p. 11 | SUBSTITUTES FOR SUGAR

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 27, 1902

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 35.

SUBSTITUTES FOR SUGAR.

All Are Coal-Tar Products, and Are Dangerous to Health.

In the course of an article on food adulteration, Dr. de Lavarenne, editor of La Presse Medicale refers to the manner in which the use of saccharin is being extended. It is one of the many bodies made out of coal-tar, and is, of course, not a sugar at all, altho many people are quite convinced it is. It is not only used to sweeten beer, but it is now also employed in the manufacture of syrups, jams, lemonades, wines (especially champagne), cider, brandy, pastry, and chocolate. Special substances of this nature are on the market for sweetening cider and brandy. Among these sucramine may be mentioned, which is said to be 700 times sweeter than cane-sugar. Other products of the same kind are sugar extract (made in Switzerland), cannabin, etc. All these names are misleading, for the substances are only sugars in name, being all coal-tar derivatives. They are not foods. Moreover, their long-continued use may gravely affect the digestive functions. According to Professor von Bunge, of Basle, saccharin reappears in the saliva after being absorbed, and in this way leads to a persistent sweet taste in the mouth, which interferes with the appetite. Dr. Plugge has shown that the addition of saccharin in artificial digestion experiments with various digestive ferments interfered with the breaking up of food substances. Dulcin, another sweetening body, which has been used as a substitute for saccharin, was given to a dog at the rate of one gram a day. The animal died in three weeks.