Artificial sweeteners...how bad are they?

I'm looking for stuff like acesulfame, aspartame, phenylalainine...

like what are the side effects of them and what do they do to you...
btw is it true they make you have short term memory?

They are pretty dangerous, and I'm not sure how they got through the FDA approval process!

Phenylalanine can affect brain chemistry. (aspartame includes phenylalanine)

They tend to increase your taste for sweet things; increase sugar cravings.

For diabetics who can't have sugar, they may be better than having sugar when you weigh up the pros and cons, however there are better alternatives.

Stevia is a natural alternative that is also a tonic for the pancreas, so helps reduce sugar cravings too.

Chromium, although not a sweetener, helps reduce sugar cravings.

Hope this helps.

Wait, what was the question again?

Oh, yeah, it's bad. I heard it causes cancer in lab animals. And if that wasn't enough to scare me off, my aunt was addicted to Diet Dr Pepper and she died of cancer last year.

Ok, artificial sweeteners are harmful in mass quantities. They do cause cancer in lab rats, but these lab rats are given massive amounts of the stuff in order to test the products effectively.
Now, some of the sweeteners (such as the ones in splenda) can cause intestinal problems (diarrhea..eew) and of course, these aren't NATURAL sugars, they are man made and our bodies aren't made for processing them. That is the reason why we have digestive problems with some of them. They can also be hard to metabolize for some people.
Go to this website. http://www.onhealth.com/artificial_sweet... It will tell you all you need to know about any one sweetener.

And keep in mind, there are a lot of studies out there that suggest many health effects. You have to pay very close attention to which ones are proven and which ones are still just theories.

Short term what? :)
While there is much debate as to the dangers of artificial sweeteners, they are clearly the "lesser evil" for many dietary conditions such as diabetes and hyperglycemia.

i read that if you consume them in normal amounts you are ok. if you read everything you see---it all gives you cancer. we use nutrasweet and sweet and low. no problems here. those poor lab rats go threw hell. and i hate rats.