G08: Sciences - Synthetic Materials: Artificial Sweetner

According to the U.s. department of agriculture, Americans consume an average of 156 pounds of sugar each year. that’s a little more than 31 of the five-pound bags you might see in the baking goods aisle in the grocery store! we all know that eating too much sugar can cause tooth decay, weight gain, and type-2 diabetes, but is there a way to indulge your sweet tooth and still avoid sugar? yes. food and beverages labeled “diet” taste sweet yet don’t contain sugar—thanks to artificial sweeteners. why do artificial sweeteners have no calories? could they be bad for your health? let’s compare the chemistry of sugar and artificial sweeteners to find out.

No one knows why humans evolved with the ability to detect sweetness. Perhaps it enabled us to recognize fruits that were ripe and therefore
richer in useful carbohydrates. Because sweetness is often linked to high calorie foods, a sweet tooth could be useful in a primitive world

Sucralose, the sugar substitute better known to Canadians and Americans as Splenda, hit Norwegian food markets in 2005. A year later, scientists from the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) found the chemical to be omnipresent in the environment—in Oslo Fjord and in raw and treated wastewater.