I am surprised by the comments made by researchers when they say just don't eat sweet things, drink water. For most, that is not a viable option. The reality is most people will not give up their sweet drinks or foods. That being the case, it would seem to make the most sense to use artificial sweeteners in moderation. Study after study has shown no conclusive negative effects. If, however, you find, for example, that you get headaches when taking aspartame, then try something else, another artificial sweetener. It makes little sense that a trace amount of an artificial sweetener is as bad for you as sugar, especially after reviewing all of the data, minus the hysteria.
1
Most artificial sweeteners are better than sugar. We have a diabetes epidemic in this country, thanks to Big Sugar. Just ho down the cereal aisle and try to find any without sugar. We have found only a few: oatmeal, shredded wheat are good as nd high in fiber. That's two out of about one hundred on the shelves of our local market.
3
Artificial sweetners cause massive putrid darts in some people.
Does anyone remember how great Diet 7up with saccharine, was??
@JP in the 70's(!) as a teenager, I drank diet Fago. The chocolate soda was incredible. I believe that had saccharine.
I am 66 years old. My health is excellent even though I am overweight. I keep active, have medical check-ups twice a year. And I love to eat and enjoy cooking and baking. But EAT in moderation is the key. When I was growing up there were NO artificial ingredients. I love sweets and know too much sugar will be my demise. Eat less of what you love. I try not to choose foods with artificial ingredients. I kicked the diet coke habit years ago and drink iced tea with LESS real sugar. Artificial sweeteners are in so many of our foods and should be banned JUST BECAUSE they are artificial. Live life and stop eliminating what you enjoy. Eat real food in moderation.
1
This conclusion doesn't make any sense. If the doesn't hurt you and they have a small benefit, then why is the conclusion that you shouldn't eat them?
9
Sure, you can drink water instead of diet coke. But you can also drink water instead of fruit juice, which is full of sugar and lots of calories. You can eat tofu instead of meat, since it has less fat and calories. You can eat crackers or plain bread instead of cake, pie or other sweet deserts, which are full of sugar and loaded with calories.
4
The benefit of artificial sweeteners is that if you use them you are not eating sugar. Sugar has been proven to be unhealthy in many ways according to recent studies.
14
Sweeteners probably are addictive. But if you're a contemporary Euro-American, already hooked on a sugary diet, sweeteners are sort of like methadone--they help you scale back without going cold turkey, and therefore increase success in an area with dismal levels of success. I have found them invaluable in making otherwise unpalatable diet meals more attractive. Since they're not harmful, I say, whatever helps you get from overweight to a better place is good.
5
Sweeteners are addictive. All sweeteners. Studies show that artificial sweeteners and all sugars are associated with dopamine downregulation, which, like cocaine, keeps you hooked in order to feel the rewards. Eventually one needs increased dosage just to feel normal.
Apparently the studies cited in this report didn't examine neurological effects.
Joseph in Missoula
4
I have digested artificial sweeteners all my life. My mother used saccharine when I was a child, and would put it in the weak tea I was allowed to have. I continued to use it as I grew up and started drinking coffee. I switched to Sweet n Low and have used it most of my adult life. Having conducted my own long-term study lasting approximately 60 years, I can report no ill effects.
10
@Ms. Pea
Me too. I've been using Sweet n low (aka saccharine) in my beverages (tea, coffee) since the sugar shortage of 1974 when my mother came home from the grocery store with a box of Sweet n low powder instead of sugar and told us that we were using that from now on because sugar was too expensive. I am 57 and the only ill effects I've suffered was headaches from Nutrisweet, which I now avoid. However, Sweet n Low or the occasional Splenda allow me to have my 2 cups of sweet coffee without the extra calories all that sugar to get it as sweet as I like it.
3
Yay! Sweet N Low is OK to use..... Until I read next weeks article....
7
In a diabetes epidemic, sweeteners are less harmful than sugar.
12
Let's also not forget who pays for many of these 'studies'.
Yes, corporations staffed by our children, friends and neighbors who are hopefully not out to kill us.
2
From meaningless personal experience - as someone who has never made a habit of eating processed foods, sugar free foods or drinking diet soda, on the rare occasions when I have inadvertently ingested something with an artificial sweetener I have experienced an almost instantaneous headache, a taste bud revolt and mild digestive distress.
Just saying.
3
I have been working with artificial sweeteners for over 30 years. “Working” as in studying the chemistry, toxicology, intake, decomposition products, etc etc.
It is simply false that there are no scientific studies that were rigorously controlled. It is also simply true that there are a lot of junk studies out there -including ones that call out the dangers of artificial sweeteners.
As an example, one well-reported study showed that artificial sweeteners cause weight gain. The study was run on rats being fed yogurt. It turns out that the only two sweeteners studied were sucrose (table sugar) and saccharin. Now “sugar” sweetened yogurt today mostly uses high fructose syrup, not table sugar. That’s a problem.
But worse, the only artificial sweetener used was saccharin, which almost no yogurt uses. When I contacted the researcher she said that rats don’t like the taste of aspartame or sucralose, while they LOVE the taste of saccharin. Asked if they overconsume because of that love, she said uh, maybe. But her conclusion was that ALL artificial sweeteners result in weight gain.
You don’t need to be a scientist to realize this is baloney. But she got published and tons of publicity. And people who don’t click the links and check the study in detail only remember that they read somewhere that sweeteners make you gain weight.
Today’s reality - there are a lot of choices. Find what you like, preferably several (lowers consumption of each one) and get on with life.
29
@Cooofnj
It doesn't make sense than any artificial sweetener would lead to weight gain as they have no calories.
1
Recipe:
Fill a half gallon jug with Canada Dry diet ginger ale. Fill the rest of the jug with filtered water and stevia liquid drops to taste, from Wilner Chemists. Place in frig. Enjoy.
3
It is unfortunate that this article failed to mention the relationship, mediated by changes in the gut bacteria, of artificial sweeteners to dramatic increased risk of both weight gain and diabetes - https://www.drperlmutter.com/artificial-sweeteners-threaten-health/
6
Wow a study of mostly small scale dubious studies can't find harm and cannot find benefit. It may be fit to print but I think the only people to benefit from this study is the authors who get another paper to list on their CVs.
9
As a Type 1 diabetic with a major sweet tooth, artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose have worked wonders in helping make this horrible disease slightly more bearable.
