Thursday, December 4, 2008

Eco Update Number One

Going green is all about baby steps. Changing light bulbs, keeping your tires inflated, turning the heat down a degree or two, all that stuff. Oftentimes it feels like these things just plain don't matter, but every little bit helps! In fact, according to Carbonrally.com, merely keeping your tires properly inflated will save up to 29lbs of carbon in one month. How cool is that!



Therefore, in the interest of starting with small, maintainable changes here at the Inn, our first step was to replace our no-calorie sweetener. This change is great because not only will it positively affect human health, but it will also reduce the use of various industrial chemicals. You see, when things like Splenda and Equal are made, chemicals (of varying degrees of toxicity, and environmental impact) are utilized. By not purchasing the product that uses these chemicals, we're avoiding the use of them altogether. It's a win-win because we get to provide a delicious and more healthful alternative to you and we get to feel good about minimizing our ultimate environmental impact.


I've compiled a whole bunch of information on the various sweeteners available on the market. Hopefully this gives you an idea of why we decided to make the switch:



Saccarin – Sweet ‘n’ Low

-Definitely causes cancer in rats and mice.

-Has not conclusively been found to cause cancer in humans, but Center for Science in the Public Interest suggests erring on the side caution due to unknown risk level for fetuses and children.

-Also belongs to class of chemicals called sulfonamides which can cause allergic reactions in those allergic to sulfa drugs. The product is not mandated to carry an allergy warning on its label.


Aspartame – Nutra Sweet, Equal

-Definitively amplifies the effects of depression. One study was cut short due to the severity of Aspartame’s effects on depressed patients.

-Some people are susceptible to headaches as a result of aspartame consumption

-May be a mild carcinogen. Studies performed worldwide have found conflicting results, so no definitive answer is currently available.Center for Science in the Public Interest lists this as a food "to be avoided, not worth any risk"


Sucralose – Splenda

-Is the newest nonnutritive sweetener on the market, was only approved for common use in 1999. Therefore, no long-term human studies on its affect on humans have been done.

-“According to the book Sweet Deception, sucralose is made when sugar is treated with trityl chloride, acetic anhydride, hydrogen chlorine, thionyl chloride, and methanol in the presence of dimethylformamide, 4-methylmorpholine, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, acetic acid, benzyltriethlyammonium chloride, and sodium methoxide, making it unlike anything found in nature.” Uses and heath and environmental impacts of each of these chemicals can be found online, but some uses include: creation of nerve gases, creation of photo film, vinyl production, and automotive fuel. Trityl Chloride is listed as an environmentally hazardous material.

-Chlorine is present in sucralose. Ingestion of chlorine causes “corrosive tissue damage of the gastrointestinal tract.” It is thought that this may lead to various digestive cancers.


Acesulfame K – Food additive (common in chewing gum and candy)

-Contains methylene chloride (known human carcinogen)

-Long-term effect studies have not been conducted



On the other hand, here is some information on our new sweetener:



Erythritol – Z-Sweet

-60%-80% as sweet as table sugar

-Unlike other sugar alcohols (sorbitol, manitol, xylitol) erythritol is absorbed by the body, so it will not cause any of the gastrointestinal affects sugar alcohols are known for.

-Does not affect blood-sugar levels

-Produced by fermenting glucose with a specific strain of yeast.

-Erythritol cannot be digested by oral bacteria so it does not contribute to tooth decay.



I tried finding dangers, side effects, or long-term health concerns for Erythritol, but happily, nothing came up! This is why we’ve chosen to provide our guests with Z-sweet. It is naturally produced, has no side effects, tastes great, and is safe for diabetics, dieters, children, adults, and even those who just want to avoid tooth decay. If you've never tried Z-sweet before, I hope you'll give it a try the next time you're at the Inn. It's great in tea. I just finished my cup, in fact.



Safe Eating and Happy Greening Everyone!

~Brande N.



Primary sources:

http://www.medicinenet.com/artificial_sweeteners/article.htm (all pages)

http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm

http://www.health.state.ny.us/environmental/emergency/chemical_terrorism/chlorine_tech.htm

as well as various Google searches.

-When researching environmental topics I am always conscious to check my sources. I will never use a source that comes from the industry in question (i.e. using a statistic on the Exxon-Mobile website that talks about carbon emissions related to gasoline). If possible I try to use consumer advocacy groups such as the CSPI and EWG.

-I always ensure that I have several sources for anything that I post.

-I always start my research from an unbiased stance, then continue being first negatively biased and then positively. For example, when researching Saccharin I will search "Saccharin" first and take note of various statistics and studies. Then I will do a second and third search of "Saccharin hazards/side effects/dangers" and one of "Saccharin good/safe/conspiracy". This ensures that I am getting as much information as possible from each side. This also allows me to look for biases in research from both sides.

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