Saccharin is a powdery, white chemical commonly used as a calorie-free substitute for sugar. Scientists don't know exactly why it tastes sweet to human beings. For roughly 20 years, researchers believed that saccharin consumption was a potential cause of bladder cancer. However, in 2000, saccharin was removed from government lists of potentially cancerous substances.
The Basics
A scientist named Constantine Fahlberg accidentally discovered saccharin in 1879 while performing unrelated chemical experiments. It first saw use in the early 1900s as a sugar substitute for diabetics, although truly widespread saccharin consumption began in the 1960s when diet sodas gained popularity. Saccharin comes in a basic form known simply as saccharin, as well as in two related forms called calcium saccharin and sodium saccharin. Commercial products can contain any of these forms of the chemical, which is roughly 300 times as sweet as an equivalent amount of table sugar, or sucrose.
Sweetness
Saccharin is classified as a non-nutritive sweetener, which means it does not add calories to your diet like sugar, honey or other natural sweeteners. While saccharin molecules fit the taste receptors for sweetness on the human tongue, scientists don't know precisely what in their chemical composition creates this effect, according to Charles Ophardt of Elmhurst College. When minor modifications are made to its structure, humans no longer perceive saccharin as sweet. In addition, butterflies and bees, which naturally seek out sweet substances, don't seek out or respond favorably to saccharin.
Cancer
In the 1970s, lab studies demonstrated a significant link between high levels of saccharin consumption and the development of urinary bladder cancer in rats. The link between saccharin and cancer was particularly strong in male rats. For this reason, saccharin was put on the U.S. National Toxicology Program's list of cancer-causing substances in 1981. However, subsequent testing showed that the pathway for saccharin-linked cancer in rats does not exist in human beings, and saccharin consumption therefore doesn't trigger bladder cancer in human populations. Because no other clear evidence of saccharin-related hazards has been discovered, the U.S. National Toxicology Program removed saccharin from its list of cancerous substances.
Considerations
More than 30 studies on human beings support the general safety of saccharin consumption, Elmhurst College reports. Overall, saccharin ranks as one of the most thoroughly studied substances in the human food chain. Foods commonly sweetened with saccharin include jams, table-top sweeteners, candies, commercial baked goods, salad dressings, chewing gums and dessert toppings. Because saccharin contains no calories, your body can't use it as a source of energy in the way it can use sucrose and other calorie-rich sweeteners.
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