Is Sodium Saccharin Sweeter Than Sugar? at Brooklyn Comedy Collective (BCC)

Let's meet one of the oldest sweeteners available in the market - Sodium Saccharin. It is an artificial sweetener that is used in foods and drinks to sweeten them. More importantly, it has been in use for more than 100 years. However, sodium saccharin was not that popular until the 60’s and 70’s. After this time, it has become a buzzword due to its use as a sugar replacement.

But…the question pops up immediately: “Is sodium saccharin sweeter than sugar?” Let's expand this guide to get information about it. Here we go but before that, it's important to see what exactly is sodium saccharin!

What is Sodium Saccharin?

Sodium Saccharin is popularly known as a non-nutritious food additive. You can call it artificial sweetener due to its sweet taste like sucrose and lack of calories and carbs content. However, saccharin's bitter aftertaste is a notable drawback for many individuals.

This is why it's commonly blended with other low- or zero-calorie sweeteners to balance out its flavor profile. This combination helps decrease the unpleasant taste of sodium saccharin. It is often paired with aspartame which is a popular low-calorie sweetener. This combination creates the sweetest taste that's used in many diet sodas and other sugar-free beverages.

The stability and long shelf life of saccharin make it a convenient and reliable choice for food manufacturers. Its ability to withstand prolonged storage without degrading or losing potency guarantees that products remain sweet and safe for consumption (even after years of storage).

Moreover, this substance is carefully prepared in a laboratory setting through a process of oxidization. In this process, either o-toluene sulfonamide or phthalic anhydride is used as the foundation. The end result is a pristine white powder with a crystalline structure.

Saccharin is used to sweeten a variety of low-calorie foods and products, including jams, jellies, candies, cookies, and toppings. It is also used as a sugar substitute in everyday applications, such as sprinkling on cereal or fruit or using it in coffee and baking. Not only that, it is also found in various cosmetic products like mouthwash and toothpaste.

Here, it's sweet taste and antibacterial properties are valuable. Additionally, saccharin is used in vitamins, medicines, and pharmaceuticals as a sweetening agent. In the European Union, saccharin is labeled as E954 on nutrition labels. This indicates its presence as an added sweetener in food and drink products. This labeling definitely helps buyers and consumers to make the best choices about their consumption of artificial sweeteners like Sodium Saccharin.

Is Sodium Saccharin Sweeter Than Sugar?

Absolutely Yes! Every expert, research, and genuine facts show that sodium saccharin is sweeter than sugar. It is said that sodium saccharin is 200 to 300 times sweeter than the normal sugar we use in our daily life or sucrose. Although both sugar and sodium saccharin provide a sweet taste to our tongues, sodium saccharin is way sweeter than sugar.

This shows that a very small amount of sodium saccharin would be more than enough to give the same level of sweetness and taste as the large amount of sugar does. Not only that, there are many other shocking facts about sodium saccharin. For example, sodium saccharin is sweet but it's sugar-free or calorie-free.

According to the scientific evidence, sodium saccharin goes out straight from your kidneys and does not dissolve into energy. On the flip side, one gram of sugar contains four calories of energy. You can think about how many calories you consume if you regularly use even 2 or 3 spoons of sugar. But, you get the desired sweet taste without getting sugar content stuck in your body in the case of sodium saccharin.

Here comes another question in mind about the alternative (sodium cyclamate) of sodium saccharin. Let's see below.

Is Sodium Saccharin Sweeter than Sodium Cyclamate?

If I talk about Sodium Cyclamate vs Sodium Saccharin, Sodium Saccharin is 200-300 times sweeter than sugar and Sodium Cyclamate is only 30 times sweeter than sugar. This comparison clearly explains that sodium saccharin is sweeter than sodium cyclamate. In simple words, this means that Sodium Saccharin is about 10 times sweeter than Sodium Cyclamate.

Moreover, the taste of sodium saccharin is slightly bitter or metallic type while sodium cyclamate has a fine sweeter and cleaner taste. Also, sodium saccharin is commonly used in diet sodas, while cyclamate is commonly used in sugars, gums, candies, and desserts. Plus, Saccharin is widely available in the US but cyclamate is banned in the US due to health concerns. However, it is still used in some countries.

How much sodium saccharin can you eat?

The FDA has established a safe intake level for saccharin. It allows up to 2.3 milligrams per pound (or 5 milligrams per kilogram) of body weight per day. This acceptable daily intake (ADI) guideline helps consumers to enjoy saccharin-sweetened products without exceeding a potentially harmful amount.

A person weighing 154 pounds (70 kgs) could safely consume up to 350 mg of saccharin per day (based on the FDA's guidelines). To put that in a more relatable context, that's equivalent to drinking approximately 3.7 cans of 12-ounce diet soda per day. Now, this is nearly 10 servings of saccharin. I think that is a significant amount of saccharin and it is still within the safe limits set by the FDA.

The bottom line!

So…we have found that sodium saccharin is sweeter than sugar and it's much safer than its competitor, sugar. Studies show that it is safe to consume saccharin sweetener and it is acceptable as an alternative to sugar. Moreover, it reduces weight and aids in healing cavities that sugar does not do. Furthermore, there are many other artificial sweeteners like Sodium Cyclamate and sucrose which are also the best alternatives to sugar.

I'm focusing more on sugar alternatives because sugar is bad for your overall health, especially for diabetes or insulin-resistant people. However, it's important to mention that excessive consumption of artificial sweeteners has negative health effects. So, take the amount of sugar alternatives, like Sodium Saccharin or Sodium Cyclamate, according to the FDA suggested one.

Have a sweet day!