Tag: Aspartame

Equal Sweetener – What is it About

Recent studies have shown that too much sugar may be bad for the health. This could to lead diseases such as diabetes that could lead to the complications.

Since people still need sugar in the system but in reduced amounts, companies have decided to make artificial sweeteners and Equal is one of the popular brands in the market.

This product is marketed and exported throughout the world by the Merisant Corporation. The company has offices in the United States, Mexico, Switzerland and Australia.

The main ingredient is aspartame which is a substitute for natural sugar that can be mixed in food or in the persons drink. The chemical composition is made up of 50% phenylalanine, 40% aspartic acid and 10% methanol.

There are those who claim that taking this either through food or drink is harmful to the health but there have been no studies published in any magazines to publicly announce the potential risk.

However, there have been some reports that this can cause dizziness, headaches, weight gain, memory loss, anxiety and rashes.

It is funny to know that this is used on a variety of products and people dont really realize it. These products are breath mints, toothpaste, cereals and multi-vitamins that are all available in the supermarket. People have been taking this for years!

Equal sweetener can be purchased at the grocery. This also comes now in bars with various flavors such as Peach, Lemon and Vanilla Bean. This can be purchased in bottles, box or packets making this easy to have around the house or when going on a business trip or a vacation out of town.

The product should be stored in room temperature at all times and is good for up to 3 years.

Equal and the main ingredient aspartame have undergone more than 200 lab tests by various organizations. These bodies have been certified to be safe by the United States Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization.

Studies have shown that this can be mixed with tea or coffee more than once a day. According to one study, a person can drink up to 97 packets a day which is still safe.

It has been proven to be safe for those diagnosed with diabetes since sugar is also needed to maintain the carbohydrate count in the body.

The person can check with a dietitian before trying this product and get information from other brands that also provide artificial sweeteners in the market before choosing the one to use for the home.

Dangers of Artificial Sweeteners

Although sugar has been part of the dining table and kitchen for centuries, people know that too much of it also is not good for the body. This is especially true with people who are either diabetic or those who are trying to lose weight because of obesity problems.

But with the high levels of sugar content that are found in the foods that we eat right now, especially those that are processed and those that are bought from fast food joints, it seems that it is extremely hard, maybe even next to impossible, to be able to avoid consuming excessive amounts of sugar. Besides, it is not called sweet if it is not sweet tasting and ultra delicious.

Because of this need to lessen the amount of sugar content in the body but still retain the sweet tasting flavor that one has grown accustomed to having in their everyday meals, science and commerce developed substitutes to sugar that can answer both problems. Some of these alternatives to sugar come from natural sources while others are artificially made in laboratories.

Recent years have seen the mushrooming of these artificial alternatives to sugar. This is perhaps because of the fact that America has become really body conscious. This time, low calorie sugar substitutes were developed to answer the need of women (and men at that) who want to diet.

Perhaps the oldest artificial sweetener in the market is saccharin, which was discovered back in 1874. It has been granted a GRAS (Generally recognized as safe) stature in 1958 but was withdrawn in 1972 when studies have linked the sugar substitute to cancer. Still, FDA allowed the use of Saccharin as a table-top sweetener but is no allowed to be an ingredient in mass manufactured products.

Another allegedly dangerous artificial sweetener is the aspartame, which up until now is still with the jury. Although the sugar substitute is already being used by people, there are still murmurs that the sugar can cause headaches and epileptic attacks.

Although there is really no evidence that suggests that these artificial sweeteners are dangerous, there are still doubts on the safety of using it especially by people who are in delicate conditions. Many health organizations suggest the limited use of these products.

It is recommended that you only limit your use of sweetened foods in your diet to only 2 or 3 servings daily. This will translate to about half a cup of pudding, an ice cream or a gelatin product or one bowl of sweetened cereal.