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What Are the Risks of Sugarless Powdered Drinks?

Sugarless powdered drinks are popular among individuals seeking to lose weight or simply cut down on sugar for other health-related reasons, such as people with diabetes. A powder containing an artificial sweetener (like sucralose, aspartame or saccharin) combined with artificial flavors and coloring is added to water, producing in a sweet, reduced-calorie beverage. There are currently five Food and Drug Administration-approved non-nutritive (zero calorie) sweeteners available on the market: aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, neotame and saccharin. It is generally the presence of these artificial sweeteners that is thought to carry health risks, though their extent is intensely debated.

  1. Risks During Development

    • In the early 1990s, there was concern that high aspartame consumption among children was contributing to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. These risks were largely discredited by two studies published in 1994 in the "New England Journal of Medicine" and the journal "Pediatrics," which found no impact even when children were given 10 times the average daily amount. However, a 2006 U.K. study linked nonnutritive sweeteners to abnormal nerve cell development when combined with food coloring. Nevertheless, these results were derived from rats; the effect in humans remains unknown. What is certain is that children raised on a diet heavy in powdered sugarless drinks and other sugarless sweets develop a sweet tooth at an early age, which can contribute to obesity later in life.

    Slowing of Digestion

    • Research conducted by the American Cancer Society has shown that individuals who regularly consume artificial sweetened drinks often gain weight rather than lower it. Their explanation of this phenomenon is that nonnutritive sweeteners slow digestion.

    Over-Consumption

    • Another explanation proposed by the American Cancer Society for their weight-gain findings is that nonnutritive artificial sweeteners increase appetite. According to a 2008 study by Purdue University, sweet foods and beverages signal the brain to expect high-caloric intake. Artificial sweeteners, while containing no calories, trigger this response in the brain, which can increase appetite for hours after consumption.

    Cancer Controversy

    • The most controversial debate surrounding the health risks of artificial sweeteners, and by association sugarless powdered drinks, is the cancer question. Studies in the 1970s showed an increase in bladder cancer among laboratory animals when given large quantities of saccharin, which prompted the FDA to include a warning label on products containing the sweetener. Furthermore, studies linked the rise in brain tumors in humans between 1975 and the 1990s with the increasing prevalence of aspartame. However, studies conducted by the FDA have discredited the findings of these specific studies. While these sweeteners remain FDA-approved, there is concern that their full health impact is not fully known, particularly with relatively new compounds like sucralose.

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