Artificial Sweeteners. Real Worry

Some artificial sweeteners have occasionally been linked to cancer in laboratory animals, and there's still some public unease over the widespread use of the sweeteners, according to a story in today's Los Angeles Times.

Here's a look at the artificial sweeteners that have been approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration, as detailed in the L.A. Times:

• Saccharin: Found in Sweet'N Low and Tab, saccharin was developed in 1879 and linked to bladder cancer in male rates in 1975. It carried a warning label and was considered a possible human carcinogen for nearly 20 years, until the U.S. National Toxicology Program at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences faulted the original studies.
• Aspartame: Found in NutraSweet, Equal, Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi, aspartame was linked to brain cancer in laboratory rats, but a 2006 National Cancer Institute study found no link between aspartame and human cancer. More recent studies in Italy have reignited controversy.
• Neotame: Neotame is found in newer formulations of Tang and some sparkling waters.
• Acesulfame potassium: Found in Sweet One, Sunnett and, with Splenda, in Diet Snapple and Diet Rite, acesulfame potassium hit the market in 1998 and is also known as acesulfame K or Ace K. Critics of the FDA approval say more studies are needed to assess its safety.
• Sucralose: Found in Splenda, sucralose was approved for use in 1998 and has raised the ire of sugar producers for advertising that associates it with its natural cousin.
• Cyclamate: Now banned in the United States because of disputed links to cancer, it was once found in Tab and Fresca.

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