Intense sweeteners
A sweetener is a product or substance that tastes sweet. Sugars are, of course, sweeteners, but the molecules used to replace them are also sweeteners. This is the case for bulking sweeteners (Polyols) described in a previous note, and intense sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, etc.).
Containing very few or no calories, intense sweeteners are used, among other things, in the food industry as a substitute for sugars in certain products. These products are often used in combination to achieve the desired taste in a food product.
These are food additives whose use doses are regulated by European legislation. From a chemical point of view, “intense sweeteners” are very diverse substances, both synthetic and plant-based.
They have in common that they have a very high sweetening power, several tens to several thousand times higher than that of table sugar (sucrose). At the end of the 19th century, saccharin was discovered, followed by cyclamate and aspartame around 1965.
Picture from Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
While the first molecules were used as tabletop sweeteners, Aspartame began to be used in sodas in the 1980s, and then in other products such as low-fat yogurts. But why do these additives that provide neither calories nor risk of tooth decay have such a bad press? Here are some elements:
Aspartame, one of the first widely used sweeteners, can cause allergies (dermatitis) and is composed of phenylalanine which can be poorly tolerated by some individuals (Phenylketonuria).
Intense sweeteners have been the subject of numerous publications highlighting potential risks, particularly in the appearance of cancer (inconclusive data because obtained by the use of massive doses in animals), and chronic diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular diseases).
In 2015, the ANSES (French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety), without commenting on the health risks, already wrote that their effectiveness had not been demonstrated for weight loss purposes. In 2023, the WHO (World Health Organization), in its guidelines, did not recommend the use of high-intensity sweeteners, both because of their ineffectiveness in addressing weight and obesity problems, but also because of the uncertainty about the impact of their long-term use on the onset of disease.
What the WHO concludes is that there is good evidence of the development of Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and mortality in adults. On the other hand, even if there is still doubt, the link on the appearance of cancer is not yet clearly established.
