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TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2022
THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD — B3
Exploring the safety of artifi cial sweeteners
By BARBARA INTERMILL
Monterey Herald
In response to a recent
column about the safety of
sugar substitutes, reader
P.S. from Ohio asks: “What
are your sources for this
article? I have read in sev-
eral sources which I con-
sider reputable that aspar-
tame and acesulfame are
carcinogens. However, on
the internet there is mixed
information.”
Ah, yes, the internet is
teeming with mixed infor-
mation on many nutri-
tion topics, especially this
one. As I mentioned pre-
viously, the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration has
the major responsibility to
review the available evi-
dence on the safety of food
(and drug) products before
they can be sold in the U.S.
Currently, the FDA has
approved six sweeteners,
including aspartame (brand
name Equal) and acesul-
Dreamstime-TNS
Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved six sweeteners, including aspartame
(brand name Equal) and acesulfame potassium (brand name Sweet One) as food additives.
fame potassium (brand
name Sweet One) as food
additives. Three other plant-
based sweeteners — stevia,
monk fruit and thaumatin
— have been designated
“generally recognized as
safe” for their intended use.
Regarding carcinogens,
several reputable sources,
including the American
Cancer Society and the
American Institute for
Cancer Research note that
there is no conclusive evi-
dence to link sugar substi-
tutes to cancer.
That said, some scientifi c
articles continue to question
the safety of sugar substi-
tutes. As they emerge, the
FDA as well as the Euro-
pean Food Safety Authority
re-examine the fi ndings to
see if any changes need to
be made in their approval
of the products. To date,
neither agency has found
valid evidence to change
their current guidelines on
the use any of the approved
sugar substitutes.
I also mentioned previ-
ously that acceptable daily
intakes have been set for
each approved sugar substi-
tute. The ADI is determined
from research in which the
highest dose an animal can
consume without an adverse
eff ect is then lowered another
100 times, to be extra safe.
To put this in perspec-
tive, I estimated my own
ADI for aspartame, which
is 50 milligrams per kilo-
gram of my current weight,
which I will not divulge. If
my calculations are correct,
I would need to consume 85
packets of Equal or 15 cans
of diet soda every day for
the rest of my life to reach
the acceptable daily intake
for aspartame. That’s a huge
margin of safety.
So while reputable sci-
entists continue to study the
overall impact of sugar sub-
stitutes on our health, I feel
comfortable with the 2022
guidelines from the Amer-
ican Diabetes Associa-
tion, which state that alter-
nate sweeteners “may be an
acceptable substitute” for
regular sweeteners such as
sugar, honey and agave syrup
“when consumed in moder-
ation. However, people with
diabetes should be encour-
aged to decrease both (sugar)
sweetened and nonnutritive
(sugar substitute) sweetened
beverages, with an emphasis
on water intake.”
I’d say that’s good advice
for us all.
Barbara Intermill is a registered
dietitian nutritionist and syndicated
columnist. She is the author
of “Quinn-Essential Nutrition:
The Uncomplicated Science of
Eating.” Email her at barbara@
quinnessentialnutrition.com.
█
There are healthy foods that make ideal daily snacks
By NANCY CLANTON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We all love our snacks.
They not only hold us over
until our next big meal, but
they also satisfy our need for
crispy, crunchy, sweet and
savory treats.
Too much snacking on
the wrong foods, however,
can lead to health problems.
So Eat This, Not That asked
some nutritionists what they
munch on every day.
Sarah Schlichter, MPH,
RD, a registered dietitian
and owner of Bucket List
Tummy, prefers granola,
“because it’s crunchy and
satisfying, fi ling and off ers a
balanced mix of protein, fat,
carbohydrates, and fi ber,”
she told Eat This, Not That.
“I love adding it to my oat-
meal or yogurt for some
crunch, or even eating a
handful with a spoonful of
peanut butter.”
Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD,
co-author of “The Meno-
pause Diet Plan,” prefers a
snack that helps her bones,
heart and brain. “Every day I
have plain Greek yogurt and
frozen cherries (I microwave
them for about 30 seconds
fi rst). The cherries are so
naturally sweet that I don’t
have to add any sugar to the
yogurt. Nutrition-wise, this
snack helps me to include a
serving of fruit and dairy”
Rice cakes have a bad
reputation for not having
a lot of fl avor. But Kacie
Barnes, MCN, RDN, creator
of Mama Knows Nutrition,
knows how to jazz them up
with both fl avor and nutri-
tion. “My go-to snack is a
brown rice cake topped with
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mashed avocado and fl aky
sea salt. ... The fat from the
avocado is so satisfying
that it completely tides me
over until dinner. I love the
crunch of the rice cake, and I
choose brown rice cakes for
the fi ber.”
Tejal Pathak, MS, RD,
CDCES, registered dietitian
and owner of TejRD, pre-
fers baby cucumbers because
they’re easy to carry around
and need no refrigeration.
“With 95% water it is great
for hydration, it is also low
glycemic food, provides car-
diovascular benefi ts and
can aid with regular bowel
movement.”
When Theresa Gentile,
MS, RDN, CDN, a Brook-
lyn-based registered dieti-
tian, has the munchies, she
turns to a treat we likely all
have in our pantries: peanut
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butter. “I snack on peanut
butter every day. ... Some-
times I’ll put it on a rice
cake, or in a smoothie, or
sometimes I eat it alongside
an apple.”
Just remember that
snacking isn’t bad for you,
but what you snack on can
be. Instead of sweets or fried
treats, pick foods with pro-
tein, healthy fat and/or fi ber
to get you through the day.
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TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2022
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PINOCHLE
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