Artificial sweeteners

Instead of natural sugar, artificial sweeteners are used in many products. The reason for using artificial sweeteners is that they have such a low calorie content.

In fact it's not so much that they've no calories in them as that you need only tiny amounts to achieve the same degree of sweetness as a spoon of sugar. Many diet sodas for example contain artificial sweeteners rather than sugar.

Saccharin and aspartame are two of the best known types. Saccharin was developed towards the end of the nineteenth century and is estimated to taste three hundred times sweeter than sugar. Unfortunately, it can leave a slightly bitter after taste and some studies have shown that it causes bladder cancer in rats.

Although the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at one point considered banning it, it has since removed saccharine from its list of potentially cancer causing agents. Aspartame has also been the subject of controversy over how safe it is as it contains trace amounts of methanol, a known cancer agent.

While the FDA approved its use in 1981 after studies showed the amounts of methanol involved were too small to have an impact on humans, some debate over the issue continues. A rare genetic disorder known as phenylketonuria (PKU) means that sufferers lack an enzyme for properly breaking down aspartame and should make sure they consume only small amounts. While these substances can satisfy our craving for sweetness without the risk of piling on the pounds, it's probably wise to be aware of how much of them you are consuming.