With more and more artificial sweeteners being used in food products, people are wondering what kind of effects these can have on the world. One kind of sweetener, acesulfame potassium, receives fire from many organizations and people who claim that it is one of the most dangerous sweeteners. Are artificial sweeteners great products that will promote weight loss and lead to a leaner, fitter world, or do artificial sweeteners cause weight gain and health problems? What other effects can artificial sweeteners have on the environment? Can acesulfame potassium harm plant life? This question is the subject of this study.
Searching using search words “acesulfame potassium effects”, yielded 1,410 results, and the search words “the effect of artificial sweeteners on plant growth” yielded 8,050 results on Google Scholar from 2009 to 2013. The words “artificial sweeteners effects on animals” yielded 7,030 results from 2010 to 2014. This literature review has been organized around the following related topics: pollution in the environment, effects on bacteria and other microorganisms, and effects on humans and other mammals.
Pollution of Artificial Sweeteners in the Environment
Mawhinney and Young el al. (2011) have found the artificial sweetener, sucralose, in many sources of fresh water. The researchers found that sucralose was most prevalent in water sources impacted by waste water, as opposed to water that was not, such as that used for recreational use. It was also found that free chlorine or chloramines were not able to effectively filter out sucralose from water. The researchers stated that sucralose could be used to effectively indicate anthropogenic influence. The study also found that the concentration of sucralose did not great...
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...roorganisms, and mammals. These studies suggest that artificial sweeteners may have huge negative consequences for their consumption. More research may be necessary to fully understand the effects of these artificial sweeteners, due to the fact that there is little research pertaining to their effects on the environment, and that the effects of artificial sweeteners on humans are highly controversial.
Do artificial sweeteners harm life as a whole? There may be evidence supporting the negative effects of artificial sweeteners on humans, microorganisms, and the environment, though it is hard to conclude to what severity these effects will be or the amount of artificial sweeteners needed in order to cause problems. This study's goal is to find the effects of artificial sweeteners on plant life, further increasing the knowledge of the effects of this growing pollutant.
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.). Sweeteners: Issues and Uncertainties. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, 1975.
Aspartame, or more commonly known as NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful and Equal Measure; was discovered purely by chance in 1965 by a chemist named James M. Schlatter, who was testing an antacid drug (Prantini; 2014). The commercial industry believed that “a wonder product” had been discovered, which stood to revolutionise the food industry as an artificial sweetener. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener which is found in many of our foods and beverages universally. Aspartame is two-hundred times sweeter than sugar and is commonly used as a tabletop sweetener, a sweetener in prepared foods, diet foods or drinks, flavored waters, chewing gum, condiments and is even found in flavoring of medicines. It is found in majority of our food products marketed for weight control (Prantini; 2014). Aspartame has a sweeter taste in comparison to sugar, and therefore less of the sweetener can be used in food products in order to achieve the same level of sweetness as if sugar was used; which results in an individual consuming fewer calories and less sugar (American Cancer Society; 2014).
Abstract: The use of high fructose corn syrup as a sweetener in various food and drink products has drastically affected the American people in the last three decades. Dominating 55% of the sweetener market because of its industrial benefits, HFCS’s increased use has caused dramatic effects in its consumers, including upsetting normal hormonal functions, destroying vital organs, nerves, and throwing off the body’s mineral balance. As the use of HFCS increased, the rates of obesity, diabetes, and related health problems have escalated, resulting in a nationwide epidemic.
Abstract: High fructose corn syrup (HFCS), like many other unhealthy constituents that are used in foods, is cheap and retains the taste of the natural products it emulates, possibly even surpassing them in many areas. However, experiments have shown that fructose is not an ideal sugar for human consumption, not to mention the fact that the use of GM ingredients can be dangerous. In order to prevent the continued consumption of this noxious sugar, food producers should use healthy alternative sweeteners to prevent the further dependence on HFCS in our foods and drinks.
Reinke, Beth Bence. "How Sweet It Is: Sorting Out Sweeteners." CBN. The Christian Broadcasting Network, 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
Michael Pollan, a writer for New York Times and author of New York Times bestseller The Botany of Desire and named best book of the year by Borders, Amazon, and the American Booksellers Association, discusses some of these harmful effects along with many other facts in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Pollan discusses how corn syrup has consumed our nation in chapter six of his book. He discusses how high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has snuck its way into the food of the American’s every meal. As restaurants line roads and food lines pantries, HFCS lurks in almost every meal. Marlene Bishop, editor of Chocolate, Fast Food, and Sweeteners: Consumption and Health, states: “In the last 35 years, high fructose corn syrup has replaced the use of sucrose by food manufactures in the US due to its steady price and availability (White, 2008)" (3). Because of the excess corn and low price to make HFCS, it continues to pour into the ingredients of the American’s diet.
Diabetes is chronic metabolic disease characterized by high blood glucose and insulin resistance resulting in hyperglycaemia and affects approximately 347 million people worldwide (WHO, 2013). Prevention and treatment often include being physically active, maintaining a healthy body weight, eating a healthy diet and avoiding saturated fat and tobacco use (WHO, 2013). However, studies have recently shown that carbohydrate consumption may be a risk factor for the development of the disease. The quality of carbohydrates has been of particular interest in many studies because of the rate of digestion and blood glucose response (Manuel-y-Keenoy et al, 2012). Carbohydrates that cause a rapid elevation in blood glucose (high GI) may have unfavorable metabolic effects compared to carbohydrates that cause a slow elevation in blood glucose (low GI) (Similia et al, 2011). The increased consumption of refined foods worldwide has been seen to have an affect on diabetes risk. In western population, the increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverage has seen an associated increase in the rate of diabetes (Malik & Hu, 2012). In many Asian populations, a high consumption of refined grains, particularly white rice and noodles, has been reported to be associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes (Zuniga et al, 2014). However, foods high in fiber are thought to decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes (Weickert & Pfeiffer, 2008). There is ongoing research into gene-environment interactions and the way carbohydrate restriction has a varied effect on diabetes risk based on genetic variability . Although type 2 diabetes risk may be increased by consuming high GI, high GL and refined carbohydrates, consuming the right kind of carbohydrates su...