20
@Esteban aspartame is carcinogenic though
2
@Martin
No it is not. Period. There is exactly zero evidence it causes cancer. Do not post false statements please
17
@Cooofnj 0 evidence? Of course we find...or don't find exactly what we want to support our opinion. Don't actually do the proper research to find the facts.
The artificial sweeteners (and the products that contain them directly) that I've tried have all done great harm to ... my taste buds.
I can't fathom how anyone likes the taste of Diet Coke.
4
@David
Come on, compared to 'Tab' (is that still around?) it's almost ambrosia; but your point is well made.
4
@David, Coke Zero tastes exactly like regular Coke, except NO calories. I cannot stand the taste of Diet Coke, but Coke Zero is wonderful, with one caveat. They have recently changed the formula for Coke Zero to match what they sell in europe. The “new” Coke Zero is slightly sweeter and less sharp than the original Coke Zero. Googling told me that the original formula is still used for caffeine-free Coke Zero, so now that’s what I drink.
Based on this article, you can have your Coke and diet too :)
7
@David, I don't like any diet sodas either but my mother used saccharine for years in her tea and coffee and lived to be 95. I use Sweet and Low (which is basically saccharine) in my tea and coffee. It tastes fine and dissolves better than sugar. I don't like other artificial sweeteners and actually carry Sweet and Low with me in case a restaurant doesn't have it.
4
Twice while pregnant the doctors advised "do not drink diet coke." If not advised while pregnant I certainly won't drink it at all.
5
@glorybe
You shouldn’t drink anything with aspartame because there is a rare but dangerous condition called phenylketonuria. Infants are tested at birth so you should be careful. That also means yogurt, chewing gum, etc not just Diet Coke. This is a problem with aspartame only (not other artificial sweeteners).
2
Reading the comments here (152 so far) it seems that most people think their own individual experience is the final word on artificial sweeteners (and probably everything else).
One of the great mistakes doctor's can make is to take the results of group studies (and they consist of a lot more than a single person) and insist that the studies' results apply without exception to every patient. Study results are a starting point that are usually a good place to begin treatment. From my own experience I know how much harm this can do to individual patients who don't conform to the studies' results if doctors refuse to accommodate treatment to the individual being treated.
Commenters here apparently feel that a study of a single person (namely them) is an adequate basis on which to determine what is best for everyone. I hope none of them are doctors.
10
@Ellis6 My dear fellow, in your rush to pontificate you contrdict yourself and your premis with the words:
"From my own experience I know how much harm this can do to individual patients .....".
Strange how you want to denigrate people's experiences while preaching the correctness of your own.
7
Xylitol. Half the calories. Natural. Prevents and even reverses cavities, plaque and gum disease. Just keep it away from your dog.
2
@JimLuckett, Natural, until humans get their hands on it and chemically change it into what you call a sweetener. You think using a multi-step chemical reaction that involves the use of sulfuric acid, calcium oxide, phosphoric acid and active charcoal, then bleached is natural?
1
I use saccharin (Sweet n Low) mostly because it has been on the market since the 19th century (yes, the 19th century) and nobody that i know of has died of it yet. I also use smaller amounts of Splenda and Equal when I find them in coffee shops, Splenda more because I gather there is some small amount of evidence that Equal is not good for you....I was raised in a sweet-loving home and I'm just not happy without sweeteners of some sort and sugar (whatever else one may say about it) rots the teeth..... You want my personal opinion, doctors and other people who disapprove of artificial sweeteners were raised in Puritanical homes where if you ate something you liked, you were expected to suffer for it by putting on weight -- and as to all these people who say the tests showing no adverse effects from artificial sweeteners are a plot hatched by the artificial sweetener companies, I say all the propaganda saying there's something wrong with artificial sweeteners must be financed in a very underhanded way by the sugar manufacturers...... they did a pretty good job of persuading a lot of people who should have known better that fat and not sugar was the more serious problem. This led to decades of studies concerning what was wrong with fat..now the I think the time is ripe for more research on just what is wrong with sugar.....
10
Finally, a large, solidly researched study that shows artificial sweeteners don't cause cancer, heart disease, et al. I know some people who believe they cause multiple sclerosis. These are the same people who overdo it with sugar, butter, and processed foods. It's not the artificial sweeteners that lead to disease in this country, it's our dietary habits and lack of exercise. It's easier to blame artificial sweeteners for our health problems than our own shortcomings.
11
The study does not show that artificial sweeteners do not cause cancer, etc. it just did not find conclusive evidence that they cause harm. This is clearly stated towards the end of the article.
4
The study is published in The BMJ. It is available HERE: https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.k4718/article-info
The authors are: Ingrid Toews; Szimonetta Lohner; Daniela Küllenberg de Gaudry; Harriet Sommer; Joerg J Meerpohl. I have omitted their various titles, but your can find them at the article listed above.
There is a hotlink in the story you can click on that will take you directly to the abstract. This is not some off the wall, creepy, corporate subterfuge to try to trick you. It is an admittedly abbreviated report on a British medical journal's abstract of cumulative study data suggesting that all the furor over artificial sweeteners amounts to a whole lot of, well, nothing.
18
@Elizabeth Sweet nothings?
7
Who funded these studies. I bet it’s mostly the companies that sell the artificial sweeteners. No mention of the effects on migraine headaches? No mention of metabolic syndrome? No thanks. I’ll stick with natural sugars at appropriate levels.
7
@wonder The paper states that the WHO funded the work and the authors have no conflicts.
17
WHO funded the study which used a compilation of other studies to draw a conclusion. I am asking who funded the individual studies - 35 “observational” and 21 “controlled”. Those were funded by corporate interests and likely were biased. I will stick to natural sugar. I don’t use sugar in my coffee and don’t need excessive candies or sweets. A little self control is not hard and is all that is needed -not artificial additives.
1
Even water is toxic at certain levels — it's called drowning.
10
@MCV207Excessive drinking of water leads to electrolyte imbalance which can lead to death. This has happened when the contestant who drank the most water would win a prize. If we assume 6 ounces is one dose, then the number of doses needed to kill is less than some drugs.
2
The non-sugar sweetener xylitol can be fatal to canines in small amounts. Not implying anything negative for human consumption, but reminding that one should consider all family members when when bringing foodstuffs/chemicals into the home.
7
@Charles Osborne
Among many other things, I hope you don't have chocolate in your household.
3
@Ellis6
Have heard many stories about dogs surviving unscathed (or with temporary digestive woes) from consuming chocolate bars, chocolate icing, a tray of brownies etc. Not suggesting that anyone should feed chocolate to any dog but it's not a death sentence as some believe.
