The Scoop: Artificial Sweeteners

This week, we are bringing back the Trash Panda Scoop: artificial sweeteners edition. Check out our last scoop on natural flavors here. Trash Panda focuses on ingredient transparency and making sure that everyone understands what is going in their bodies. So let’s get into the truth about artificial sweeteners!

Artificial sweeteners, also known as sugar substitutes, are the chemicals that are added to some foods and beverages to make them taste sweet. These ingredients can taste almost a thousand times sweetener than your ordinary table sugar. Artificial sweeteners are used as a way to add that sweet flavor without the extra calories, and while many people use artificial sweeteners and consume products that contain them for diet purposes, they can actually be more harmful than sugar.

Some of the most common artificial sweeteners are:

Tap the links to learn more about each ingredient!

The most common foods or beverages that artificial sweeteners can be found are in soft drinks, candy, baked goods, canned foods, dairy products, and many products that claim to be “sugar-free.” Below we have provided some examples of foods or beverages where these sweeteners can be found!

When it comes to why we flag these artificial sweeteners, each ingredient has their own reasoning. In mostly all sweeteners that were listed above, we have flagged them because they can harm the gut and negatively impact gluten tolerance and metabolism. They have also been shown to cause cancer in studies done on mice and are linked to increased risk of cancer in men and women. Other animal studies have also found that artificial sweeteners can cause weight gain, brain tumors, bladder cancer, and many other health hazards - so they’re definitely ingredients we want to be aware of.

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