Aspartame is a low calorie artificial sweetener that mimics the taste of sugar and intensifies fruit flavors. It is popular for weight management and is used in low calorie foods. Aspartame does not contribute to dental caries and is safe to use, but there are concerns about its effect on blood sugar levels.
Aspartame is a low calorie artificial sweetener used in thousands of foods. About 200 times sweeter than sucrose, aspartame’s job in food is to mimic the taste of sugar while lowering the calorie count. The sugar substitute is popular because of its similarity in taste to sugar, its ability to intensify fruit flavors, and its role in weight management.
The main reason to replace sugar with an artificial sweetener is to lower the calorie count of a food without compromising the sweet taste. An example of the effectiveness of using aspartame in food for this reason can be seen in a can of standard soda, which contains approximately 150 calories, while a can of diet soda contains only one or two. The weight loss industry is built on the myriad of low calorie foods which means dieters can have their cake and eat it too. The need or desire for sweet foods is biological, and by satisfying that need with a low-calorie sweetener, the associated risk of obesity is reduced.
Diabetics can also continue to eat sweet foods by replacing the sugar with substitutes like aspartame, as these are not supposed to affect blood sugar levels. However, there are reservations about whether artificial sweeteners do more harm than good in this case. When something sweet is consumed, the body prepares for the ingestion of sugar by releasing insulin. However, no sugar is ingested, and excess insulin can cause hypoglycemia.
Other functions of aspartame in foods are its ability to intensify and extend fruit flavors and the fact that it does not contribute to dental caries. As the sweetener is not based on sugar but on amino acids, bacteria in the mouth cannot convert the aspartame into cavity-forming acids. As for its taste-enhancing property, it has been found to affect fruit flavors in particular by extending the taste in the mouth.
Aspartame was developed 25 years ago and in that time there have been over 200 studies confirming the safety of its use. There have been and still are detractors who argue that the multi-billion dollar diet and pharmaceutical industries are behind the positive studies, so the use of artificial sweeteners remains controversial. The industry has responded with the claim that the effect on the body of aspartame in food has been tested and reviewed by independent bodies and is still considered safe.
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