Xylitol or the other hand can cause liver damage or failure in dogs.
Don't think it's worth it.
At the very least if you have contact with dogs, read the labels on your food, especially if sugar-free.
1
@RKPT, I have had dogs for years and also use sugarless cough drops and gum. I just don't leave them around so my dog can get into them. A neighbor's dog died after consuming sugar free gum, so I am well aware of the problem. My dogs have gotten into dark or semisweet chocolate and eaten large quantities of it. Thankfully they just threw up for a couple of days and ruined my carpet but it didn't harm them. There are other foods that can harm dogs, raw potatoes and raisins come to mind. That doesn't mean I won't have potatoes and raisins in my house. I just won't allow my dogs access to them.
2
Where are the studies on human gut flora and artificial sweeteners in the long term. We don’t know enough as yet as there are too many variables in the diet. Much like genetically modified foods the studies, to be properly done, need controls and long term. Dietary moderation seems the best course.
6
I am 68 and have used every major artificial sweetener on the market since I was 14, starting with saccharin. I am here and I am fairly healthy. I don't have anything going on that wasn't already predetermined by my parents (high blood pressure). I have never broken a bone or had surgery. I have my tonsils, gall bladder and appendix. My joints are fine, and I can walk for an hour or more before needing a little sit down.
My system doesn't do well with sugar. It can give me a headache if I have it in the morning, so I try not to consume any more than I have to.
If I had any qualms about a sweetener it would have been Equal, and I do avoid that particular one. I used it in my early 40s and believe it affected my ability to recall words. It seemed to wear off after I quit using it. That is my opinion and I'm sticking to it.
11
I agree with some of the other commenters. Why doesn’t the article doesn’t mention any study-related financial disclosures/conflicts of interest? That would be pretty pertinent here. How can anyone trust these findings without knowing these critical pieces of info?
5
@Jane It does. All the authors (from the World Health Organization) reported no conflicts of interest.
7
A meta-analysis with independent authors compiling multiple studies from investigators with financial conflicts would not be free of bias.
3
@T Waldron - The authors did not conduct the studies on which their meta-analyses were based. It is not the author's lack of conflict that is at issue.
Really? The authors' own conclusions include the ff: "Of the few studies identified for each outcome, most had few participants, were of short duration, and their methodological and reporting quality was limited; therefore, confidence in the reported results is limited."
Let's also not forget who pays for many of these 'studies'.
3
@B. Granat Could you please tell us who funded them? From your comment, it sounds like you have information regarding this......
2
I have interstitial cystitis - where the protective lining of the bladder is damaged or gone. As far as I know, the do not know what causes it. My guess is it is and autoimmune issue as I have a few of those and know of a couple of people in the same boat. I had to give up all artificial sweeteners as they aggravated my bladder horribly.
4
Irresponsible for the Times, I think, to publish this data without also publishing solid information on the possible conflicts of interest of the original researchers and of the compliers. If we are going to have enough transparency to make informed decisions we need to know whether potential conflicts of interest exist.
14
@pedestrian the links are provided if you are actually willing to do some homework.
4
Research by who? Is this a joke? Funded by Sweet & Low? There is no way these sweeteners are good for you, use common sense. Learn how to use food as medicine. And sodas are not a food category. People please think for yourself and get correct nutritional information from a naturopathic doctor, a nutritional therapist, take a class on nutrition at your local community college. Oh yeah all these steps mean we each have to take control of our health rather than just swallowing what these big corporations spoon feed the American consumer. And there's no big profits to be made in teaching people about nutrition, think about it.
7
@Helen Elder I just clicked on the link for the study and the funder of the study is called the World Heath Organization. It says the research was conducted independently from the funder and that the researchers are independent from the funder......hope this helps!
9
@Helen Elder, this study said they were neither good nor bad for you. I am a long time consumer of Sweet and Low, I am in excellent health. My mother used Sweet and Low for everything and lived to be 95. My sister used Sweet and Low but she also had a sweet tooth and ate a lot of desserts. She died of leukemia at 72. I doubt that our individual health had anything to do with our use of the artificial sweetener. My opinion, use or don't use but consider all of the other health hazards in your diet and environment too.
3
First off, it seems to me that people’s animosity toward NSSs has risen to the level of religion. They reject any evidence that does not support their claims and continuously repeat myths or unsupported claims. As the kids say, haters are gonna hate. Nothing we can do will convince them otherwise.
In another camp we have the holier than thou types who go on about how a quarter teaspoon of whatever is all they need once a week and they are size insert single digit clothing size and run three miles a day etc. they and their comments are full of self satisfied judgement for people who aren’t perfect like them. Also seems quasi-religious.
Anecdotes, of course but here goes:
Boyfriend drinks a liter of apple juice a day. I switch him to Diet Coke, he drops 30 pounds in 3 months and comes off his blood pressure pills. He, now my husband, and I always stick to non calorie beverages including diet sodas and teas. He is healthier now than before. My health is unchanged.
Also, so many people tell tales of NSSs “causing blood sugar spikes” without evidence. But when, during a pregnancy induced desperate craving for a sweet drink, I drank a regular ginger ale, my blood sugar swung to the 180s, but when I drank Diet Coke, it didn’t budge. So, there’s my N=1 study.
No one is perfect. Leave each other alone with our vices. I’m going to go get a Diet Coke now.
44
@Caitlin
Thank you, thank you, thank you! It grates on my last nerve how many dietary "experts" proselytize for their own particular obsessoin. If anything should tell us what is going on, it is the constant changes of opinion and recommendations in the world of nutrition, including outright reversals.
If people want to believe that diet sweeteners are dangerous for their health, they don't need to ingest them. But for many others of us they are a useful substitution for sugars and syrups that have been proven to do us harm. I say, live and let live, and let each of us choose what we want to eat.
12
Such findings are not new. Similar studies with these results have been published for at least 20 years. I encourage people to please trust scientific findings. While we all may believe differently due to what we have seen, it is important to realize that we have limited exposure. The studies likely cover thousands if not hundreds of thousands individuals where we may see perhaps a hundred. Making conclusions on fewer people is known as recency bias, which is somethings scientists are trained to ignore due to its skewing of data.
9
I sometimes eat desserts made with artificial sweeteners. I will continue to do so and not worry. I do realize that no sugar is not the same as no calories, no carbohydrates and certainly not fat free. It sure tastes good in small quantities.
9
There should be a longer term study of diet sugar on addiction.