The average American eats 156 pounds of added sugar each year. Sugar is delicious and once we have it, our body constantly wants more. Added sugar has become an American epidemic. “Eighty percent, or 480,000 of the 600,000 food products sold within the U.S. have added sugar, which, according to researchers and medical doctors, is why we have the world 's highest obesity rate is at 31 percent,” (Fed Up). The addictive quality of added sugar makes our brains want more of it constantly; however, our bodies are being negatively affected by its consumption in many ways.
An example is the Aspartame found in diet soda. Focusing on diet soda, it is shown that it is linked to even more diseases and causes more side effects than regular soda. Furthermore, “Numerous studies over the past several years have reported links between diet soda and weight gain, diabetes, heart problems, and other health issues. Most recently, headlines sounded alarms about a higher chance of dementia and stroke among diet soda drinkers” (Is Drinking…). The aspartame that is used in the diet soda is the main culprit for diet sodas effects. In fact, “Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious, including seizures and death” (Aspartame…). Aspartame is a man-made chemical that is made up of aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. With, aspartic acid making up 40%, phenylalanine making up 50%, and methanol making up 10%. Taking in consideration the phenylalanine in diet soda,” Excessive levels of phenylalanine in the brain can cause the levels of serotonin in the brain to decrease, leading to emotional disorders such as depression” (Aspartame…). With the methanol, that is found in aspartame, it “…breaks down into formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin… With a recommended limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day. A one-liter (approx. 1 quart) aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA limit” (Aspartame…). The effects of methanol are caused by the formaldehyde. “Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, causes retinal damage, interferes with DNA replication and causes birth defects” (Aspartame…). Overall it is shown that the aspartame that is found in diet soda is linked to a number of diseases
The past twenty years have seen rise to a new burgeoning scientific field: genetically modified foods. During the plant breeding process, geneticists interfere with the reproduction and modify the genes of the new seedling by introducing a fragment of DNA from another organism that possesses the desired trait. With genetic modification, scientists can increase the pest, herbicide, cold, and drought tolerance so that the crop can survive in harsher climates. In some cases, the nutritional value can even be increased (Ulrich 9). Despite the obvious benefits of more nutritious foods and crops that are hardier and more resistant to harsher climates, there are some concerns surrounding GM foods. Each new alteration can cause an unforeseen allergic reaction, negate the effects of antibiotics, or potentially cause some adverse effects to the environment (Falkner 101). Every newly developed GM food must be tested on a case by case basis as there is no universal method that determines the safety of all modified components. As a result, long term effects of ingesting food with altered material are unknown.
The primary nutrients that plants require are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen from air and water. Sugar has a different effect on animals, humans, and plants. In this experiment, we are testing the effects of sugar on the growth of wheatgrass. For this experiment, we used regular sugar that we put in our food and drinks. To test our hypothesis we are using two groups control and experiment group. The control plant received only water but the experimental plant received sugar but, both plants were placed in the same temperature and same amount of water. Our hypothesis was correct, experiment plant “sugar water” yield more plant growth than control plant “water”. This experiment shows the sugar water plant grow faster than water because of the average of both plants. The sugar water experiment plant had longer in length compared to water control plant.
Overall, the consumption of aspartame is not so beneficial. The chemical component of aspartame may be broken down to chemical substances that are potentially harmful and may lead to symptoms such as headaches, vision impairment, hearing loss, memory loss, fatigue, dizziness, and eventually brain tumors. The sweetener may have been developed to lower the amount of calories and be a sugar substitute, but its creation has only produced medical attention. The consumption of aspartame should be limited or not be consumed at all in order to prevent symptoms from occurring. The creation of aspartame may not be so sweet after all.
To help keep crops from being destroyed, conventional farmers use many methods such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Nearly 1 billion pounds of these chemicals are used every year (“pesticides”). Because of this excessive use, some scientists express concern that using artificial chemicals in the farming process could produce unhealthy crops. People who ate it over a long period of time could suffer from degraded health and stunted growth (“Organic Foods”). For example, in 1989, the EPA banned the use of Alar which was a chemical used to ripen apples (“Farming, Organics”). This chemical proved to be carcinogenic after causing tumors in mice after several laboratory tests (“Organic Food”). As a result of these findings there was a dramatic increase of the sales for organic food (“Organic Food”). Another study found that Atrazine (one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States) has the potential of being carcinogenic and reducing sperm counts in males (“Organic Food”). This was further proven when evidence was found that chemicals u...
We are all familiar with sugar. It is sweet, delicious, and addictive; yet only a few of us know that it is deadly. When it comes to sugar, it seems like most people are in the mind frame knowing that it could be bad for our health, but only a few are really taking the moderate amounts. In fact, as a whole population, each and everyone of us are still eating about 500 extra calories per day from sugar. Yes, that seems like an exaggerated number judging from the tiny sweet crystals we sprinkle on our coffee, but it is not. Sugar is not only present in the form of sweets and flavourings, it is hidden in all the processed foods we eat. We have heard about the dangers of eating too much fat or salt, but we know very little about the harmful effects of consuming too much sugar. There still isn’t any warnings about sugar on our food labels, nor has there been any broadcasts on the serious damages it could do to our health. It has come to my concern during my research that few