Sugar Substitutes, Aspartame and The Others

Sugar alternatives such as aspartame have had a rocky ride in the past. However, when most people go on a diet, one of their first thoughts is to buy low sugar alternatives such as products containing artificial sweeteners. They might also start to have one sugar instead of two in their coffee or tea. It is also not unusual for athletes to take artificial sweeteners as a way of keeping their caloric intake down.

Artificial sweeteners can come in the form of Saccharin, Aspartame, Cyclamate and AcesulfameK which are used worldwide to make sugar alternatives and low sugar products.

Particularly aspartame (made up of two amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine) has received some very bad press with regards to health issues related to its intake despite the FDA approving it for use in 1981. Dr Blaylock, author of "Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills and Health & Nutrition Secrets to Save Your Life" lays out his concerns when aspartame is consumed and that it can cause neurons within the brain to become overloaded and fire until the cell actually dies as he explains in his radio interview on AM 1390 WZHF. He cites that the phenylalanine content of aspartame can cause seizures. This radio interview was conducted by a journalist called Betty Martini, also known as Ms Markle. On behalf of the FDA, Dr Hatton, then Acting Director of the Division of Health Effects Evaluation in the United States Food & Drug Administration issued a rebuttal citing that phenylalanine in numerous studies has not produced seizures. These studies were conducted with adults and children who were known to be prone to seizures. In fact he points out that the amount of phenylalanine found in aspartame is smaller than amounts typically found in protein sources within a normal diet.

While there have been concerns among the community and scientists that the ingestion of large amounts of saccharin can lead to bladder cancer, human epidemiological studies indicate that human ingestion of saccharin is not associated and not considered to be a risk factor for bladder cancer.1

Whatever your view about the above artificial sweeteners, and whether you would use them yourself, there is actually other alternatives to the above artificial sweeteners, and they're called Protein Sweeteners or Protein Intense Sweeteners. Seven sweet and taste modifying sweeteners have been identified so far, and these are Brazzein, Thaumatin, Monelin, Circulin, Mabinlin, Miraculin and Pentadin. The discovery of these proteins were pioneered by Dr Inglett among others in the 70's.2

These proteins are found in fruits of trees in tropical forests in West Africa. Inglett was able to isolate a glycoprotein in one of the fruits called the Miracle Fruit which could make sour things taste sweet.2 These proteins work on manipulating the taste receptor cells that send signals to our brain to tell us what something tastes like. Ravi3. in his recent review described the process. "Each taste bud has a pore that opens out to the surface of the tongue enabling molecules and ions taken into the mouth to reach the receptor cells inside. There are five primary taste sensations salty, sour, sweet, bitter and umami. Sweet and umami (the taste of monosodium glutamate or MSG) are the main pleasant tastes in humans." So while these identified proteins may actually have no carbohydrates (sugars) in it, such as the Brazzein, sweet proteins interact with the same taste receptors as do the low molecular mass sweeteners but through different mechanisms which are not yet clear.

Up until recently these sweet proteins have not been used widely because there have been difficulty in cultivating the plants themselves and particularly thaumatin has a delayed perception of sweetness but is also accompanied with a long lasting sweet aftertaste. In small amounts though thaumatin can be used as a flavor enhancer. So these proteins have not be used as sugar alternatives very widely. A recent press release by Tawanda Zidenga of the Ohio State University reported that maize is being cultivated containing high levels of brazzein in its seed, which could have implications for commercialisation of this particular sweet protein.4

So while most countries allow the artificial sweeteners such as saccharin and aspartame to be distributed within food and as sugar substitutes, there may yet be other choices for the consumer who wants to lower the caloric intake without compromising their taste experience of food. The ability to consume foods that taste good, while also lowering the amount of calories that are consumed, is I believe a key component in weight loss, and professionals and industry bodies are beginning to realise that while in the past consumers have been told what they can't have, perhaps its time to consider telling consumers what they can have instead.

Artificial sweeteners and protein sweeteners have their critics and some very distinguished critics - there is also controversy over how protein sweeteners are identified on food labels. While I myself do not use sugar alternatives, they may be useful tools for individuals suffering from diabetes, caries and obesity. They cannot however, when used in isolation cause weight loss. No sweetener will cause weight loss, but when used with a sensible diet and exercise regime, they could be a useful addition.

Always check with your doctor before you use artificial sweeteners, particularly aspartame, as individuals effected by a rare genetic disorder Phenylketonuria need to restrict their intake of phenylalanine.

References:

1. Wahlqvist (2002) Food and Nutrition Allen and Unwin Books

2. Inglett GE. A history of sweeteners--natural and synthetic. J Toxicol Environ Health. 1976 Sep;2(1):207-14.

3. Ravi Kant Sweet proteins - Potential replacement for artificial low calorie sweeteners Nutrition Journal 2005, 4:5 doi:10.1186/1475-2891-4-5 Full Text

4. Tawanda Zidenga (2005) To Carb or Not to Carb - Towards Accessible Low Sugar Sweeteners

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