Hidden Health Science

Posts Tagged ‘Sugar substitute’

by Dr. Mercola

Since 2002 an artificial sweetener called neotame has been approved for use in food and drink products around the world, although so far its use appears to be very limited.

Neotame is a chemical derivative of aspartame, and judging by the chemicals used in its manufacturing, it appears even more toxic than aspartame, although the proponents of neotame claim that increased toxicity is not a concern, because less of it is needed to achieve the desired effect.

Neotame is bad science brought to you by the Monsanto Company.

If Monsano truly had nothing to fear with either of these artificial chemical sweeteners, they would have funded rigorous independent testing for safety. To date they have not, and they won’t, because virtually every independent analysis of aspartame not conducted by Monsanto partners has revealed a long list of disturbing side effects, mostly neurological in nature.

Monsanto also has now sold the NutraSweet Company to someone else, but the approval of neotame came under Monsanto’s ownership, and was most likely a result of Monsanto’s cozy relationship with the FDA. More about that in a minute.

My recommendation for neotame is the same as that for aspartame, which is: it should be avoided if you care about your health.

Why is Neotame Dangerous?

Hopefully by now you are aware of the dangers of aspartame, if you aren’t, please review this previous article.

But as if aspartame wasn’t bad enough, NutraSweet (a Monsanto subsidiary at the time of neotame’s approval) “improved” the aspartame formula, making neotame 7,000-13,000 times sweeter than sugar (sucrose) and 30-60 times sweeter than aspartame.

How did they do this?

In 1998, Monsanto applied for FDA approval for neotame, “based on the aspartame formula” with one critical addition: 3-dimethylbutyl, which just happens to be listed on the EPA’s most hazardous chemical list.

So not only is neotame potentially more devastating to your health than aspartame, it is also approved for use in a wider array of food products, including baked goods, because it is more stable at higher temperatures.

What is 3-Dimethylbutyl?

Neotame is manufactured by combining aspartame with 3,3-dimethylbutyraldehyd, which was added to block enzymes that break the peptide bond between aspartic acid and phenylalanine, thereby reducing the availability of phenylalanine.

This eliminates the need for a warning on labels directed at people who cannot properly metabolize phenylalanine.

However, 3,3-Dimethylbutyraldehyde is categorized as both highly flammable and an irritant, andcarries risk statements for handling including irritating to skin, eyes and respiratory system.

In other words, the NutraSweet company assures you that neotame is perfectly safe, while at the same time they manufacture neotame through a chemical reaction between aspartame and a substance that is highly flammable and a skin, eye and respiratory irritant (that must be handled with extreme caution by anyone involved in the manufacturing process).

Does this sound like something you want to put into your body?

Read the rest at this link.

A new research study, which included nearly 60,000 pregnant women in Denmark, found that those who drink artificially sweetened beverages (carbonated or not) were more likely to have a premature birth. The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.¹

The researchers found that one serving per day of artificially sweetened, carbonated drinks were 38% more likely to give birth before 37 weeks of gestation (1.38 AOR). Those who consumed four servings of these drinks were 78% more likely to have a premature delivery (1.78 AOR).

Dr. Shelly McGuire, a spokesman for the American Society of Nutrition, was quoted as saying “Certainly, until more experimental work is done, this study suggests that pregnant women should steer clear of artificially sweetened drinks.”²

Maybe the words “pregnant women” could be replaced with “everyone” in that statement?

According to a whole host of experts, it should be so. Soft drinks in general, in fact, should be avoided according to health practitioners and authors Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, James Duke, Marion Nestle; to name a few.³

The abstract for this latest study by Dr. Thornallur Haldorsson, principal author, says that soft drinks in general are suspected of many adverse health effects:

“Sugar-sweetened soft drinks have been linked to a number of adverse health outcomes such as high weight gain. Therefore, artificially sweetened soft drinks are often promoted as an alternative. However, the safety of artificial sweeteners has been disputed, and consequences of high intakes of artificial sweeteners for pregnant women have been minimally addressed.”

Results in the study were cross-referenced with women who consumed sugar-sweetened soft drinks. It was found that the possible causative was clearly the artificial sweeteners, rather than the soda or other ingredients. Both carbonated and non-carbonated drinks were included as well with the same result.

The actual physical change that causes the rise in premature birth rates is not known, according to the study’s authors. Artificial sweeteners have been connected to a host of adverse health effects, so it’s likely that doctors could just take their pick here.⁴ The study did point out that most of the premature births were due to medical induction rather than spontaneous delivery and removing data from women diagnosed with preeclampsia also had little effect on the odds for premature delivery and sweetener intake. With all of the other things eliminated as suspects by the authors, it’s clear that the artificial sweeteners are changing a fundamental aspect of pregnancy that is usually not measured.

This could include hormone production, muscular or cellular function, or another chemical interaction. Aspartame, for instance, breaks down into three major chemicals: aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. Methanol oxidizes into formaldehyde and then formic acid, both of which are toxic. These can accumulate in the body and have been linked to premature birth in primate studies.

So, from kidney function loss to cancer to premature birth, these sweeteners sure do have a lot going for them.

Resources:
1 – Intake of artificially sweetened soft drinks and risk of preterm delivery: a prospective cohort study in 59,334 Danish pregnant women by Thorhallur I Halldorsson, et al, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, September 2010

2 – Pregnant women should avoid ‘diet’ soft drinks: researchers by Rebecca Smith, The Telegraph, August 19, 2010

3 – The health effects of drinking soda – quotes from the experts by Mike Adams, NaturalNews

4 – Artificial Sweeteners are Continually Found to be Unsafe and Toxic by Ethan Huff, NaturalNews

Published 08/30/10: http://www.naturalnews.com/029601_diet_soda_premature_birth.html