Possible health concerns with artificial sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners have been scrutinized intensely for decades.

Critics of artificial sweeteners say that they cause a variety of health problems, including cancer. That's largely because of studies dating to the 1970s that linked the artificial sweetener saccharin to bladder cancer in laboratory rats. Because of those studies, saccharin once carried a label warning that it may be hazardous to your health.

But according to the National Cancer Institute and other health agencies, there's no sound scientific evidence that any of the artificial sweeteners approved for use in the United States cause cancer or other serious health problems. Numerous studies confirm that artificial sweeteners are generally safe in limited quantities, even for pregnant women. As a result, the warning label for saccharin was dropped.

Artificial sweeteners are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as food additives. They must be reviewed and approved by the FDA before being made available for sale.

Sometimes the FDA declares a substance "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS). Substances receive this designation if they meet either of these criteria:

• Qualified professionals deem the substance safe for its intended use on the basis of scientific data. Stevia preparations are an example of this type of GRAS designation.
• The substances have such a lengthy history of common use in food that they're considered generally safe.

The FDA has established an acceptable daily intake (ADI) for each artificial sweetener. ADI is the maximum amount considered safe to consume each day over the course of a lifetime. ADIs are set at very conservative levels.