Artificial sweeteners are chemicals that are used to sweeten food and drinks. They are often used in place of sugar or other natural sweeteners, such as honey. Artificial sweeteners can be found in a variety of foods and beverages, including candy, desserts, soda, and energy drinks. Some artificial sweeteners are also available as tabletop sweeteners or for use in baking.
There are a variety of different types of artificial sweeteners available on the market today. The most common artificial sweetener is aspartame, which is sold under the brand names Equal and NutraSweet. Aspartame is made from two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid. Other artificial sweeteners include saccharin, sucralose, neotame, advantame, and acesulfame potassium (Ace-K).
Saccharin is the oldest type of artificial sweetener and has been used since the early 1900s. It is about 300 times sweeter than sugar and does not have any calories. However, some studies have shown that saccharin may cause cancer in rats. Sucralose is another popular artificial sweetener that was first introduced in the 1990s. It is made from sugar but tastes up to 600 times sweeter than sugar itself. Unlike saccharin, there is no evidence that sucralose causes cancer in animals or humans.
Neotame is an artificialsweetener that was approved by the FDA in 2002 for general use in food products . Neotame is about 8 , 000 times sweeter than table sugar yet it contains almost no calories . Advantame another newly – FDA approved artificialsweetener which like neotame also contains virtually no calories . Acesulfamme potassium or Ace – K has been used as anartificialsweetener since 1988 however it wasn ‘ t until recently where Ace – K received GRAS ( generally recognized as safe ) status from the FDA .
Despite their widespread use , there remains some controversy over the safety ofartificialsweeteners . While most studies suggest they are safe for human consumption , some researchers believe more long – term research needs to be conducted before we can say definitively whether or not they pose any health risks .