Saccharin, discovered accidentally in 1879, is an artificial sweetener 300 times sweeter than sugar and ideal for diabetics. Despite controversy over its safety, it is still widely used and often combined with other sweeteners to cancel out each other’s weaknesses.
As diabetics are advised to reduce their sugar intake, they have asked science for help in finding an artificial sweetener. Saccharin, one of the oldest, has been on the shelves for many years, sweetening candies, cookies, soft drinks, and other foods.
Saccharin was accidentally discovered in 1879 by Ira Remsen and Constantin Fahlberg, researchers at Johns Hopkins University. They experimented with toluene and discovered its sweetness while eating soon after; they hadn’t washed it all off their hands.
Saccharin is 300 times sweeter than sugar, which means only a little is needed to sweeten. However, like most artificial sweeteners, it tastes unpleasant and bitter. It is stable when heated, which means it is good for cooking. It also passes through the body without having any impact on blood sugar levels, making it ideal for diabetics. It is a complex mixture of elements such as calcium, sodium, hydrogen, and oxygen, all combining to form the substance.
In the mid-1970s, a major controversy arose over saccharin: was it a carcinogen? A now infamous rat study defended saccharin as a carcinogen. For years there was debate about the safety of saccharin, but this study led the US Food and Drug Administration to put warning labels on all products containing the substance.
Although these fears have not been confirmed by other studies, the controversy led the scientific community to search for other, safer forms of artificial sweeteners. One notable hit was aspartame, which has been popular for about 20 years. The most recent artificial sweetener to hit the market has been sucralose, often carrying the brand name Splenda. These sweeteners do not have as much aftertaste as saccharin, and sucralose is also stable when heated.
Saccharin is still widely used, often with other artificial sweeteners, and they work to cancel out each other’s weaknesses. Since studies have not confirmed a carcinogenic link to saccharin, the warning labels have been removed. Saccharin remains valuable in helping diabetics eat a tastier diet, without harming their health.
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