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Vashi2Panvel.Com: Navi Mumbai: August 23: The artificial sweeteners are not really sweet! They don’t seem to help you, at least! Diabetic patients throughout the world prefer these artificial sweeteners but doctors say they are grossly unsafe! There are reports, which state that these substances are not advisable for a safe and sound lifestyle. Though, the authenticity of the reports are yet to be ascertained, amidst all this confusion some safety measures have to be taken.

The substances present in some of the products available in the market like artificial/synthetic sweeteners, sugar alternatives, alternative sweeteners, non-nutritive sweeteners, non-caloric/low-cal/low-carb sweeteners, diabetic-safe sweeteners, etc are not that safe for the metabolic system of the body. The non-nutritive sweeteners, which form a major component of these products are not recommended for healthy living.

The non-nutritive sweeteners like Aspartame, Saccharin, Acesulfane K, Sucralose and Neotame are the most frequently used by the manufacturing companies. The Aesulfame K is considered carcinogenic (cancer causing) in nature and it also stimulates insulin secretion, which possibly aggravates hypoglycemia i.e. low blood pressure sugar extracts. The reports also suggest that saccharin breaks down into substances, which are not breakable by the digestive system. Hence, they serve as magnets for the calorie conscious people who use them more frequently.

The doctors seem to be quite unsure about the sweeteners. “The reports have been coming and we are aware of it. Though nothing has been proved as yet, it is advisable for people to be more conscious about the products that they use,” informs Dr. Ashok Kunnure, a private daibetologist at Vashi. “As of now, anything which contains Aspartame is considered relatively safe,” he adds.

Though the number of cancer and deformity cases reported through these artificial agents have not been validated, the reports suggest that almost 2 out of every 10 consumers encounter some problem or the other. Dr.P.S.Kadam, a daibetologist in Vashi says, "Some sweeteners are considered as ‘Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS)’ ingredients and others are considered food additives. The safety limit of food additives is the estimated amount per kilogram body weight that a person can safely consume every day over a lifetime without risk.” He further adds that though companies use well researched materials consumers should be careful. Many healthy and safe alternative sweeteners are now available to the informed consumer, which are natural. Some of these options are Thaumatin, Stavia, Lycorice roots and glycyrrhizin, which are used as natural sweeteners.

While there are some sweeteners that are plagued with numerous dangers, there are many healthy and promising options available too. It is no accident that most of the good options are provided to us by plants and herbs, while most of the bad options have been created in laboratories. Mother Nature clearly does not intend to make us suffer from the Sugar-Free Blues.

Smriti Mishra