Sweet n Low
should get the Pink Slip

It really totally irks me when I see websites, commercials, ads, and the food industry promoting these artificial sweeteners such as sweet n'low to persuade consumers to buy low or no calories foods and/or sugar substitutes.

I recently saw an ad on the internet to promote a diet, here is the title, "Absolutely the best free weight loss diet program online!" Followed by this absurdity about artificial sweeteners – "In this case, good guys don't wear white - although we do want to impress that sugar is naturally good. But if you're watching the numbers on your bath scales, you'll want to grab for the pink, the yellow or the blue."

PLEASE WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T GRAB THE PINK, YELLOW OR BLUE PACKETS – THEY ARE JUNK AND NO GOOD FOR YOUR BODY – I DON’T CARE HOW MUCH CALORIES THEY HAVE OR DON’T HAVE – THESE ARE DANGEROUS TO YOUR SYSTEM (and may even prevent you from losing weight - see below).

If you really need something SWEET and don’t have

STEVIA (which I recommended) use some white sugar that is on the table. But what ever you do, DO NOT PICK up any artificial sweeteners!!!!!

Today, I am going to talk about the pink packet of artificial sweetener (Sweet ‘n Low). Remember Sweet n' Low? Sweet for the taste of sugar and low for the low calories it contains. (Actually the name came from a song, “Sweet and Low”), well, its back and it has been back (since 1991) despite the huge controversy around it.

O.k. here is the load down.

Several years ago rats were fed massive amount of saccharin developed bladder cancer. The individuals that are on the pro side of saccharin would say, “Anything in massive amount could kill you or give you cancer.” I agree with this, even enough amount of vitamin C or A it can kill you, but what I am saying is why consume saccharin if it doesn’t do you any good and the possibilities of unnecessary risks.

Saccharin doesn’t do a darn thing for your health – we know that and there is a chance of cancer. So my point is why consumed saccharin in reasonable amounts (a few packets a day) that may or may not hurt you. WHY TAKE THE RISK?? Just so you can have a low calorie snack or food? – REACH for a piece of fruit instead and read “The Sweet Taste of Stevia”.

Saccharin - Artificial Sweetener Controversy

Saccharin has had a very controversial past. Saccharin is an artificial sweetener that has been around for over 100 years, since 1879. It was banned as early as 1911, but the bans were lifted during the sugar rationing of WWI.

After some research, scientist found that large amounts of saccharin may cause cancer in rats. The FDA tried to ban it in 1977 because some animal studies showed that it caused cancer (mainly bladder cancer, but also uterine, ovarian, skin, and others). The FDA began researching saccharin in the 70s, to ensure it really WAS safe. Some felt it was impurities in the saccharin, and not the saccharin itself, that caused the trouble, so nothing was done.

The ban was withdrawn in 1991 since no human studies ever found a problem with saccharin. Saccharin is used in Sweet 'N Low and Sweet 10.

However, in 1977, Canadians proved conclusively that it WAS the saccharin itself causing the cancer. As a result, the FDA required that any saccharin products carry a warning label about cancer.

The actual warning reads:

"Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin, which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals."

Saccharin stayed on the market because of pressure from the diet food industry (and the dieters themselves). And the warning label that had been required on Saccharin-sweetened products has been removed. In 2000, President Clinton signed a bill.

Further research was then done on saccharin, because the FDA wished to ban saccharin outright but the food companies fought this (successfully). The National Cancer Institute ran studies in the next 2 years and found that saccharin was indeed connected with bladder cancer. People who drank only 2 cans or more a day of diet soda had an increased risk.

Studies show that the average teenager drinks over 2 cans of soda a day. One in 10 teenage boys drinks EIGHT servings of soda a day.

The average American drinks over a gallon of soda each week. Isn't this awful!!! With more people turning to diet sodas to control obesity, these levels can cause serious problems. Please DO NOT ALLOW your children to drink soda or any other sweeten laden drinks.

Attention Pregnant Women

Pregnant women are especially cautioned to stay away from saccharin, because even small usage of saccharin could overwhelm the developing fetus' defenses and cause damage to the developing bladder area.

Congress continues to keep prolonging the "ban moratorium," that is, refusing to allow the FDA to ban saccharin because it is so popular in products. Saccharin is cheap and stable, so diet food makers find it perfect for use in sodas, candies, and many other products. This commercial interest has outweighed the proven cancer risks since 1977, and shows no sign of letting up.

My recommendation is, if you MUST have sweet foods, use stevia, and stay away from saccharin and any other artificial sweetener. Even better, wean yourself off the sweet tooth and enjoy water, iced tea, wine and natural organic foods for eating. There's no reason to go with ANY artificial sweeteners, and the less sweet you crave, the less likely you'll end up with health problems.

Some people ask why I recommend buying stevia. (See “The Sweet Story of Stevia").

When it comes to dieting, most of us are willing to resort to a trick or two to help us curb our appetite and eat less — drinking water to fill up when we're hungry, for example, or opting for artificial sweeteners instead of sugar to get the same satisfying sweetness without the offending calories. But new research suggests that the body is NOT so easily fooled, and that sugar substitutes are no key to weight loss — perhaps helping to explain why, despite an overabundance of low-calorie food and drink, Americans are heavier than ever.

Soda Consumption and Obesity

If diet soft drinks and sugar-free foods are readily available, why are so many people still overweight?

A recent study by researchers at Purdue University found that drinking diet soft drinks might actually be part of the problem.

Professors in the Department of Psychological Sciences found that artificial sweeteners may interfere with the body's natural ability to "count" calories.

Our bodies' ability to match how many calories we need with how many calories we take in is partially based on how sweet a food is. The sweeter and denser it is, the higher it is in calories. Our bodies use this as a gauge to tell us when to stop eating.

Artificial sweeteners, however, throw a wrench into this process. By eating and drinking foods and beverages that use artificial sweeteners (and therefore have lower calories), we may be retraining our bodies to no longer associate sweetness with higher calories. That means that when we eat or drink foods sweetened with real sugar, our bodies miscalculate the true calories associated with that food. As a result, we consume more calories.

What is it and Uses

Sweet n’ Low ingredients are nutrive dextrose, 3/6% soluble saccharin, cream of tartar, calcium silicate (anti-caking agent) and it is 300 times sweeter than sugar, but has a slightly bitter or metallic aftertaste. The basic substance is benzoic sulfinide is a synthetic chemical, a solvent that causes cancer.

There are very few products that contain saccharin these days. Fountain Diet Coke® and Pepsi® use a blend of saccharin and aspartame, as does Tab®. Nowadays, saccharin is best known in the pink packet form of Sweet 'N Low, a tabletop sweetener in the familiar pink packet.

PLEASE AVOID THESE ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS!!!

To enjoy sweetened drinks and desserts check out my reviews on “The Stevia Cookbooks”. These wonderful recipes will help your family to get on the right track and away from those dangerous artificial and process sweeteners.

From Sweet n Low to Organic Homepage