chewing gum. But the vast majority of "diet" foods use the three mentioned above.