Working as a copywriter in an ad agency, my process is well defined – Meet the client, understand their business, understand the mindset of the end customer who will use their brand, and craft the brand’s personality. Create communication that best expresses its advantages and benefits, while keeping a check on the competitors advertising trends.

Making a living out of creative conceptualization and writing was like a dream come true. But spending creativity in crafting a contorted truth, while a significant part will be hidden in fine print, is giving me blows in the heart I ain’t able to bear.

I was allotted to work on a prestigious client project – a sugar substitute. Before I begin conceptualizing, I “breathe” the brand for a few days and research and read up till I feel like Britannica on the topic. Did just that for this client and came up with material that has me terrified.

Whether my refusal to write for this client is accepted or not is yet to be seen, but am totally hell bent on sharing this information!

The following read will be a bit tedious, but please stay with Crafty on this one!

The information is sourced from various medical, health and fitness websites. Some points are from conversations I had with my family doctor on the topic. I have merged all to highlight the essentials. This information does not target any particular brand of sugar substitutes, but is an attempt to educate on the product category broadly.

What are artificial sweetners?
They are sugar substitutes that allow you to enjoy sweetness in your beverages like tea / coffee and food, but minus all the bad calories of sugar. They are available in tablet and liquid forms. They can be based on any of the following ingredients – Aspartame, Saccharine, Acesulfame Potassium [Acesulfame-K], Neotame and Sucralose.

I will be talking of Apartame and Sucralose as these are the categories I have read up on.

Let’s begin with the FDA certification, shall we?
Based on current scientific evidence, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved aspartame as safe for kids and adults to consume. (The FDA has also approved four other artificial sweeteners: saccharine, acesulfame potassium [acesulfame-K], neotame, and sucralose)

Now for the hitch:
(thanks to tara, crafty takes a moment to fondly remember someone whose name is almost mentioned. tee hee…hugs)
The FDA recommends that kids and adults limit their aspartame consumption to less than 50 milligrams of aspartame per 2.2 pound (1 kilogram) of body weight per day.

Who’s counting? Are you? I simply can’t! How can I when I am not informed about how much aspartame is present in each serving? What’s more, who pauses to read the fine print when opening an ice cream tub or cookie packet?

Ill Effects of Aspartame:
Apparently, there are 92 health side effects associated with aspartame. It can trigger, mimic or cause illnesses ranging from allergies and problems in sensory organs to neurologic and psychological disorders. Anyone who has the rare hereditary disease phenylketonuria (PKU) is unable to break down the compound phenylalanine, which is in aspartame. Consumption of too much aspartame can result in brain damage and cognitive impairment for anyone with PKU.

Sucralose
While research results of several years and liaison of disorders with usage of aspartame came in public discussion, another sugar substitute biggie launched itself claiming to be natural. Their claim to fame was the absence of aspartame and they ate into the market share of the existing sugar substitutes. What did they contain? A natural derivative of sugar called “sucralose”. The FDA however doesn’t quantify or define the term “natural”.

So is sucralose good?
An interesting trivia narrates how sucralose was discovered while trying to create an insecticide. And industry researchers claim it has the bonds holding carbon and chlorine atoms together, which is a characteristic of most pesticides. It is rightly argued that anything containing chlorine need not always be toxic. So you can take a chance if you wish to.

How does sucralose not give you any calories?
Do remember, the tablets by themselves are not calorie free! It travels through your body unrecognized as food. No breaking of sucralose, hence no absorption of calories. But body is wired to clear unrecognizable substances by digesting it, and chances are that it will absorb the chlorinated molecules!

Ill Effects of Sucralose
Self-reported adverse reactions to sucralose collected by the Sucralose Toxicity Information Center include skin rashes/flushing, panic-like agitation, dizziness and numbness, diarrhea, swelling, muscle aches, headaches, intestinal cramping, bladder issues, and stomach pain. These show up at one end of the spectrum — in the people who have an allergy or sensitivity to the sucralose molecule.

Confirmed ill effects cannot be listed as there hasn’t been an independent study for more than six months on sucralose consumption on humans (on rats, yes, and side effects found too). FDA gave permission to test on rats as the way they synthesize sucralose is similar to the human body. But shrugged away the side effects saying that humans may not react the same way as rats! This lack of long-term research leaves us wondering about the effects of consumption for 1 year or 10 years. Only time will tell.

Also bringing to notice:
As food additives, artificial sweeteners are not subject to the same gauntlet of FDA safety trials as pharmaceuticals. Most of the testing is funded by the food industry, which has a vested interest in the outcome. The degree to which you experience side effects just depends on your individual biochemistry. Manufacturers are banking on the fact that our bodies won’t absorb very much of these compounds at any one time

People, I love you all way too much. Please give crafty an ear! If you take sugar substitutes, please stop! Me is worried sick!! Inform your friends and close ones too. No doctor will advocate it, but unfortunately they won’t stop you either. It’s an over-the-counter product.

Chewing Gums, Cakes, Cookies, Sweets, Diet Colas and drinks – please check the label before you drop them in your shopping cart!

Sugar Free food SHOULD NOT be given to Children!
Why? Because I am having a panic attack just thinking about it! Please be sure never to feed your kids any sugar-free goodies…be it ice creams, cookies, cakes, other baked products, chewing gum, anything. Not even a bite or a sip. If it mentions “Sugar Free” on the pack, please keep away from children. Ideally, you too can do without indulging.

If you need to control, just decrease your intake of natural sugar. It’s better to give up or decrease, do not resort to substitutes!

Effective and aggressive sales are defined as the ability to sell a fridge to an Eskimo. But what if I don’t want to? I do not want to create false needs in the minds of people. Worse, I do not want to bend my creativity towards cheating people. That seems to be the trend though and it leaves me feeling like an incompetent writer, because I cannot do justice to the project. I am churning out below average quality, thanks to the soul missing from my writing.

Plan for now is to work my ass off till I make my way to a position where I can choose my projects, choose my clients! Until then, you my darlinest readers, will get the lowdown on what not to buy and why!