If you’ve ever been to Utah or know someone who drinks Diet Coke regularly, it is a Visible addiction. Compulsive buying and drinking diet drinks is not healthy. Even if you don’t see a reaction on kidneys, etc.
I’ve never seen so much Diet Coke consumed as I have in Utah. There’s something weird going on.
6
@Eve it’s a way to have caffeine without drinking coffee I would guess
6
@Eve Ha good observation and to offer one explanation: diet Cokes and regular Coke are allowable sources of caffeine whereas coffee and other "hot drinks" are not allowed in LDS culture.
4
@Eve, Maybe Utahans drink it for the caffeine. Observed any crazies there like in the WH? (Reportedly 12 cans per day.)
3
This is not quite accurate. Dr Mahmoud Ghannoum of Case Western Reserve University studied artificial sweeteners and found that sweeteners had a negative impact on our microbiome, promoting bad bacteria and intestinal inflammation. I encourage anyone with digestive health questions to do a quick google search and read the study
8
@AG
I actually do not recommend this. Google offers non peer reviewed and non objective personal accounts of the substances. In science, that is evidence that would never get published. As for this single scientist making these claims, people do find different results, but the given literature here is stronger evidence (more people, reflects on multiple large studies). If we feel a particular way about something, we tend to find others who agree with it, regardless of if what they say is the best evidence. It’s a human thing. It is a form of bias in scientific studies. I hope you understand what I am getting at here.
11
I’m living proof that artificial sweeteners do no harm. I’ve been an insulin-dependent diabetic for forty years and I’ve been consuming Sweet N Low for that stretch in my coffee, as well as other artificial sweeteners in other drinks. I’m as healthy as a non-diabetic.
23
@AlNewman
Thirteen people (so far) have recommended this comment, but no anecdotal experience of one person is ever "proof" of anything beyond the effect on that person.
I know of a person who overdosed on narcotics and lived. I guess that means that anyone who overdoses on narcotics will live.
2
Is this article (and the underlying studies) saying that ALL NSSs are the same -- that the conclusions apply to all of them?
I look for foods that use Stevia or Monk Fruit and not sugar, or I add these to drinks and food as needed. Apart from taste, does it make a difference that I don't use saccharin or aspartame?
1
@Michael Jonas
It doesn't sound to me like the study made any attempt to rank the different sweeteners or even compare them. What the study seems to say is simply that in the studies reviewed there was no conclusive evidence that any of the sweeteners did any significant harm.
2
It irks me no end when people say drink water instead of soda or diet soda. I say drink water instead of beer or scotch and then we’ll talk.
31
@James
I drink water in stead of soda, diet soda, scotch, beer or anything else except fresh orange juice from our trees. I am 81 and take no meds, just did 8 dives in indonesia, and walk a few miles every day. The argument should not be over whether to drink diet or sugar based beverages, but why drink that junk at all.
7
@david g sutliff Drinking water may be indicative of a healthy lifestyle that has given you an energetic old age. Then again it could just be genes - or luck.
4
@david g sutliff - I'm guessing you have a greenhouse if you have an orange tree in St. Joe! You are obviously doing something right - hallelujah. Good on ya' and I hope you continue to enjoy great health and an active life.
1
My sister drinks a six pack a day of Diet Coke. Her hair has thinned dramatically and she struggles hard with weight. She is on weight watchers and told me that they count Diet Coke the same as water. As a result she doesn’t drink much water.
Anecdotally it seems addictive and when I meet people that drink it they don’t look healthy.
4
@Jo De
I suspect your sister's health issue go a lot further than artificial sweeteners. Anyone who drinks a six pack of any kind of soda probably has a lousy diet in many other ways as well. Perhaps she (with your help) should look at her whole diet.
12
@Isabel Her 'addiction' to diet soda is probably due to the caffeine in it.
1
My husband and adult son (both diabetics) go through 4 cases of diet soda weekly. My husband additionally drinks 3-6 cups of coffee or tea daily sweetened with whatever articial sweetener is around. I am also a diabetic. I drink mostly water with an occasional few ounces of unsweetened ice tea that contains some sort of artificial sweetener. I drink 2 cups of coffee daily with a coffee lightener which is not the best either. Since I have stopped drinking soda and severely limited my intake of artificial sweeteners, my stomach feels so much better. Granted, this is no scientifically controlled experiment but feeling better has a value and so does my pocket book since I don't buy that junk any more. Can't convince my husband or son to follow a mostly water diet when thirsty. Oh well.
5
From the actual study (which included a whopping 35 people in actual scientific studies)
"Conclusions: Most health outcomes did not seem to have differences between the NSS exposed and unexposed groups. Of the few studies identified for each outcome, most had few participants, were of short duration, and their methodological and reporting quality was limited; therefore, confidence in the reported results is limited. Future studies should assess the effects of NSSs with an appropriate intervention duration. Detailed descriptions of interventions, comparators, and outcomes should be included in all reports."
I don't know about you, but I'm convinced!
3
I've consumed Aspartame sweeteners since their introduction in the early 1980's. That's near half a century ago. No one can tell me that the trucklode(s?) of sugar I would have consumed in flavoring my coffee, iced tea, and soda could possibly have left me with the same impact on me. Probably millions of calories not consumed.
And anyone who says these products simply perpetuate cravings for sweet foods drives me crazy. I drink coffee, tea, and soda because they taste good when sweet. Nothing in recent human history has arisen to replace coffee tea and soda - not a thing. And many new sparkling flavored waters are simply horrifying in taste.
13
For years we have been hearing self appointed experts claim all manner of negative health effects from drinking diet sodas sweetened with aspartame. As someone who has consumed diet drinks with aspartame daily since the 1980’s, I always tell them I would be very dead already if all the hype and nonsense spread about it were true.
At the time it was introduced under the names NutraSweet and Equal, this sweetener was reported to have been the most thoroughly tested food additive brought to market in the US. These studies apparently ratify the testing, yet I have no doubt that the self appointed “experts” on food and diet will continue to trash aspartame.
14
First time I had a diet soda drink with aspartame, I had difficulty breathing. Not sure how many people have this problem but yes, I trash aspartame and avoid it like the plague. Keep an eye on your own body. It’s a better way to know what’s good for you.
3
@David Gregory chief among them was a cabal of screwballs headed by "Dr." Betty Martini of Citizens Petition for the Recall of Aspartame.
The Aspartame fuss was used in Canadian high schools to demonstrate critical thinking, or rather the lack thereof.
