Artificial sweeteners

WITH the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and Joint Organisation Expert Committee on Food Additives flagging aspartame the sweetener widely used in carbonated drinks, diet sodas, chewing gum, ready-to-drink tea, and low-calorie food items as being potentially carcinogenic, the cola industry is likely to suffer a setback. The ill effects of fizzy drinks due to high content of sugar substitutes have, for decades, been the subject of studies across the globe. But the findings linking the consumption of diet beverages with adverse health outcomes have always been questioned and have triggered intense debates, pitting health experts, nutritionists and food regulators against the multi-billion-dollar food industry. This has, naturally, left the consumers confused about the addictive colas laced with the food additive.

However, with the food regulators in most countries, including the US Food and Drug Administration, repeatedly giving the carbonated drinks the green light since the early 1980s, soft drink makers have been minting billions of dollars. The latest WHO warning, to be announced mid-July after a review of aspartame’s safety, should be a wake-up call for the users of sugar substitutes. Notably, the WHO had last month advised people against using all artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, saccharin, sucralose and stevia. It said that while they did nothing to reduce weight, they increased the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart ailments and mortality in adults.

The big food industry will definitely oppose the latest findings as a lot is at stake. The common man would do well to follow the dictum of ‘when in doubt, stay out’. Parents should instil healthy eating habits in their children so that they don’t get addicted to fast food. It would be beneficial in the long run if Gen-Next embraced good eating practices.