Artificial sweeteners are increasingly being added to food and drinks. In particular, over the last 10 years or so, there has been a gradual increase in the appearance of artificial sweeteners in soft drinks and fruit juices. Artificial sweeteners have for a long time been used as an alternative to sugar, and in this regard it is easy to understand the desire to utilise them in products where manufacturers wish to reduce sugar content. However, increasingly the artificial sweeteners are being added to products that already contain sugar. This was highlighted recently when it became apparent that the blackcurrant drink Ribena was reformulated to contain artificial sweeteners alongside sugar. The list of drinks that now are free from artificial sweeteners is small and shrinking at an alarming rate, and it is now becoming difficult to avoid consuming such chemicals. It is therefore imperative that consumers that are concerned about their health alway check the labels on drink in order to confirm they are artificial sweetener free.
Artificial sweeteners have been shown to have a number of health effects including contributing toward insulin resistance, weight gain and overeating. The artificial sweetener aspartame has been shown to increase the risk of cancer in long term animal studies. There is little evidence to suggest that artificial sweeteners are any sort of healthy alternative to sugar.
The most obvious and least cynical reason to explain the addition of artificial sweeteners to products already sweetened with sugar is that manufacturers wish to reduce the amount of sugar in order to avoid the detrimental effects of the sugar tax. This would appear short sighted on the part of the manufacturer’s as most already produce sugar free versions of their drinks and tainting their other product with the chemical taste of artificial sweeteners would appear to be akin to throwing out the baby with the bathwater. The more cynical person may conclude that more nefarious reasons are behind the addition of artificial sweeteners to sugar sweetened beverages. One suggestions is that the manufacturers are trying to make their drinks sweeter in order to increase consumption, as they know full well that artificial sweeteners increase the consumption of products by some individuals. Whatever the reason, the healthiest advice is to avoid all artificially sweetened products and to look for healthier alternatives.
Eat Well, Stay Healthy, Protect Yourself
RdB
