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Artificial Sweetener Ingredients

Artificial sweeteners are chemically manufactured products that duplicate the taste of sugar. The Mayo Clinic cited four artificial sweeteners often recommended for people who need to avoid the calories and effects of sugar. They are saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame K and sucralose. These products have been used for years.

  1. Saccharin

    • Developed in 1879 by researchers at John Hopkins University, saccharin is a white crystal called benzosulfamide. Its formula is C7H5NO3S and it contains carbon, hydrogen,nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur. Sweet-N-Low and Sugar Twin are saccharin products.

    Aspartame

    • Aspartame, available as Nutra Sweet and Equal, is made by combining phenylalanine and aspartic acid, two amino acids that break down completely in the body when consumed. Aspartame must not be used by people with the hereditary disease Phenylketonuria PKU.

    Acesulfame K

    • Sunett and Sweet One offer Acesulfame K, which was discovered in 1967 and approved by the FDA in 1988. Acesulfame K is a potassium salt with the formula C4H4KNO4S. It's a white crystalline powder that contains carbon, hydrogen, potassium, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur.

    Sucralose

    • Sucralose, available as Splenda, is derived from sucrose and has three hydroxyl groups which have been replaced by chlorine atoms to form galactose. The FDA approved sucralose as a sweetener in 1998.

    Considerations

    • These artificial sweeteners have been subject to numerous human studies and have been approved for use by the World Health Organization. The National Cancer Institute says there is no evidence that artificial sweeteners cause cancer.

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