Sweet Deception by Dr. Joseph Mercola

In the recent decades, there has been much debate over “new” artificial sweeteners. However, the controversy dates back to over five hundred years ago. Since then, sugar has become an affordable substance which makes people fat. In the twentieth century, scientists have come to new chemical substances proven to be hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, but virtually calorie-free. These sweeteners have caused much debate over their safety of consumption. Dr. Mercola probes the interest of the people in the safety of artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame and Splenda™. He uses primary sources in his book to show evidence that artificial sweeteners are unsafe and exposes the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) secrets about the refusals to ban these products so that companies make profit. These debates were almost silenced by our trusted FDA. Though the controversy over these artificial sweeteners is currently mild, the issue over the dangers of these chemicals still remains great, and the FDA should ban these products.

Dr. Mercola begins the book by explaining the history of sugar. Over five hundred years ago, during the age of exploration, settlers from Europe came to Central and South America. When they settled there, they found a cash-crop that made them a lot of money – sugar. Since then, sugar has become very affordable to everyone across the globe. However, sugar is a dangerous “chemical”. Though sugar is made from a plant, it is highly processed and highly refined in factories. The outcome is a granulated substance of fifteen calories per teaspoon. Fifteen calories may not seem like much, but a recent study shows that over two-thirds of the country is over-weight, and one third of the country is obese. Most of the blame goes to sugar, so scientists sought to find a new sweetener.
In the late nineteenth century, scientists stumbled across a new chemical which was hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, and with only a few calories. This chemical was named “saccharin”, and the age of artificial sweeteners begun. In the late 1960s, scientists working on insecticides accidently discovered Aspartame. This new chemical sparked much controversy whether it should be consumed by people. The FDA was skeptical as well; many tests were done on animals, and the tests showed that aspartame causes cancer and other serious illnesses such as holes in the brain in rats. The FDA banned aspartame twice throughout its history, but because of its value on the market, it was unbanned. People were still skeptical of its safety, and more animal tests were done, and more animals continued to show diseases and death. But aspartame is still on the market to this day because of its production of cash-flow to companies and to the FDA.

Due to all of the unrest and argument, a new product emerged on the market during the last decade. This chemical was accidently discovered by scientists testing halogens in the laboratory, they called it sucralose. The new sucralose is marketed today as Splenda™. Their marketing campaign focuses on the selling point “made from sugar…” This plucky statement generally silenced the public about the safety of artificial sweeteners, but people like Dr. Mercola are still asking questions. Though the statement “made from sugar…” is partially correct, the sugar part of the substance is completely altered into something that has no trace of a sugar molecule at all – the chemical properties of sugar are completely changed. Animal testing shows that Splenda™ is still harmful to the human body, and it should not be consumed.

Dr. Mercola’s book piqued my interest in this topic. It made me realize how greedy businesses in the artificial sweeteners’ industry are and how ineffective our governmental administrations are in regulating and overseeing those businesses. After the success of the Splenda™ marketing strategy and the endorsement of the FDA, the general public remains silent and clueless. The harmful effects of these chemicals are much greater than what is publically perceived. These chemicals are most likely indirectly responsible for the increase of cancer in people over the last several decades, as well as brain complications and death. I don’t understand why the FDA does not take a more responsible position caring for the health of the general public interest instead of favoring a few greedy companies. I also don’t understand why the consumers are so naïve when they see simple marketing strategies, they are so quick to assume that the product is safe. The public needs to be alerted by the FDA, and the FDA needs to silence the proponents of the products instead of the people.