Among the four basic tastes of sour, sweet, bitter and salty, sweetness can be said to be the favorite taste stimulus of human beings. People have long tasted sweetness by consuming sugar. However, excessive sugar intake can lead to a range of health problems such as diabetes. As a result, humans invented a series of sweeteners to replace sugar. Not long ago, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under the World Health Organization (WHO) declared aspartame a "probable carcinogen". At the same time, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) also released an assessment report on the health effects of the artificial sweetener aspartame, which concluded that as long as the intake is limited to a certain range, it can be consumed safely.

On the one hand, it is "probably carcinogenic", and on the other hand, it is "safe to eat". For artificial sweeteners represented by aspartame, how should we look at it scientifically? "There are so many kinds of sweeteners and so many types of processed foods, but from the perspective of a nutritionist, it is still recommended to eat something more natural, and the less processed the better." Xu Yingxia, deputy chief physician of the Department of Clinical Nutrition of Beijing Tiantan Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, said.

Humans have a long history of sweetness

Human beings have been pursuing sweetness for a long time.

"All (or almost all) mammals love sweetness. Breast milk, including human milk, is sweet, or almost always associated with sweetness. In his book Sweetness and Power, the British scholar Westminster reveals the process of sugar from luxury to gradual popularization. At that time, sugar cane plantations scattered throughout the colonies continued to sweeten all corners of the world, and the sugar industry became one of the pillar industries of modern capitalist development.

In the 19th century, the chemical industry flourished, providing a new way for mankind to pursue sweetness. In 1879, two researchers from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, Lemson and Fachberg, jointly published a paper introducing a substance called "o-benzoylsulfonimide" and its synthesis method, another name of this substance - saccharin.

The story behind saccharin being discovered is very interesting. One day after the experiment, Fachberg went to eat without washing his hands, and suddenly felt a distinct sweet taste in his mouth, so he returned to the laboratory to search, and finally found the residual sweet substance, and later cooperated with the laboratory director Lemson to research and publish a paper together. As a result, the world's first artificial sweetener was "accidentally" developed.

This inadvertent discovery had a huge impact on the food industry in the future. The sweetness of saccharin is 300~500 times that of sucrose, but the cost is only 1/10 of it, and it almost does not participate in human metabolism, so it is rapidly popularized. At the same time, the research and development of other sweeteners is also gaining momentum. In 1937, cyclamate was invented, and the sweetness was 30~50 times that of sucrose; In 1965, aspartame was invented, which is about 200 times sweeter than sucrose; In 1967, acesulfame potassium was invented, which is about 200 times sweeter than sucrose; In 1976, sucralose was invented, which is about 600 times sweeter than sucrose; In 1993, neotame, the world's sweetest artificial sweetener, was invented, with a sweetness of 7000,13000~<>,<> times that of sucrose... Similar to their "predecessor" saccharin, the advent of these artificial sweeteners is not lacking in the same windfall as saccharin, which is a snowfall for scientists.

With the rapid development of chemical technology, natural sweeteners such as xylitol and erythritol have also been extracted from various natural substances by scientists, enriching the family of sweeteners.

After more than 100 years of development, the current number of sweeteners is considerable, and their classification methods are different: according to the source, it can be divided into natural sweeteners and artificial sweeteners; According to the sweetness, it can be divided into low-power sweetener and high-power sweetener; According to the nutritional value, it can be divided into nutritional sweeteners and non-nutritive sweeteners... Different types of sweeteners have different chemical properties, which are suitable for different types of food processing, and can also produce different sweet tastes when mixed with each other, enriching the stimulation on the tip of people's tongues.

What effect sweeteners have on the human body is not yet known

As the crystallization of the chemical industry, artificial sweeteners have been controversial due to "safety" issues since their birth. Taking the conclusion that aspartame may cause cancer as an example, in recent years, there have been many reports that aspartame causes leukemia, lymphoma, liver cancer and other diseases in various studies. Previously, artificial sweeteners such as saccharin and cyclamate have also had debates about whether they are healthy.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has evaluated aspartame as "possibly carcinogenic" in Group 2B. In this regard, Chen Junshi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and general counsel of the National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, said in an interview that 2 refers to the second level, which is not the strongest in terms of carcinogenic evidence; B refers to possibly carcinogenic to humans, so the term "probable human carcinogen" in media reports is accurate.

"If you want to discuss whether China is going to allow the continued use of aspartame, you should refer to the report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives," Chen suggested. It is reported that after the release of the above two reports, the National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment once issued an article on its official website, "Combined with the latest assessment results of the FAO/WHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives and the consumption of Chinese residents, aspartame can be used in accordance with China's current standards and specifications to ensure safety." ”

At present, it may not be known what the effects of sweeteners will be on the human body.

Sweetener intake should be done in moderation

"Nothing is ever completely safe. The so-called safety and unsafety must be related to the dose, and there is no point in talking about safety without the dose. Chen Junshi said.

Sugar and sweeteners, both provide us with sweetness, but they have different characteristics and different recommended daily intakes. From the perspective of sugar, Article 2022 of the "Eight Guidelines for a Balanced Diet" proposed in the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (5)" is "less salt and less oil, control sugar and alcohol", in which the intake of added sugar is recommended not to exceed 50g per day, and it is best to control it below 25g.

"The current per capita sugar intake in our country is about 10g, which is still a little short of 25g. But there are some groups of people who need special attention, such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. Zhong Kai told reporters, "For them, it is best to drink less sugary drinks, such as a bottle of sugary drinks with a sweetness of 10%, drinking 250ml is enough for 25g, if you drink it every day, or even drink several bottles a day, it will definitely have an impact on health." ”

"As far as the sweetener itself is concerned, it's almost impossible for you to eat more than its health guideline. Because the sweetness of many sweeteners is many times higher than that of sucrose, according to the ADI standard, you may have to eat half a catty or a catty of sugar a day, which is unbearable for ordinary people. Zhong Kai said.

"For aspartame, because it breaks down phenylalanine when it enters the body, it is not ingested by a very small number of people with genetic diseases such as phenylketonuria." Zhong Kai reminded.

Xu Yingxia expressed her opinion from another angle: "I think sugar is better, because after all, there are still some nutrients, just control the amount." Sweeteners are not nutrients, and if you are not a person who can't eat sugar, I recommend that sweetener intake be done in moderation. ”

"It is recommended that you pay more attention to the ingredient list when purchasing food, and have a basic understanding of whether sugar or sweetener is added to it, how much is added, and whether there are other food additives." Xu Yingxia suggested, "It is still necessary to consume more natural foods and less processed foods, such as pregnant women, children and other foods that are not suitable for consumption, there may be some potential risks." ”

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)" makes recommendations on sugar intake, and China also sets limits for most sweeteners, but does not stipulate for a few sweeteners such as xylitol.

Experts say that whether it is sugar or sweeteners, you should control your intake, and in the final analysis, it is to limit your desire for sweetness.

(Reporter Jia Yueyang)

Source: Guangming Daily