For many people artificial sweeteners are an important part of a low-calorie diet. Who of us does not have the irresistible desire for something sweet every now and then, even with all of the unwanted consequences – one liter of regular cola, for example, contains 110 g of sugar, which not only includes 450 Calories, but also promotes the growth of cavity-causing bacteria, that, in combination with the acid contained in cola, damage our teeth. On the other hand, one liter of diet cola has less than three Calories, and is therefore advantageous, although only in low quantities, for children, who lack the discipline to regularly brush their teeth.
Artificial sweeteners are still regarded with great skepticism, though, and so it is surely no coincidence that the alleged discovery of a health threatening substance, namely Ta9V4, created by the combination of Mentos and the acesulfam-K contained in Diet Coke, has created so much buzz.
Saccharin – 550 times as sweet as sugar – one of the first artificial sweeteners has been suspected to be carcinogenic, but nearly a century of in-depth discussions and countless studies has proved this supposition to be baseless. That saccharin is rarely used today is based on the fact that it has a metallic after-taste that many find disagreeable.
The structurally similar acesulfam-K, known in the trade as Sunett™ or Sweet-One™, is approximately 200 times as sweet as sugar. Acesulfam-K is also flawed by a slight metallic after-taste in high concentrations. A great advantage of acesulfam-K is its stability under heating, which allows it to be used in backing or to sweeten warm drinks.
A new era of “Low-calorie foods” was ushered in with the development of aspartame – Nutrasweet® - which is 200 times as sweet as sugar but has a similar taste: the dipeptide is suited for the sweetening of all cold foods, and because it is metabolized to two natural components present in the human body, i.e. the amino acids phenylalanine and asparagine acid, it is considered harmless. Only people who have a phenylalanine deficiency (phenylketonuria) are not allowed to eat foods that have been sweetened by aspartame The disadvantage of aspartame is its instability under heating. Because the taste of sugar can be most closely simulated by the combination of acesulfam-k and aspartame, Diet Coke contains both.
All sweeteners here presented were thoroughly tested before marketing and have been used by millions of people over the years. These substances are absolutely not hazardous to your health.
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Sucralose_-_ein_neuer_Süßstoff | Ohne_Chemie...ist_alles_Nichts | Acomplia_-Wunderpille_bekämpft_Fettsucht