1
From artificial sweeteners to soaps and shampoos...tanning lotions and beauty and health products such as toothpastes...clothing dyes ….bug repellant ...etc..when you take a moment to read the labeling...you wonder who came up with this stuff and how did they name these ingredients? Everyday these products containing ingredients we can't pronounce are flushed down our drains going where?? Not a good situation!! Even the sea coral is struggling against it !! We have been conditioned to accept that someone someplace who is looking out for our wellbeing ..has tested these chemicals and found them to be harmless to us! Who are these people and why do we trust them so much? We don't even know who the people are who come up with the product labeling that some of us read! What are there qualifications?
8
Just wait until you hear about all of the Dihydrogen Monoxide being flushed down the toilet on a daily basis.
8
These statements from the linked study stood out for me:
"Of the few studies identified for each outcome, most had few participants, were of short duration, and their methodological and reporting quality was limited; therefore, confidence in the reported results is limited. "
"Potential harms from the consumption of non-sugar sweeteners could not be excluded"
I think the headline and sub-headline of this article are misleading.
24
@Margareta Braveheart
Here is what the American Cancer Society has to say about aspartame which is probably the most widely used artificial sweetener.
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/aspartame.html
2
@David Gregory - I think that sucralose is actually more widely used than aspartame now. Aspartame is made by joining together the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine, but sucralose is much simpler. It is a sucrose molecule that has been chlorinated, which means the body can no longer break it down as a sugar. Given the comparative chemistry of the two, I have switched to sucralose (used in Splenda and other sweetners) when I choose to use a NSS.
2
The only time I use it is in the summer when I have iced coffees, because it absorbs much better than real sugar which just sinks to the bottom without sweetening your drink till the last few sips. Never did me harm as far as I can tell.
5
@Vhf. How old are you? The effects can take years to show up in a health problem? How would you know if you would feel better or have better lab results? Keep up that iced coffees!
As someone who almost forwarded this article to all those who have heard me in the past trumpeting the safety and utility of artificial sweeteners, I'd urge further consideration. This study seems a long walk for a short drink: data on long term safety and efficacy are still lacking (let alone the fact that each NSS is likely different in these regards). Much less a declaration of artificial sweetener's impact, this study is more an admission of their unknown nature.
3
Artificial sweeteners DO have a negative effect: they perpetuate cravings for sweet foods. It's easy to get into the habit of "requiring" a sweetened drink during a meal, or "needing" dessert. These are breakable habits. I can't imagine, for example, going back to drinking sweetened ice tea, or Coke, which I (reluctantly) gave up a few years ago. These are learned habits; the reason children demand sweetened breakfast "food" is that we teach them to.
What's interesting is how, in response to public perceptions about artificial sweeteners, the food companies are trying to win us back by crowing about "pure cane sugar!" on their labels.
There is a similar parallel in the vaping industry: vaping was supposed to be "better" or "healthier" than actual tobacco. Now we're seeing that it's not. It would be ironic if, in ten years' time, the cigarette companies use the controversy to win back consumers by trumpeting "Now 100% real tobacco!" on their labels.
Forget what's in it: the important thing is to break the cravings.
18
@Scott Cole Would you like to provide evidence for any of that?
2
@Scott Cole supporting studies, please.
1
Disappointing reporting. The study says, "Of the few studies identified for each outcome, most had few participants, were of short duration, and their methodological and reporting quality was limited; therefore, confidence in the reported results is limited."
Basically, the studies are of weak quality and "confidence in the evidence is limited." They lacked substantial subject numbers and long term follow up. Why mislead us?
Also, it is interesting to note you do not include pain in your list of health outcomes. I know people with pain conditions who cut out artificially sweetened drinks and had a reduction in pain. I would stay away from artificial sweeteners.
6
I grew up in the 70's when the food science revolution really took off. At that time, we were all told that science would help feed the starving masses in the world and that genetic modification, artificial flavors and ingredients would make our lives better. I'm glad that I never bought into these ideas. Many of the things offered to people today aren't really food. They're "formulations." Anyone paying attention knows the difference. I believe Michael Pollan's meme: "Eat food, not too much, mainly plants" is one of the wisest strategies when making choices about what we consume. "Artificial sweeteners" are definitely not "food" in my book. Let me also say this: Eat what you want. I'm not here to tell you what to do. I would humbly suggest, though, that there's really no reason to eat manufactured products. There are so many "sweet" things in nature that are far more healthful and delicious than the ridiculous chemical cocktails that food manufacturers create.
5
I've noticed many commenters have negative response to the comment "drink water instead." Seems a bit thin-skinned. If it's not fattening, diet soda still contains caramel coloring (which I read a few years ago may be linked to metabolic syndrome) and two or three different kinds of acid (carbonic, phosphoric and sometimes citric) that corrode your teeth.
I will have an occasional diet soda and never the sugary variety, but please, water is better for you. Don't know why people take a true opinion -- good but not mandatory advice -- as personally offensive.
16
@Katie Water is USUALLY better for you; that's true. Here, we have to worry about things like radon, arsenic, selenium, uranium, heavy metals, etc., not to mention e. coli and other bacterial contaminants in the water -- and that's the TAP water! I absolutely DETEST the bottled water fad -- plastic, plastic everywhere, and people want more of it?! Get a filter; be responsible.
4
"You can always have water".
Tell that to the people in Flint, Michigan.
77
Moderation is the key. I personally don’t use artificial sweeteners as I don’t want chemicals in my body that MAY have adverse effects in years to come. However, since many people dine out frequently, they don’t know what is in their food. Diabetics must use artificial sweeteners, so for them it is a wonderful invention. With one life to live and one body to nourish, be mindful and choose wisely.
8
So, suddenly saccharine doesn’t cause cancer? Regular cane sugar is fine in moderation for most people but the only 100 percent safe sugar is none at all not this fake stuff.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1
637197/
3
@M
Still dangerous if you're a rat and are fed amounts that are equivalent to 10% of your body weight daily.
For us human people the silly recommendation was lifted in 1999
6
@SteveRR I don’t find anything that causes cancer silly.
@M Hope you don't eat mushrooms.
I used to buy skinny and sweet for the office until one day I accidentally poisoned my boss almost to death when I mistook rat poison for skinny and sweet and because the boxes were nearly identical. After that, I never bought artificial sweetener again.
14
I did that once in a 9-5 job I had way back in the 1970s. I hope you didn't need the hint. @ken
3
@ken, why not just stop buying rat poison, or at least stop storing it in the same place as your sweetener!
