Today a percentage of the population is addicted to sugar and over the years sugar has gained a bad reputation that if you consume too much of it, you will have a higher risk of developing a certain type of disease. Well, in an attempt to live a healthy life, people today resort to artificial sweeteners. With this notion, the question today is still whether artificial sweeteners are healthier than just consuming regular table sugar. This article will discuss the harmful effects of consuming artificial sweeteners and their effects on a person's body. First, we have hydroortho-sulfa benzoic acid, also known as saccharin. With a name like that, it's no wonder we call it saccharin or that little pink bag. The molecular formula for saccharin is C7H5NO3S. Saccharin was first discovered in 1878 by a chemist named Constantin Fahlberg. He discovered saccharin when he failed to wash his hands after dabbling with coal tar while working in the coal industry. Saccharin is three hundred times sweeter than regular sugar. Consumed in large quantities, it can leave a chemical aftertaste. Saccharin is known to be present in low-fat jams, sodas, baked goods as well as cough syrup. Saccharin is an artificial sweetener that is not metabolized in our body. There is only a small trace of hydrolytic products detected in our urine. Therefore, saccharin passes through our body unchanged and unmetabolized. Additionally, saccharin is known to potentially cause bladder cancer, but according to wpi.edu, "This study was disproven in the first place due to the unreasonably high doses of saccharin that the rats received." , and secondly because differences in the mechanism by which saccharin produces bladder cancer 55 in rats have been revealed. Sodi...... middle of paper ...... I now believe that consuming too many of these artificial sweeteners can cause real problems in our bodies.References:Liebman, B. (2010). SUGAR OVERLOAD Curbing America's sweet tooth. (Coverstory). Letter Nutrition Action Santé, 37(1), 1-8. Obias, L. (2007). WHAT’S THE LATEST NEWS ON SUGAR SUBSTITUTES? Vegetarian Times, (347), 21-25. Marr, I. (2012). ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS, FRIEND or ENEMY? Odyssey, 21(2), 13.Schardt, D. (2004). Sweet nothings. Nutrition Action Health Letter, 31(4), 8-11. Selim, J. (2005). Reach the Sweet Spot. Discover, 26(8), 18-19. Hull, J. (2005). the dangers of artificial sweeteners. Total Health, 27(1), 30-32. Lebedev, I., Park, J. and Yaylaian, R. (nd). Popular sweeteners and their effects on health. http://www.wpi.edu. Accessed April 7, 2014 from http://www.wpi.edu/books.org