Human Food Toxicant: Popcorn - Research Paper Example

 Human Food Toxicant: Popcorn Introduction “Several researchers claim that some children show dramatic improvements in attention deficit and hyperactivity behaviours after removing the artificial components from the diet”. The dangers associated with artificial foods are well known to the world at present. Natural foods have given way for artificial foods because of the rapidly changing life styles of the current generation. Natural foods were safe and nutritious whereas the artificial foods like fast foods are extremely dangerous for the health because of the toxic ingredients added to it in order to make it tastier. Organic foods are gaining grounds in many countries nowadays because of the increasing awareness of the people about the dangers associated with fast foods. Popcorn is one of the favourite foods in many countries because of the increased taste associated with it. At the same time popcorn contains increased content of saccharin which is believed to be a cause for spreading cancer like chronic diseases. This paper briefly analyses the food, popcorn and its ingredients harmful to the human health. Background Any substance that causes injury or illness or death of a living organism is called a toxicant (Toxicant). Toxicants are widely used in modern foods in order to make it tastier and also to preserve it for longer periods. Saccharin is one of the major content of popcorns. Saccharin is an artificial, or non-nutritive, sweetener which is 200 to 700 times sweeter than normal cane sugar. Instead of using a large quantity of sugar in sweetly food items, little bit of saccharin is enough to substitute the sugar. It is widely used as a sugar replacement for the diabetic patients. Saccharin is believed to be a dangerous ingredient which can cause even cancer. The FDA proposed Saccharin ban, but still it is used in United States even though it is banned in Canada. At the same time there are different opinions also about the toxicity of saccharin. Many researchers argued that Saccharin may not cause any harm to human even though it can cause harm to other animals because of the differences in physiology and metabolisms between human and other animals. Sources Saccharin is an aromatic compound according to its chemical characteristics. It belongs to the sugar family, glucose, sucrose, fructose etc. In chemistry it is known as benzoic sulfimide. Even though it is unstable when it is heated, it will not react with other chemicals. Saccharin in its acid form is insoluble whereas when it is used as a sodium salt it is soluble. The chemical formula of saccharin is C7H5NO3S. “Saccharin may be produced in various ways, starting from toluene, phthalic anhydride or phthalic acid and o-chlorotoluene” (SACCHARIN Explanation) Saccharin in its sodium salt form C7H4NNaO3S (Saccharin @ 3Dchem.com) Metabolism Orally administered saccharin appeared in the urine of man within a half hour of dosing and was completely eliminated unchanged in 16-18 hours, some 90% being excreted in the urine within 24 hours. Some degree of saccharin metabolism may occur in man, since oral doses of saccharin could not be recovered quantitatively as saccharin in the urine. Four men received 500 mg of 14C-saccharin and excreta was collected at intervals up to 96 hours post-dosing. More than 98% of the 14C was recovered within 48 hours (92.3% in urine, 5.8% in faeces). An additional 0.3% was excreted in the 48-72-hour collection interval. None of the detected saccharin was found to have been metabolized. Consequently, it was concluded that man, like other species, does not metabolize saccharin (SACCHARIN Explanation). Metabolism is the amount of energy (calories) our body burns to maintain itself. Whether we are eating, drinking, sleeping, cleaning etc... our body is constantly burning calories to keep us going (Balbach) Metabolism of saccharin in human body and the animal body found to be extremely different. While human body discharges most of the saccharin consumed, animals normally keep a larger portion of the saccharin in their body. Mechanisms It is suggested that the induction of bladder cancer in male rats by saccharin is related to the integrity of the urothelial permeability barrier and that, in the Sprague-Dawley rat, saccharin is unable to attain a sufficient concentration in the urothelium if the barrier remains intact. The effect of saccharin, once it enters the urothelium, may be mediated by its ability to inhibit certain enzymes or by other mechanisms. The importance of the permeability barrier concept is explored as a means of identifying a human subpopulation possibly at an increased risk of saccharin-induced bladder cancer (Clayson) Sweet substances like Saccharin can influence endogenous opioid release (Bowers et al). An Opioid is a chemical substance that has morphine like action in the body (What is an Opioid?). Relevance to Health Saccharin has been implicated in the development of photosensitive skin eruptions in humans and as a hypoglycaemic agent in animals. Low dietary concentrations of saccharin have been shown to alter the concentration of serum lipid components in rats fed chemically-defined diets (SACCHARIN Explanation). The controversy surrounding the health implications of saccharin is still going on, in many countries. Earlier, Americans also considered saccharin as a dangerous chemical for the human health. But later they have changed their opinion after further studies. But the Canadians are still prohibited saccharin use which shows that the toxicity of saccharin is still considered as a serious threat to the health. Calorie control council article “Saccharin” pointed out that saccharin is beneficial to persons with diabetes and the obese, and helps reduce dental cavities. According to European Economic Communities, "Report of the Scientific Committee for Food on Sweeteners, epidemiological studies have also not established any evidence that bladder cancer in man is associated with saccharin intake. Moreover, on December 21, 2000, then-President Clinton signed a bill that removes the warning label that had been required on saccharin-sweetened products in the U.S. since 1977 (Calorie control council) Even though FDA has released the ban on using saccharin in food products, the safety concerns saccharin remains even now. According to a report written in 1997 written by the Centre for the Science in Public Interest (CSPI) in response to the National Toxicology Program (NTP), it would be highly imprudent for the NTP to delist saccharin. Saccharin is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen," because there is "sufficient" evidence of carcinogenicity in animals and "limited" or "sufficient" evidence of carcinogenicity in humans (bladder cancer). Another claim made against saccharin is the possibility of allergic reactions. The reaction would be in response to it belonging to a class of compounds known as sulfonamides which can cause allergic reactions in individuals who cannot tolerate sulfa drugs. Reactions can include headaches, breathing difficulties, skin eruptions, and diarrhea. It's also believed that the saccharin found in some infant formulas and can cause irritability and muscle dysfunction. For these reasons, many people still believe that the use of saccharin should be limited in infants, children, and pregnant women (Medicine Net.com) Janoah White (2010) also expressed similar concerns about the usage of saccharin in his article “What Are the Dangers of Saccharin?” appeared in the eHow.com. He has mentioned that the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit organization, maintains its view that saccharin is still an additive that should be avoided, because it is questionable and has low nutritional value. There are also claims that saccharin may cause allergic reactions in some people, significantly those who cannot tolerate sulfa drugs. The symptoms they might experience include headaches, breathing difficulties, skin eruptions and diarrhea (White) At the same time, Jetwig (2009) has pointed out that saccharin is not hazardous to health and it has not been proven to cause cancer in humans, although large amounts of saccharin cause bladder tumors in male rats. Moreover he also mentioned that the formation of the tumours is due to a protein found in male rats that does not appear in humans (Jegtvig). Madisson (n.d) also expressed similar opinions like Jetwig. He has pointed out that the height of the saccharin panic came in 1977, after an experiment feeding large doses of saccharin to rats led to bladder cancer in the rats. He also mentioned that because of the differences in animal and human physiology, saccharin cannot cause any harm to human as far as bladder cancer is concerned (Madisson). From the above discussions, it is clear that nobody has absolute surety about the toxicity of saccharin. Some researches showed that saccharin may cause bladder cancer in human whereas some others argued that bladder cancer probability because of saccharin use is limited in human compared to animals. In any case, it is a fact that saccharin can create problems to the human health. As per the study mentioned above, even if the probability of occurrence of balder cancer is limited among human because of saccharin use, headaches, breathing difficulties, skin eruptions, and diarrhea can occur in human because of over usage of saccharin. “ Most of the researches about the dangers of saccharin use were focussed only on bladder cancer. Researchers failed to conduct adequate studies about other dangers associated with saccharin use. But the available data shows that saccharin usage is not good for human especially the infants and the pregnant women. Infants usually like the sweet taste of saccharin and most of the baby foods manufacturers add saccharin in their food products. Excessive usage of saccharin contained products can cause skin problems headaches, breathing difficulties and diarrhea. Infants normally have all the above diseases. So our attention will never focus on the baby foods and the ingredients in it. But it is a fact that most of the common infant diseases were the contributions of the baby foods and saccharin has an important role in that. FDA considered banning saccharin in 1977, but after a moratorium was placed on the ban to study the safety of saccharin, the ban was withdrawn in 1991” (Does Aspartame Cause Brain Damage). Although various studies since the proposed 1977 ban have led to varying interpretations of the risks posed by saccharin, FDA's basic position remains that the saccharin should not be used in food and beverages except as a table-top sweetener (Saccharin). FDA has at present lifted the ban on saccharin and they have removed the compulsory printing of health warning messages on saccharin contained food items. Even though saccharin is useful as a sweetener in diet sodas and other low-calorie beverages and foods such as baked goods, jams, chewing gum, canned fruit, candy, dessert toppings and salad dressings (Len), no countries are encouraging the usage of saccharin. Conclusions Saccharin is a controversial chemical which is used as a sweetener in foods like popcorn, diet sodas and other low-calorie beverages and foods such as baked goods, jams, chewing gum, canned fruit, candy, dessert toppings and salad dressings. Saccharin is a substitute for sugar and diabetic patients are widely using it. Toxicity of saccharin is proved beyond doubt in animals like rats, in creating bladder cancer, FDA has concluded that saccharin is safe for the human as far as bladder cancer is concerned. At the same time Canada like countries are still not encouraging the saccharin use. Even though the controversies with respect to the association of saccharin with bladder cancer is still going on, there are no such worries about the adverse effect of saccharin on infants and pregnant women. Many researches have proved that excessive usage of saccharin contained products can cause skin problems headaches, breathing difficulties and diarrhea. In short, it is better to avoid saccharin from our food and beverages because of the lack of absolute surety about the safety of it. Works Cited 1. Balbach, Lisa. “What is Metabolism and Why is it Important?”. 07 April 2010. 2. Bowers Robin L, Nicastle Lionel D,& Falb Donald C. “Saccharin Effects on Morphine-induced Temperature Change in Rats”. 07 April 2010. 3. Calorie Control Council. “Saccharin”. 07 April 2010. 4. Clayson, David B. “The Mode of Carcinogenic Action of Saccharin”. 07 April 2010. 5. Dr. Bennett, Shaywitz A. “INTRODUCTION TO CHEMICAL ADDITIVES IN FOOD”. Yale University School of Medicine, Neurobehavioral Toxicology, Vol. 1:41-47, 07 April 2010. 6. “Does Aspartame Cause Brain Damage”. 07 April 2010. 7. Jegtvig, Shereen. 2009. “Saccharin”. 07 April 2010. 8. Len. “Saccharin Artificial Sweetener”. 07 April 2010. 9. Madisson, Anne. “Problems with Saccharin Sweetener”. 07 April 2010. 10. MedicineNet.com. “Saccharin: What is the Negative Side?”. 07 April 2010. 11. “Saccharin”. 07 April 2010. 12. “Saccharin @ 3Dchem.com”. 07 April 2010. 13. “SACCHARIN Explanation”. 07 April 2010. 14. “Toxicant”. 07 April 2010. 15. “What is an Opioid?”. 07 April 2010. 16. White, Janoah. 2010. “What Are the Dangers of Saccharin? “.07 April 2010. Read More