1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:03,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works dot com 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:10,520 Speaker 1: where smart Happens. This podcast is brought to you by 3 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: Audible dot com, the Internet's leading provider of audio books, 4 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: with more than eighty five thousand downloadable titles across all 5 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 1: types of literature. For brain Stuff listeners, Audible is offering 6 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:22,479 Speaker 1: a free audio book to give you a chance to 7 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:25,319 Speaker 1: try out their service. One audiobook to consider is The 8 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: Pluto Files, The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet 9 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: by Dr Nil Degrasteisen. Listen to the fascinating history beginning 10 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: with the discovery of Pluto through its ultimate declassification as 11 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: a planet, is written by haustuff Work's favorite astrophysicist. That's 12 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: The Pluto Files, The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet, 13 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: Available from Audible. To try Audible free today and to 14 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:50,239 Speaker 1: get a free audiobook of your choice, get an Audible 15 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,440 Speaker 1: podcast dot com slash brain Stuff. That's Audible podcast dot 16 00:00:54,480 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: com slash brain Stuff. I am Marshall brain with today's question, 17 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:07,399 Speaker 1: how do artificial sweeteners work? At many restaurants, you find 18 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:10,840 Speaker 1: that container on the table. It holds little packs of 19 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: sugar along with little packets of artificial sweeteners. And anyone 20 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,559 Speaker 1: who is on a diet is familiar with artificial sweeteners. 21 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: They're a big part of the dieting scene because they 22 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:25,479 Speaker 1: make low calorie soft drinks and desserts possible. Even though 23 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: they're ubiquitous, artificial sweeteners are also a little mysterious. What 24 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 1: is happening when you eat or drink an artificial sweetener. 25 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: The appropriate starting point is sugar, also known as sucros. 26 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: This is the real sweetener compared to the artificial sweetener, 27 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: and it's against sugar that all artificial sweeteners get measured. 28 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: What is sugar and what makes it sweet? Sucros is 29 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: officially known as a die saccharide, meaning that it has 30 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: two saccharides. One of the sacarides is a glucose molecule 31 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 1: and the other is a fructose molecule. When sucros hits 32 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: your tongue, it triggers the sweetness sensors in your taste buds, 33 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:12,640 Speaker 1: and these sensors send a this is sweet message to 34 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: your brain. Any molecule that shares the same characteristics that 35 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: trigger the taste buds will cause that same this is 36 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: sweet message to go to your brain. So an artificial 37 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: sweetener is simply any molecule other than sucros that happens 38 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:31,760 Speaker 1: to trigger the taste buds in a way that's similar 39 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: to sucros. In most cases, when scientists are looking for 40 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 1: artificial sweeteners, they want the substitute molecule to have less 41 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 1: calories than sucros, or to have some other difference that 42 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: makes it better than sucros in some way. For example, 43 00:02:47,240 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 1: an artificial sweetener might cause fewer cavities and sucros, or 44 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,359 Speaker 1: might be better for diabetics than sucros. The grand daddy 45 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: of all artificial sweeteners is saccharin, which has been around 46 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 1: for more than a century. Compared to sucros, sacharin is 47 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: hundreds of times sweeter when it hits the human tongue. 48 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 1: The only problem with sacharin is the aftertaste that the 49 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 1: same molecule triggers elsewhere on the tongue. Where sucros only 50 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: seems to interact with sweet sensing taste buds, sacharin also 51 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:23,079 Speaker 1: interacts with taste buds that send bitter signals to the brain. 52 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: Sacharin's advantage is that it has zero calories, perfect for dieters, 53 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: and sacharin does not really enter the bloodstream, so for 54 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: diabetics it's a win as well. People either live with 55 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:40,119 Speaker 1: the aftertaste or food scientists blend sacharin with other artificial 56 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: sweeteners in the hope of masking that aftertaste. The most 57 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 1: popular artificial sweetener is aspartame, sold under the brand names 58 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 1: like Nutra Sweet and Equal. Aspartame burst onto the scene 59 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: around four when the Food and Drug Administration approved it 60 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: in the United States. Aspartame quick Please started to replace 61 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:05,080 Speaker 1: sacharin because it doesn't have that bitter aftertaste. The only 62 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: real problem with aspartame from a taste standpoint is that 63 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 1: it keeps triggering the taste buds for too long. As 64 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:17,479 Speaker 1: with sacharin, Blending aspartame with other artificial sweeteners can help 65 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:22,359 Speaker 1: address its taste problem. If you're a manufacturer, aspartame has 66 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: two problems. First, it does not like heat, so you 67 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:30,279 Speaker 1: won't see aspartame used in baked products like cookies or cakes. 