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Dr. Mercola
December 01 2007

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Will 'Cweet' Be the Next Big Sweetener?

Brazzein, a sweet protein from the berries of a West African plant named Pentadiplandra Brazzeana, may soon hit supermarket shelves as the newest “natural” alternative to sugar.

The product, which will be marketed globally as Cweet, is said to be 1,000 times sweeter than sugar with no undesirable aftertaste. Cweet is also touted as tasting similar to sugar, is heat stable and water soluble, and has zero calories.

Brazzein was originally developed as a sugar alternative by University of Wisconsin, Madison researchers in 1994. However it wasn’t until recently that a “production breakthrough” was achieved that will allow the product to reach the market.

Natur Research Ingredients, the Californian company that has exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute Cweet, is currently preparing to submit a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The company has already gathered interest from large food and beverage companies, and, pending approval, Cweet could reach the market in 12 to 18 months. It would rival popular artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose.

Sources:


Dr. Mercola''s Comments Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Cweet is just the latest in a slew of artificial sweetener brands hoping to cash in on people’s desire to eat sweets that are sugar-free and therefore “healthy.”

Readers of the newsletter, however, will not be swayed by all of this hype.

If you currently think that you’re making a healthy choice when you eat artificial sweeteners, please make it a priority to read my book Sweet Deception. You will discover that artificial sweeteners, including those that state they are “natural” and “safe,” are not natural, safe or in any way healthy.

In short, you need to be wary of anything created in a lab that claims to be “natural.” To me, a natural food is something that is grown from the earth that can be eaten practically as is. Natural foods require very minimal processing, if any, and certainly don’t need the help of a “production breakthrough” to be brought to market.

Of course, artificial sweeteners are a hot ticket right now -- demand for these products is expected to grow to over $1 billion by 2010, according to Freedonia Group, a market research organization.

Cweet has all the makings of another Splenda -- the artificial sweetener that claims to be “made from sugar so it tastes like sugar,” but which has drawn hundreds of testimonials from readers like you who feel they’ve suffered nasty side effects.

All of the artificial sweeteners on the market have been linked to toxicities. Consider that:
Now I am certainly no fan of sugar. But when it comes to sweeteners, regular sugar is safer than any artificial sweetener, hands down. If you are going to use sugar I am convinced that the safest and healthiest way to consume it would be to use a healthy raw organic honey like Pure Gold Raw Honey.

If you choose to sweeten your food, though, I recommend you do so in very limited amounts. Aside from raw, unprocessed honey, the South American herb stevia is also an acceptable choice.

I want to emphasize, however, that if you have insulin issues, I suggest that you avoid sweeteners altogether (including stevia and raw honey), as they all can decrease your sensitivity to insulin. So if you struggle with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or extra weight, then you have insulin sensitivity issues and would benefit from avoiding all sweeteners.

As for Cweet, well, it’s left a bad taste in my mouth before it’s even reached the market.


Related Links:

  The Not-so-Sweet Reality Behind Artificial Sweeteners

  Artificial Sweeteners Ruin Your Body's Ability to Count Calories

  Diet Sodas May Double Your Risk of Obesity




Comment on This Article
Comment on This Article Community Comments (52)
 
 
Posted On Nov 09, 2007
" a production breakthrough achieved by a scientist ." 
If that isn't the biggest indicator of what constitutes natural or artificial, then I don't know what is.  It doesn't take a scientist to figure out what is natural.

" Nevertheless, he said that Natur Research is confident enough in its production process to be able to state that the sweetener is 'natural' ." 
Basically, they are building their case to try and bluff there way through the FDA-GRAS approval process, which doesn't seem hard to do considering the other crap they have pushed through.

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Posted On Nov 10, 2007
Modified from the Willy Wonka soundtrack for Candy Man:

"Who can take nutrition
  Lie it's natural too
  Cover it in fake sweetness
  from chemistry too?

  The sweetener man
  The sweetener man can
  The sweetener man can cause he mixes greed with profit and 
  spreads disease too...
  
  Who can take health
  Wrap it in a sigh
  Hide it from the truth
  And make most ingestees die?

  Children: The Sweetener Man?

  The sweetener man
  The sweetener man can
  The sweetener man can cause he mixes greed with profit and
  spreads disease too...

   Branded industry doesn't make
   Everything they claim to bake
   Satisfying or delicious
   Talk about your sugar free chemical wishes
   The products each like semi-plastic dishes...

   Who can take tomorrow
   Dip it in a vile
   Increase the sorrow
   And destroy health for miles?

   The Sweetener Man 

   Children: The Sweetener Man Can

   The Sweetener Man can, cause he mixes greed with profit and
   spread disease too...
  
   The world is worse off because The Sweetener Man thinks it's good.
   


 


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Posted On Nov 09, 2007
Things that sound too good to be true, generally are. I can offer lots of clichés, such as "You can't have your cake and eat it" and "There's no free lunch."

In light of the current debate as to what constitutes "natural," I suppose we will have to sit back and see what develops with Cweet. Time will tell.

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Posted On Nov 09, 2007
Brother Occum: "Invariably the simplest answer tends to be the correct one."

Your instincts are absolutely correct on this one Islander!

Uncle Russ

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Posted On Dec 01, 2007

Your sweet tooth will kill you...

Are we going to eat to live, or live to eat?

As long as society operates under the assumption that "sweet treats" are part of living the "good life," we will continue to be a sickly race of creatures. Food is merely a means of acquiring the nutrition and vitality neccesary for living a productive, meaningful, and enjoyable existence. Taste buds serve the purpose of helping us to identify the food substances that our system is demanding in order to maintain a healthy status, but somehow we've been sold the idea that we should live as slaves to our tastebuds, and that fine dining and complex tasting concoctions are what the "good life" is all about. The corporate food industry has hijacked our sensibilities.

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Posted On Dec 01, 2007

Dr Mercola's comments on Stevia (following) do not appear to correspond with various research - which suggests Stevia IMPROVES insulin sensitivity :

''I want to emphasize, however, that if you have insulin issues, I suggest that you avoid sweeteners altogether (including stevia and raw honey), as they all can decrease your sensitivity to insulin.''

Dr Mercola

According to Wikipedia,

''Stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, even enhancing glucose tolerance;[4]

therefore, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to diabetics and others on carbohydrate-controlled diets.[5]

Other studies have shown stevia improves insulin sensitivity in rats[21] and may even promote additional insulin production,[22] helping to reverse diabetes and metabolic syndrome.[23

en.wikipedia.org/.../Stevia

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Posted On Nov 12, 2007
If you eat right for your met type, exercise,sleep, think positive etc. you'll be amazed you won't have the need for these sweetners...... if occasionally you still want to "treat" yourself then there will be room to indulge without guilt...and you won't have to loose sleep or pay extra monies for something that'll be a non issue.....

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