By and large, yes. The major sweeteners are food additives that have been deemed safe by the US Food and Drug Administration. But not everyone agrees with the FDA and not all sweeteners are the same, so we’ll take them one by one.
There are two types – caloric and non-caloric, said Karen Chalmers a diabetes specialist at the Joslin Diabetes Center. The caloric ones, which include sorbitol, mannitol, maltilol, xylitol and others, have calories, like sugar, but aren’t as fattening because they are not absorbed as well by the body.
The non-caloric ones are saccharin, aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame-K.
Sorbitol (found in gum and ice cream) and other sugar alcohols are considered safe by the January, 2005 Consumer Reports on Health, though they can cause bloating, stomach cramps, gas and diarrhea.
Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, said he has “a bit of concern” about sorbitol because prunes, which contain sorbitol, were linked to a higher risk of colon cancer in one study.
Acesulfame-K (found in Sweet One) may also pose little risk, but it has not been studied enough, said both Consumer Reports and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, D.C.-based nutrition advocacy group. The American Dietetic Association and the American Diabetes Association said it is safe
Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet) is safe except for people with PKU, or phenylketonuria, though Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said it should be tested further. But Consumer Reports noted that 500 studies have shown no convincing evidence of harm in normal people.
Saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low) is controversial. Chalmers said it is safe. Willett said that although high intakes increased bladder cancer in rats, no such relationship was found in large human studies. Jacobson said flatly that saccharin “should not be on the market.”
Sucralose (Splenda) gets the best marks. Both Consumer Reports and Center for Science in the Public Interest say there are currently no safety concerns. Another sweetener, Stevia, is not an approved food additive (it’s considered a dietary supplement) and too little is known about it to assess its safety. For the record, sugar is safe, too, in small doses. It’s only in excess that it puts pounds on.