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Sweet truths
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Saccharin has endured assaults on its safety and popularity.
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SACCHARINE IS the prototype artificial sweetener. It first appeared in the market in 1879, raising more hopes that it could fulfil.
Saccharine's metallic aftertaste made it unacceptable to many, and because it altered cooking time when substituted for sugar, it never really caught on with chefs, though some experimented with it. Aspartame's advent in 1981 promised to usher in the age of safe sweeteners. Aspartame is only one third as sweet as saccharine, but that still makes it sweeter than table sugar. Most sugar substitutes, biscuits, and low calorie sweets marketed for diabetics are likely to contain aspartame. Aspartame is popular, no doubt about it. But is it safe? Yes, it is, as proved emphatically by more than a 100 studies. On the internet, it is linked to everything from cancer to multiple sclerosis.
Aspartame breaks down into aspartic acid, phenylalanine and minute amounts of methanol in the body. All three metabolites are widespread in the body, and common foodstuffs give rise to far greater quantities of these substances.
The few legitimate health issues with aspartame concern people with the rare genetic disease called phenylketonuria (PKU), breastfeeding women, and growing children. The solution is to ensure adequate calorie intake from a healthful balanced diet, leaving aspartame for the occasional carbonated drink.
M. RAJIV
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