The average American consumes a whopping 2-3 pounds of sugar per week! That is 104-156 lbs of sugar per year! In the last 20 years, sugar consumption 11-Day Diabetes Fix in the US increased from 26 lbs per year to an astonishing 135 lbs per per year per person!
Sugar is everywhere. It is being processed into breads, breakfast cereal, peanut butter, soft drinks, and into pretty much any food item you can buy on a typical American grocery store. The reason is simple - Sugar sells!
Sugar is very important to our survival. When ingested, our bodies turn sugar into glucose - our cell's main source of fuel to maintain brain and muscle functions. It is why many if not all of us have a sweet tooth! Sugar gives us energy and makes us feel good. Typically, our "comfort food" consist of something sweet. We are predisposed to seek it wherever we can find it because our bodies tells us so. Problem is, it is very rare in nature until recently.
Recent advancements in agriculture, transportation, and mass production and processing technology, has made sugar cheap and readily available for everyone. However, too much sugar can be detrimental to one's health. This presents a dilemma and this dilemma gave rise to a wide range of artificial sweeteners.
Saccharin
Saccharin was the first artificial sweetener. It was discovered in 1879 by Constantin Fahlberg while working on coal-tar derivatives. By World War I and II, it was in widespread use due to sugar being rationed. In the mid 70's, a study was released indicating saccharin might contribute to cancer in rats. The FDA tried to ban saccharin but failed. As a compromise, products containing saccharin was required to carry warning labels.
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Cyclamate
Cyclamate entered the market in the 1950's as an alternative to saccharin. Saccharin had a metallic aftertaste and cyclamate was marketed as a "more natural" taste. It became very popular until the late 60's after studies came out linking cyclamate to cancer. It was eventually banned from all food products and is still banned by the FDA today. It however remains legal to use in many other countries and can even be found in the Canadian version of Sweet n Low.