1
Moderation in everything is best. Diet and exercise included.
I enjoy drinking diet soda. It's very nice.
14
I must have really sensitive tastebuds. They all taste awful to me, and I avoid them because of digestive issues.
@Nick Forget about moderation.
Drink fully and deeply from the cup of life.
While you still can...
This study does not cover impact on gut bacteria.
Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota, according to the biologists specializing in gut microbiota.
Glucose tolerance is a pre-diabetic state of hyperglycemia that is associated with insulin resistance and increased risk of cardiovascular pathology.
"Artificial sweeteners were extensively introduced into our diets with the intention of reducing caloric intake and normalizing blood glucose levels without compromising the human ‘sweet tooth’. Together with other major shifts that occurred in human nutrition, this increase in NAS (Non-caloric artificial sweeteners) consumption coincides with the dramatic increase in the obesity and diabetes epidemics. Our findings suggest that NAS may have directly contributed to enhancing the exact epidemic that they themselves were intended to fight."
https://www.diabetes.org.br/publico/images/pdf/artificial-sweeteners-induce-glucose-intolerance-by-altering-the-gut-microbiota.pdf
7
@Wind Surfer
This study shows that gut microbiota are affected by artificial sweeteners in 10-week old MICE fed a diet of 60% fat.
There is a real danger in taking a study like this as reflective of anything other than interesting with respect to lab mice fed high fat diets. Extrapolating to humans would be grossly irresponsible.
1
@Elizabeth
As per the research you think "dangerous" is cited by 824 research articles that also include impact on human gut microbiota.
The frequent derogatory references to 'chemicals' and 'artificial' vs 'natural' in the comments are amusing.
Everything in the world, including your body and everything you put into it, is made up of chemicals. Everything you eat is, in some sense, artificial and processed, and even genetically modified (yes, that includes your so-called Paleo diet). In addition to which, there's no shortage of 'natural' vegetable and animal products which, if ingested, will likely harm or kill you. And any substance, even water, can be made to sound really scary by describing it in terms of its component chemicals with polysyllabic scientific names.
As a (fat) child and teen, I drank regular Coke. Some 40 years ago I gave that up for Diet Coke, and I've drunk so much of that that if I were a lab rat I'd be long dead. But it did help me -- with a sensible vegetarian diet, and moderate regular exercise -- drop that weight and keep it off. So I'll keep my Diet Coke, thank you very much. And I won't live forever, but neither will you.
46
@ACW I've always been slender and a size 6. On the advice of my dentist (not doctor) I long ago gave up a heavy sugar-soda habit and switched to a diet-soda habit (3-4 cans a day). I sip the stuff slowly all day long in place of snacking. I have low blood pressure, low A1c, and am still a size 6 in my 60's after 2 kids.
I knew what this study was going to find before I read it. People just *hate* artificial sweeteners (and they hate soda, thus giving diet soda the double whammy in many people's eyes) and they love to tell me how unhealthy my diet soda habit is -- with zero evidence to back it up. I will guarantee you that with post-menopausal reduction in metabolism I would have put on 15 pounds without it. It's cold, it's tasty, it's sparkling and it gives me pleasure throughout the day. What's not to like?
43
@JerseyGirl - I don't drink soda often, but I would love to know which diet soda you drink- when I drink Diet Coke, I am starving within an hour. But caffeine free diet Pepsi from a local fast food place doesn't raise my appetite at all. I'd love another option!
As for the general discussion about sweeteners, I mix up a little sweet and low and equal-figuring if one ends up being bad, then I will only have had half the amount!
2
@ACW I literally was just pondering the exact same thing a few minutes before I read your comments---well said!!!!
1
I had been told that my "pink packets" were going to increase my blood pressure. Good to hear that a few PPs a day won't be a health factor.
2
Look up 'aspartame and serotonin'. Aspartame can inhibit serotonin synthesis and release. That is just plain bad. The best sweetener to use is none. If you must, use a little cane sugar.
8
@ThePB
Aspartame has been found to be safe for human consumption by the regulatory agencies of more than ninety countries worldwide, with FDA officials describing aspartame as “one of the most thoroughly tested and studied food additives the agency has ever approved” and its safety as “clear cut.”
There is absolutely no 'real' evidence that it is dangerous - period
But if you have secret lab results then you should publish in a peer-reviewed journal.
15
@ThePB Which is why I get screaming migraines whenever I ingest Nutrasweet or any product that contains aspartame. I must take a SSRI daily to prevent the headaches, as well as be eternally vigilant and read product ingredients religiously.
The stuff is everywhere.
I have not been able to drink a diet soda since 1984. Honestly, don't miss it at all.
2
@Susan
Me too. Immediate migraines w aspartame.
1
You can see why people don't trust science. Here the lead author of a study that finds no harm in artificial sweeteners still believes you shouldn't eat them.
Dr. Meerphol needs to go read his own study.
3
All artificial sweeteners INCREASE insulin levels and make us FAT even though they have zero calories. They are useless for weight loss which is the reason most of us use them. Ever notice the number of obese folks who use them?
8
You realize that correlation does not mean causation, right? I would assume that a 'fat" person who wants to be thinner might decide that it would be good for them to use artificial sweeteners whereas a slender person might eschew them. And that would tell you absolutely nothing about the relationship of artificial sweeteners to weight loss.
You would have to do a controlled study, or at the very least a good observational study, to make any of the claims you are making.
11
@JerseyGirl :Studies have been done: It increases insulin level and makes one fat. One could do just as well from a weight loss point of view to use sugar. Take a look at MD Fung's book THE OBESITY CODE. That will explain it.
6
@sam g
Things with zero calories can't make us fat - that is basic thermodynamics - it works everywhere in the universe.
7
I really like a.s. Wish they were offered in more stuff, like canned fruit, sauces, dressings, jellies, PB, juices, etc. For now, I mostly have them in dairy products, like protein drinks, and suckers.
It's a great invention. Wonder if chemists are working on creating a faux salt for food?
2
Dental decay vs. sugar?
4
I myself much prefer high fructose corn syrup. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I've even been known to drink it straight, though for a straight shot I usually prefer maple syrup, which is more natural. PS, I'm 87, healthy, do Yoga 4 days a week, and feel great!
4
Well, I figure it's better than real sugar. Nobody's going to know for sure for 20-30 years. And that's about my shelf life...