68 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:35,480 Speaker 1: Aspartame also degrades with time and loses its sweetness, so 69 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:39,200 Speaker 1: a can of soda that contains aspartame can lose its 70 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:43,159 Speaker 1: sweetness over time. You may recall that soda started getting 71 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:47,279 Speaker 1: expiration dates after aspartame came out. This is one reason 72 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: why if you look up aspartame on the internet, you'll 73 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:54,200 Speaker 1: find quite a bit of material claiming that it's poisonous. 74 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 1: There are lots and lots of videos on YouTube that 75 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,080 Speaker 1: will make this claim and explain to you wh i 76 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: aspartame can cause problems for some people, But hundreds of 77 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: millions of people have been using this chemical for decades 78 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:11,480 Speaker 1: with not that many complaints, and it's hard to argue 79 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:16,480 Speaker 1: with an experiment that has a sample size that's that immense. Sucralose, 80 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:19,680 Speaker 1: which is sold under the brand name Splenda, is the 81 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: next most popular artificial sweetener after aspartame. To make sucralose, 82 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:29,720 Speaker 1: a manufacturer starts with normal sucros and chemically changes it 83 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,760 Speaker 1: by adding chlorine. Atoms of the artificial sweeteners sold today, 84 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 1: sucralose is the sweetest, about twice as sweet as sacharin, 85 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:41,520 Speaker 1: which is already hundreds of times sweeter than sucros. Combine 86 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 1: that with the fact that the body does not digest 87 00:05:44,240 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: most of the sucralos you ingest, and it's a zero 88 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:52,280 Speaker 1: calorie sweetener. Sucralos lacks the bitter aftertaste of sacharin and 89 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:56,160 Speaker 1: the stability problems of aspartame, so it's likely to overtake 90 00:05:56,200 --> 00:06:00,360 Speaker 1: aspartame as the most popular artificial sweetener in the near future. 91 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: Supralos was approved by the FDA in which is why 92 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:09,320 Speaker 1: it feels much newer than sacharin and aspartame do. If 93 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,839 Speaker 1: you hunt around on the internet and look on YouTube, 94 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: you can find videos that claim that Splenda actually contains 95 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,720 Speaker 1: as many calories as a packet of sugar when you 96 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: use it in a little packet like you would find 97 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:23,680 Speaker 1: at a restaurant. The reason is because of the bulking 98 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,800 Speaker 1: agents used, one of which is dextros. Is this true? 99 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: According to splendid dot com, it is true. Quote. Like 100 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: other no calorie sweeteners on the market, Splenda no calorie 101 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:40,960 Speaker 1: sweetener packets and Splenda no calorie sweetened granulated products contain 102 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: a small amount of carbohydrate less than one gram per 103 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:48,720 Speaker 1: serving to provide volume and texture. These common food ingredients 104 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:54,039 Speaker 1: are dextros in the packets and multidextron packets ingranulated. These 105 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: ingredients provide so few calories per serving that all Splendid 106 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:02,400 Speaker 1: no calorie sweetener products the Food and Drug Administration's criteria 107 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 1: for no calorie foods less than five calories per serving 108 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: end quote per gram. Therefore, these splendid products actually contained 109 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 1: about as many calories as normal sugar does. Then there 110 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: are the sugar alcohols. Zylotol is one sugar alcohol that 111 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: you may have heard of. Sugar alcohols do have calories 112 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: two point five calories pergram versus four calories program for sugar, 113 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 1: but not as many as sucros. One big advantage is 114 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,440 Speaker 1: the fact that they won't cause cavities and are safer 115 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 1: for diabetics. One caution is that for many people, zylotol 116 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 1: acts like a laxative when consumed in larger quantities. And finally, 117 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 1: there's stevia, derived from plant fibers, which has been gaining 118 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: momentum since FDA approval came in two thousand eight. It's 119 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: about as sweet as saccharine without the bitter aftertaste, and 120 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 1: it has zero calories. It's been gaining traction in the 121 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: marketplace recently because of a big advertising campaign and because 122 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: it got a lot of publicity around its approval. What 123 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,880 Speaker 1: this means is that the little restaurant container on the 124 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: table is getting more and more complex. It once contained 125 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:15,080 Speaker 1: only sugar and saccharine. Now it may contain three or 126 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: four different artificial options. Pick the one that tastes best 127 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:23,679 Speaker 1: to you. This podcast is brought to you by audible 128 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: dot Com, the Internet's leading provider of audiobooks, with more 129 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:29,680 Speaker 1: than eighty five thousand downloadable titles across all types of 130 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times bestsellers. 131 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:35,920 Speaker 1: To try Audible free today, and to get a free 132 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: audiobook of your choice, get an audible podcast dot com 133 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:44,079 Speaker 1: slash brain stuff That Audible podcast dot com slash brain Stuff. 134 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 1: The house stuff us I Find app has arrived. Download 135 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:49,400 Speaker 1: it today on iTunes