How to pick the safest low-calorie sweetener, based on science

Artificial sweeteners are perhaps one of the most pervasive and controversial food products on the market. They can be found in everything from diet sodas to low-calorie baked goods and sports drinks.

There are currently six artificial sweeteners that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved for general use as sweeteners after studying them in high doses in lab rodents.

But there's still a lot we don't know about what these artificial sweeteners do to the human body and brain, and studies trying to show health benefits are inconclusive.

And not all artificial sweeteners are created equal. Here's the deal with each one, ranked by how sweet they are compared to traditional sugar.

Julia Calderone contributed to an earlier verison of this post.