8
I disagree. Some sugar in moderation isn't as bad as a lot of other dietary habits. We go from one dietary fad to another........
Isn't the concern about artificial sweetners in re to their effect on the biology of one's gut? Did any of these studies focus on that specific question?
4
Please tell me if this is really true. I want to email the article to my Mother, who just about passes out if I’m holding a packet of the stuff. So far, my blood test results are better than anyone in my family, and I’m the only one who uses artificial sweeteners. I’d like to say “so there!”
14
I am a Type 1 diabetic and I KNOW using real sweeteners will harm me much more quickly than artificial sweeteners. I drink some diet pop, preferring water, and use splenda in my coffee. I'm not changing a thing.
34
While artificial sweeteners are likely safe to use, they allow the cheaper and more efficient production of highly processed foods that are unhealthy. Sweeteners such as sucralose or aspartame are 600-fold sweeter than sugar. The food industry is using them not to replace sugar, but to make products sweeter than sugar. Candy products often contain sugar and artifical sweeteners. Kids prefer highly sweetened products and will always choose the sweetest. It is almost an arms race between food companies to make products sweeter by adding artifical sweeteners, creating more sweet addicted kids.
Even the new tobacco products contain artificial sweeteners now, including snus, moist snuff, little cigars and e-cigarettes. Artificial sweeteners are added to make users come back and get addicted faster.
7
A while ago, Oldest child introduced me to flavored water. I liked the taste, so I began drinking it. It was less sweet than full corn syrup Cola and had no calories, just a little Aspartame, but less than soda.
Within two weeks, I was having HORRIFYING mood swings. Thinking, "Why is this happening?" I considered the only change ing my diet... and yep, it was the flavored water. I looked up Aspartame. Mood swings in some people. Hmmm. Well, let's try not drinking it?
No more mood swings.
The studies can stick it where the sun don't shine. What does it matter if only SOME people have the problem with mood swings from Aspartame, but not ALL people. If it bothers YOU, don't use it. Not everyone has the same body chemistry. Everyone doesn't. science insists that everyone MUST have the same chemistry, when patently, everyone DOESN'T.
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@Dejah Aspartame can also cause MSG-like symptoms that include headache as well as mood swings. No, not in everyone -- but the diagnostic time and expense for headache, mood swings, etc., can be considerable, so it would be good if the public and physicians realized that these intolerances are unusual but not rare, and can be alleviated by avoiding the triggers. I myself have no sensitivity and enjoy an occasional diet drink, but I usually go for water with a small amount of orange juice for flavoring. Less expense, fewer containers to recycle.
1
@Dejah
Same deal. It was a diet cola summer phase and I became an unrecognizable me. Once I figured it out, I never drank or ate anything with artificial sweetener again. Never happened again. That was 30 years ago.
I tried using Truvia at one time. I started to have joint pain. It stopped when I stopped using it. Splenda is also bad. I have read about it mimicking MS symptoms in people who use a lot of it. Chlorinated sugar is just bad. I do use Sweet and Low. It has been around forever. The cancer warnings were removed years ago. But just 1 or 2 small amounts a day.
The artificial sweeteners may not kill you, but they may make you feel awful if you over do it.
8
@Janice Badger Nelson
Yup, sweet and low.
Is the way to go.
3
@Janice Badger Nelson
Sweet and Low or saccharin is the oldest but maybe safest. It’s a stable molecule that isn’t metabolically active. It’s potent so very little is required.
Massive doses can give rats bladder cancer due to conditions specific to the bladders of rats.
Wikipedia has a good article on it.
2
Processed Sugars and corn syrups have always been more dangerous to ones health than any artificial sweetener. Artificial sweeteners have been around since I was a kid. I have been on them since about 16, as my brother was a diabetic. I am now 63 with my weight within 5 lbs of when I graduated from high school. I am very healthy with no issues to date other than a hernia. There are millions of people on artificial sweeteners for years now with no corresponding rise in any health issues. It’s time to lay to rest that just because something is quasi natural that it is better. Sugar is so processed it’s relation to anything natural is specious.
32
Well, I memory issues - losing things - until I heard of a study linking Splenda and memory issues. I stopped using Splenda. Memory issues went away.
16
When I looked at the BMJ article I found in the conclusions section.
"Most health outcomes did not seem to have differences between the NSS exposed and unexposed groups. Of the few studies identified for each outcome, most had few participants, were of short duration, and their methodological and reporting quality was limited; therefore, confidence in the reported results is limited. Future studies should assess the effects of NSSs with an appropriate intervention duration. Detailed descriptions of interventions, comparators, and outcomes should be included in all reports."
The headline seems a bit of a stretch.
19
"The dose is the poison." -Paracelcus
People drive 80 MPH in a car yet worry about artificial sweeteners or MSG, which is also harmless. Just bananas.
34
@MaineK2
MSG is not harmless to some, including myself. It causes many people to react in a very negative way.
9
@MaineK2
If the road is straight and dry 80 is quite safe. I am glad that sweetners are too.
@Sutter - Hmm. There are LOTS of straight, dry roads here in NM, but I wouldn't say 80 is safe on them (not even the interstates). The chance of carnage is significant/ever-present. I DO worry when I drive, but I never worry about NSSs, or even MSG.
1
"You can always have water instead of Diet Coke." Why would I? I like a Diet Coke with a meal, and I'm glad to hear it isn't going to kill me. Funny that the science suggests it's harmless and *still* they feel the need to discourage it.
59
@Mini j Three reasons to choose water: potential harm from artificial sweeteners (not ruled out in this short-term study); wasted energy in producing canned drinks; need to recycle the can or waste finite resources.
13
@Mini Dr. Meerpohl is merely being upfront about the limitations of his study in contrast to some scientists and organizations along with the media who exaggerate findings without noting the weakness or limitations. I think it's wise. Studies linking disease to exposures are not easy to conduct.
5
@MN Gee, can we say Flint Michigan? Potable water does not alway come cheaply.
2
Could years of drinking mainly ice tea with aspertame cause slow urination in women? There are conflicting reports on this. If it does cause it, could reducing the daily amount help, alternating with water?
Unless these 'observational studies' included large sample sizes and were conducted over a number of years, not much can be learned from them about the long-term impact of these chemicals. It is strange that the article didn't include any of the parameters of the studies.
As such, this article is relatively useless. It reads more like an ad for artificial sweeteners than a serious report on scientific studies.
11
@Justin
Actually, it reads more like a review of the available scientific literature, which is limited.
