Artificial sweeteners have grown in popularity as ‘safe’ alternatives to sugar (sucrose). They are extensively used by the beverage industry to make ‘diet’ sodas, they are also used in various packaged foods, drugs and mouthwashes. The most popular artificial sweeteners include saccharin, sucralose, aspartame, stevia, acesulfame potassium (acesulfame—K ) and neotame. Figure 1. Popular artificial sweeteners. Link These products are many times sweeter than sucrose: saccharin is roughly 300 times sweeter than sucrose; aspartame is about 200 times sweeter than sucrose; sucralose (which is derived from sucrose by substituting chlorine for three hydroxyl groups present in the structure of sucrose) is 600 times sweeter than sucrose. Neotame, by the way, takes things to a whole new level – neotame is considered the most potent sweetener on the market, it is roughly 7000 times sweeter than sucrose. Figure 2. A comparison
We examine some of the major topics in health science and attempt to give simpler explanations and recommendations where necessary.