Medical Health Encyclopedia

Injury Disease Nutrition Poison Symptoms Surgery Test Special Topic

A B C D F G H I K L M N P R S T V W Z

Overview Food Sources Recommendations Side Effects

Sweeteners

Recommendations: Sugar is on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) list of safe foods. It contains 16 Calories per teaspoon and can be used in moderation. All of the various types of sugars described earlier can be used in moderation. Aspartame has been FDA approved. Recommended safe daily levels are 18 packets of Equal or three 12-ounce diet sodas per day for a 130-pound person. For people with the genetic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU), aspartame is not recommended as they are unable to metabolize it. Text Continues Below In the National Toxicology Program (NTP) 9th Report on Carcinogens, May 2000, saccharin was removed from the list of carcinogenic substances. Ace-sulfame K is also FDA approved. The FDA provides the ADI (accepted daily intake guide), which is the amount of sweetener that can be used over a lifetime and still be considered safe by a factor of at least a hundred fold. This is about 1/100 of the amount shown to have no toxic effects in animals. The ADI is reported as an amount per kilogram of body weight.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 2004 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.