"Today's supermarkets and natural food stores feature a bewildering variety of sugars and alternative sweeteners. The deluge of conflicting information doesn't help. Consumers are left to wonder: which sweeteners perform well in baking? Will the kids notice if I sub in stevia? What's the best pick if I'm watching my waistline, blood sugar, or environmental impact? Are any of them really superfoods - or toxic? For foodies, bakers, carb counters, parents,...

"It's 1973, and David Leveraux is a young and ambitious flavor chemist working at a world-renowned flavor-production house. While testing a new artificial sweetener--Sweetness #9--he notices some unsettling side effects in the laboratory rats and monkeys: anxiety, obesity, mutism, and a general dissatisfaction with life. Years later, Sweetness #9 is America's most popular sweetener--and David's family is changing. His wife is gaining weight, his son...