It's easy to get all worked up about aspartame when you think of it as an ‘artificial' sweetener. But what is the distinction between artificial and natural? A lot of the time natural products go through just as much processing as artificial. Aspartame may be man made, but its components are 2 normal parts of proteins and an alcohol molecule. All 3 of these are eaten in the diet in much higher amounts than are found in even 100s of packets of an artificial sweetener.

Science has not validated any of the concerns raised by alternative health promoters - aspartame has not been shown to be carcinogenic, does not promote brain cancer, does not affect fetal development, shows no consistent association with cardiovascular events. Rigorous scientific studies have concluded that aspartame, at the set Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI), is safe and most Americans are already only consuming 1/10 of the that. Heavy usage of diet beverages generally only leads to 30% of the ADI. To reach the equivalent ADI, an adult weighing 132lbs would need to consume 12 cans/ 4Liters of soft drinks with the maximum allowable levels of aspartame per day to reach the ADI.

In science, there are always some level of mixed results. A lot of the reason for this is that different doses are given in different experiments. A lot of the evidence that shows negative effects of artificial sweeteners is in animal models fed artificial sweeteners are very high doses. Giving too much of anything, even an essential vitamin or mineral, can show negative side effects. One study showing negative side effects doesn't make something unhealthy! This review looked at all of the literature and didn't find overall negative effects.

If safety is not a huge concern, effectiveness should be the second priority. Luckily, a review and update concerning non-nutritive sweeteners (low/no calorie sweeteners, natural or artificial) came out this month in Nutrition. This review relays some of the concerns for aspartame regarding seizures, headaches and brains tumors - the data cited here is in animal models, and reports that effects are not seen in human models. When it comes to headaches, there is not great data to say one way or another - I advise you to experiment with different drinks sweetened with aspartame to determine if it is actually aspartame or just one specific beverage (like diet soda). This review goes through each individual sweetener and its affects, and finds that the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in humans is not associated with weight gain in adults. Those studies that show weight gain are usually finding reverse causality - that already overweight individuals, not consuming the healthiest diets, are using artificial sweeteners to cut back on extra calories, but their overall diets still are not promoting a healthy BMI. However, there isn't good data to support the notion that non-nutritive sweeteners truly help individuals lose weight. The scarcity of epidemiological and clinical data on non-nutritive sweeteners in humans doesn't allow for nutrition professionals to make many recommendations.

The conclusion of this review is what Mr. Cook-It has promoted in the past. Non-Nutritive Sweeteners should be used sparingly, as a tool, to adopt healthier lifestyles and habits. While saying sweeteners like aspartame are causing cancer is not supported, saying that they will ultimately lead to a healthier BMI is not supported either. If one is actively tracking their calories and reducing their consumption of empty calories, non-nutritive sweeteners may knock off a few calories here and there. Let's also not forget that there are other dubious ingredients in products sweetened with artificial sweeteners - acids in diet soda aren't great for your teeth or your bones, processed starches aren't great for your waist or your heart. It's quite difficult to find truly wholesome foods that have added non-nutritive sweeteners unless you're making them yourself.

References:

Marinovich et al. Aspartame, low-calorie sweeteners and disease: Regulatory safety and epidemiological issues. 2013. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 109-115

Shankar et al. Non-nutritive sweeteners: Review and Update. 2013. Nutrition, 1293-1299.

Kevin Klatt, Nutritionist + Assistant Site Manager for: