Supplements are nowadays an indispensable part of an athlete's nutrition, which is why we encounter them almost all the time. The aim of these supplements is, of course, functional use, even for people who are subject tostrict dietary requirements, so it is not surprising that they cannot contain dozens of grams of sugar. That is why it is desirable to use artificial sweeteners.
But which ones are suitable and which ones can cause serious health complications? That's what we'll look at in our article today, where we'd like to give you an impartial and scientifically based explanation of which sweeteners to prefer in supplements.
The vast majority of sweeteners will not harm your health!
It's important to note that all sweeteners used must have been approved by certain authorities.(In the European Union, this is EFSA - the European Food Safety Authority), otherwise they could not be used in supplements. Well, if the necessary approvals have been given, there should be no direct relationship between a particular substance and e.g.cancer, provided the recommended daily intake, which is also set by this organisation, is observed. But some sweeteners are more controversial than others. We should therefore look at what the relevant scientific evidence actually says.
1. Sucralose - the most common and safest helper
- Harm score: 2
- 600 timessweeter than sugar.
- Tolerable daily intake: 0-15mg/kg body weight
The most common sweetener you can find in the vast majority of European fitness supplements is sucralose. This chemical compound is about 600 times sweeter than regular sugar, and its huge benefit is its ability to pass through the digestive tract unchanged. A large number of opponents argue that since sucralose is a source of chlorine, it can be toxic to the body. However, the above sentence makes it clear that sucralose is not metabolized in any way as it passes through the body, which shows the absurdity of this hoax.
In relation to the common myths about sucralose, my favourite myth is the sheer devastation of the gut microbiota, which is why some athletes still avoid sucralose. This misinformation is based on a scientific studybut it was done on rats. This in itself would not have mattered, butthe rats themselves had a very stereotypical diet, which consequently affects the relevance of the results. Indeed, a reduction in healthy bacteria can occur even in the case of...if you take gluten out of your diet for no good reason.
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2. Steviol glycosides - not yet well researched
- Harm score: 0
- Sweeter than sugar: 200 times
- Tolerable daily intake: 4mg/kg body weight
Many athletes prefer steviol glycosides, a sweetener of plant origin. Although stevia is of course a plant, the production of the steviol-glycosides used already takes place in the laboratory. And although it sounds a bit paradoxical, this sweetener is far less researched compared to the much maligned aspartame. But as they point out expert websites, this sweetener is safe, and if you use products sweetened with it in reasonable amounts, absolutely nothing can happen to you. On the contrary, there is evidence that stevia can provide antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic effects.
3. Aspartame - is it really such a bad thing?
- Harmfulness score: 5
- 200 timessweeter than sugar.
- Tolerable daily intake: 0-40mg/kg body weight
You can read a huge amount of misinformation on the internet specifically targeting aspartame. But where is the truth? Most of the scientific studies denigrating aspartame are conducted on rats, whose bodies metabolise this sweetener slightly differently. More importantly, the dose of aspartame consumed is often extremely high. Certainly, the study where rats ingested an amount of aspartame that, for an 80 kg human, would represent about 2000 cans of a beverage sweetened with this sweetener is iconic. It is therefore not surprising that aspartame was found by this study to be a carcinogen.
Another very common myth is the oft-repeated phrase that aspartameThis is known to be highly toxic and fatal. However, most of these websites forget to add that this amount is so small that a much larger amount is released even after drinking a glass of fruit juice.
5. Acesulfame K
- Harmfulness score: 4
- 200 timessweeter than sugar
- Tolerable daily intake: 0-15mg/kg body weight
Acesulfame K goes hand in hand with aspartame, to which we dedicated the previous paragraph. You see these two sweeteners together very often, as acesulfame has a slightly bitter taste and therefore must be combined with another sweetener to mask this negative.
This is a substance about 200 times sweeter than ordinary kitchen sugar and although of course there are dozens of conspiracy theories here too, none of the studies has found no negative effects when consumed at reasonable levels. And like other sweeteners, acesulfame K is not digestible and therefore contains no calories. In addition, Acesulfame K has been shown not to cause tooth decay and is thermostable, so it can be used in baking without losing its sweet taste.
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6. Cyclamate - the only real bogeyman
- Harm Score: 6
- 40 timessweeter than sugar
- Tolerable daily intake: 0-11mg/kg body weight
If you've been sceptical about artificial sweeteners up until now, our article may well have changed your mind. We've pointed out a lot of myths and made it clear that these ingredients may not be as dangerous as they may have seemed. But these pillars are completely demolished by cyclamate, which is one of the oldest sweeteners. It looks completely harmless at first glance, but once it enters the intestines, it starts to be metabolised into the toxic cyclohexylamine. Alreadya 1970 study found a correlation between this sweetener and bladder cancer in rats. And even though this conversion of cyclamate to cyclohexylamine only takes place some 19% of the time, it is still a most problematic sweetener that I personally recommend avoiding out of hand.
Should we rather use sugar?
When it comes to the use of sweeteners, the question definitely arises as to whether it is better to use sugar. And the answer, of course, is not simple. First of all, it depends on the quantity. A high intake of sugar is a source of civilisational diseases, just as large quantities of sweeteners are not beneficial to health. I think that if you compare the negative effects of ordinary sugar and artificial sweeteners, sweeteners definitely come out much better.
However, it depends on the specific situation. If you're in the mood for a sweetened Coca-Cola-type drink, I would definitely prefer the sugar-free versions, as we point out in our article on the subject. On the other hand, I don't think it's necessary to have a sugar phobia, especially not on any important occasions. After all, it is completely unnecessary to indulge in a small piece of cake at a birthday party just because it contains sugar, because a few grams of sugar will not compromise a healthy lifestyle.
What sweeteners should we prefer in supplements?
Personally, I always prefer proteins and other supplements sweetened with sucralose and ideally steviol glycosides. But when I have to try a protein with acesulfame potassium and aspartame for reviews, I can't tell any difference. There are XY criteria in choosing the ideal supplement that I would personally prefer. If you are interested in these aspects, check out some of the our supplement rankingsto find out more. However, the sweetener you choose comes last in any case, unless you have an intolerance to the sweetener in question (e.g. phenylketonuria, which limits your consumption of aspartame). In small quantities, artificial sweeteners are absolutely fine and it is important to remember thatthat hectolitres of diet drinks are almost as harmful as an unfounded phobia of artificial sweeteners.
Well, that's it for this article. If you have any questions about artificial sweeteners, definitely feel free to ask in the comments and we're always happy to answer.
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Why can you trust us?
Hey! Hey! I'm Mirek and I've been working at World Fitness almost since the beginning, except for a small break. But before that I lived only in the gym for a few years, doing deadlifts and power triathlon, going to competitions and winning a few medals.
Probably the one I value the most is the national record in the WUAP federation. But besides working out, I was also interested in food and supplements, I liked to enjoy my free timeI used to read different researches and professional books in my free time to know as much as possible.