Thanks to Ed M.
Alden Woods UW News
Call it the sweetness paradox. In grocery stores across America, foods that were once saturated with sugar now contain none — yet they taste just as sweet.
The secret is an assortment of additives that replicate sugar’s sweetness, but not its calorie count. Broadly classified as non-sugar sweeteners (NSS), these additives are creeping into everything from diet sodas (aspartame) to no-sugar-added fruit cups (sorbitol, sucralose, acesulfame potassium).
The rise of NSS has made it easier for conscious consumers to reduce their sugar intake, but these products may present their own health risks. In an article published Jan. 22 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, Dr. James Krieger, a UW clinical professor of health systems and population health and executive director of Healthy Food America, and a team of co-authors argue for better and more comprehensive data on the proliferation and possible health effects of non-sugar sweeteners. They also call for reducing children’s exposure to NSS by restricting their use in kids’ food and beverages.
“The growing presence of (non-sugar sweeteners) in the food supply, combined with mounting concerns about their use… suggest that caution in adding them to foods and beverages is needed,” Krieger and his colleagues wrote.
UW News sat down with Krieger to discuss what we know — and what we need to know — about these ever-present products.
NSS have been getting a lot of attention lately, from their possible health effects to their impact on our overall diets despite having been used for decades. What’s the debate surrounding these products, and why are they drawing so much attention now? (continued)