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Fri, Dec 31, 2004

Experts say popular diet sweeteners are harmless
Some still concerned about consequences of key ingredients

By Matt Conn
Marshfield News-Herald
More people are sucking down synthetic sweets as low-calorie food sales surge, which fuels concern about the health effects of such sweeteners.

But medical experts say such concerns are probably overblown.

Regular soda dominates the soft drink industry, but some analysts say diet pop could take the lead. Aspartame is a major ingredient in many diet sodas and per Food and Drug Administration rules, labels must alert consumers that such products contain phenylalanine, an amino acid.

According to the FDA, individuals with the disease phenylketonuria and pregnant women with high levels of phenylalanine in their blood, do not effectively metabolize phenylalanine, one of aspartame's components. High levels of phenylalanine in the blood might cause brain damage.

Digesting aspartame releases methyl alcohol, a poison also known as wood alcohol, which is safe in small doses, said Robert Lindsay, a food science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"The very small amounts in aspartame really put it in the category of inconsequential. ... Methyl alcohol is present in all plant material," he said. "Our bodies are used to handling relatively notable amounts of methyl alcohol."
Much of the apparently alarmist concern over such sweeteners arises from a 30-year-old study that was flawed, Lindsay said.
Aspartame contains aspartic acid, chemically similar to MSG (Sodium), which is used to enhance flavor. The study said the two amino acids, when directly injected into experimental animals' brains, caused lesions. But injecting amino acids into the skull is completely different from drinking a can of soda, he said.

Both aspartame and sucralose, now its biggest competitor, still are being studied for long-term effects, he said.

"I haven't seen anything to indicate that, 'Hey, this is of concern,'" Lindsay said.

But, 72-year-old Barbara Bugar of Loyal said she stays away from aspartame.

"I'm concerned because it's in so many different products," she said. "Do people really know what the side effects are? Probably not."
The FDA determined in 1981 that aspartame was safe for use in foods and in 1987, the General Accounting Office investigated the approval process to find the agency had acted properly.

Sucralose was approved by the FDA in 1998.

To create sucralose, chlorine molecules are added to sugar molecules, which changes their structure. As a result, some people suffer digestive problems, such as gas, Lindsay said.

More research is needed to find out what health consequences are possible during cooking. Lindsay said researchers still are studying what happens when sucralose breaks down under extreme heat, when the sugar and chlorine bond might fall apart.

"What happens when it's in a cake or cookies and you burn the heck out of it?" Lindsay asked. "When you char a cookie while baking, is it still sucralose that's there and in what form?"
Matt Conn can be reached at 384-3131 or 800-967-2087, ext. 328, or at matt.conn~cwnews.net.

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