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Unless people eat natural foods and no packaged foods at all, there is a very good chance that you will encounter food additives.
There is no denying that food additives add great colour, flavour and shelf life to food, but many of them have side effects and in sufficiently large quantities, can wreak havoc on your health.
Let us look at one such food additive Acesulfame-K and study its possible effects on the body.
What is Acesulfame -K?
Acesulfame potassium is a zero calorie sweetener that is 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is used in products like candies, baked food, frozen desserts, beverages, chewing gum, sauces and table top sweeteners.
There is a public concern regarding artificial sweeteners and even though the safety of Acesulfame potassium has been reviewed extensively by the Food and Drug Administration FDA, some experts believe much of this testing to be invalid and advise that further safety testing be conducted.
The FDA considers Acesulfame -K to be safe at a dosage of up to 900 milli grams per person, per day.
What are the cons of Acesulfame-K?
Acesulfame K’s manufacturing process uses the carcinogen methylene chloride, which on long term exposure can cause headaches, depression, nausea, mental confusion, liver effects, kidney effects, visual disturbances, and cancer in humans. It is suspected that Acesulfame K contains small amounts of methylene chloride as an impurity.
How to avoid Acesulfame-K?
One needs to read the ingredient label carefully and identify the additive as it will be listed as acesulfame potassium, acesulfame K, or Ace-K or ACK. It may also be found in diet sodas and chewing gums in combination with other sweeteners.
Sources:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/481968-is-acesulfame-potassium-a-harmful-sweetener/
http://www.nutritionexpress.com/article+index/vitamins+supplements+a-z/showarticle.aspx?id=120
http://www.naturalnews.com/041510_Acesulfame-K_methylene_chloride_carcinogen.html