8
@DesertMD Not to belabor this, but if scientific literature is limited, the article should have pointed that out. Remember that the Times is aimed at the general public, not scientists. If this is all there in in terms of literature, the conclusion that artificial sweeteners are "not good, not bad" is not well supported.
6
Use real sugar but just don’t use too much or too often. Anyone who drinks Diet Coke should have his or her head examined. Drink real Coke but do it once a week. Many people drink 5 or more Diet Cokes every day and think it’s perfectly fine because there is no actual sugar in them. Seriously??
14
That last line is so obnoxious. Yes, water is always a plausible choice over Diet Coke. Sometimes people *want* Diet Coke. If it's not actively harmful, moderation (sometimes having what you want, sometimes having the healthier option) is perfectly fine. This is the real world. No one is perfect, and we can't outrun or escape aging and death by making perfect choices.
82
It's so funny that this article appeared on the same day that the Times printed another article about how the Junk Food Industry which owns the sweeteners, is Chummy with the Chinese Health Officials. I wonder who funded this study, I don't believe it!
3
@Steve Z. This isn't one study - it's a review of ALL studies done on the subject. So if any studies of good quality had neutral, non-industry funding, they would be included in the analysis. Are you alleging that all 35 studies are biased? Maybe they are but if that's the case, absence of evidence of harm isn't evidence of harm.
8
Let's call them man-made sweeteners.
2
Lets get real.
The alternative to Diet Coke is NOT water. It's regular coke, which has more calories per ounce than beer.
11
@megachulo
and 45 grams of sugar... which is equal to 9 teaspoons per can.
4
There are a lot more possible problems from A S.
See:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4661066/
1
@Allan
No one believes that Rats are a good stand-in for humans.That is why they were forced to include a warning in the first place - BAD SCIENCE.
PS. just don't feed you pet rats about 10% of their body weight in AS
2
In response to Dr. Meerpohl, there's "no need" to eat anything with flavour - we could all get by on soylent green. How condescending.
49
@Ariana
It's been about 20 years since I last drank diet soda on a regular basis. One thing I noticed about drinking water with meals is, unlike flavored drinks, it doesn't compete with the taste of food.
But with pizza I still prefer beer, and sake with sushi.
1
The article does not mention if the 31 sources that this study of studies looked at were sponsored in anyway by sugar or artificial sweetener companies. Artificial sweeteners do you increase glucose levels in the blood because they are artificial. This means they cannot be unlocked by the body in the same way that real sugar can be. Because they stay immediately in the blood stream all other food is forced to be converted into fat. Hence the higher levels of fat in children that is mentioned and, most probably, adults. This article is too short and untrustworthy as it does not look at the sponsors of all the studies. Why take a chance on artificial sweeteners that the body cannot and was not made to process when one could eat real sugar the body can process instead? I’m not pro-sugar. But substituting water for Coca-Cola, juice, and other sugary drinks, is often not a realistic option for most parents or people. This appears to be an me of those studies itself funded by the artificial sweeter industry that says, Well they are not good for you but not bad either, meaning it is OK to eat them. And it’s not.
5
None of the trials compared sweeteners with a similar intake of sugar. They compared it to no intake and different level of intake, and they prove it was safe. They didn't prove that sugar is equally safe. They weren't looking for that.
12
I've been using sweet n low in my morning coffee and tea that I have infrequently, since sugar crisis in '74. My blood work has always been normal. I prefer sweet n low over sugar because I like my coffee and tea sweet and to accomplish the same sweetness with sugar makes me sick to my stomach. I don't use artificial sweeter for anything else. Sometimes I use Splenda. I try to stay away from aspertame as I'm allergic to it.
2
But you admit to using little and only once in a while in coffee. The problem comes when meads amp nets are drunk on a daily basis.
I'm positive the Sugar Industry wouldn't agree with the author's statement. Secondly, all foods are broken down to chemicals which the body uses as it sees fit.
Sugar in all of its forms, whether honey, fructose or sucrose is responsible for the rise in Obesity and Diabetes much of humanity is now suffering from. It drives up the secretion of Insulin by the pancreas, even in small amounts. It creates insulin resistance in our cells, not allowing for uptake to give us Glucose and thus energy we need. (Insulin resistance)...thus diabetes.
The increase in Insulin levels in the blood will lead to raise the "weight thermostat' in our hypothalmus. We're getting heavier and heavier.
Repeated studies have shown that, given body equivalents of Aspartame, rats don't die, nor do humans.
Obviously, individual variance in taste would lead certain people to avoid sugar substitutes....understood!
Organic foods objectively are no improvement to normally grown ones.
GMO....no problem....just more chemicals.
5
Real sugar does drive up the insulin levels, but it can be processed by the body. Since the body was not evolutionarily be adapted to processing artificial sweeteners, the glucose levels then spike far higher in the bloodstream then sugar. They trigger the same reaction as sugar but far faster to store food as fat, and they are not used as energy. Sure too much sugar is bad, but artificial ones are far worse.
6
@Electroman72 what evidence are your conclusions based on? Careful research doesn't support your results.
5
@Electroman72
evidence please.
5
If you must have sweet foods, better to use ordinary cane or beet sugar, with its known negative effects, than artificial chemicals. It helps us to limit our intake of sweets naturally, by knowing the cost of the deliciousness. Low calorie sweeteners let us deceive ourselves.
4
@vandalfan - Sorry. The science doesn't back you up. That's the whole point of the article. When will we get away from the natural = good, unnatural = bad, false dichotomy?
18
@vandalfan The authors of this analysis looked into whether differences in intake altered eating habits and they did not. It's been hypothesized that drinking sodas densely sweetened with artificial sweeteners trains us to seek that same sweetness in other foods, driving the association of obesity with these sweeteners in some studies. But this analysis of 35 different studies didn't bear out that hypothesis. So I don't know what evidence you're drawing on to say that natural sweeteners help naturally limit intake of sweets.
6
As a Biochemist/biologist I was always happy with Aspartame which is composed of two amino acids phenylalanine and aspartate, hence the name. Seemed the most natural of sweeteners and to me tasted OK. The others taste like chemicals. for me the choice is sweetener is better than sugar. OK I should kick the sweet habit maybe someday.
31
Life's too short. Drink what you want within reason.
13
@DRTmunich
Do you know why Donald Rumsfeld, then CEO of Searle get on Reagan's transitional team and hand pick the head of the FDA - Arthur Hayes Hull Jr. to ram through approval of Aspartame?
All for an $12 million bonus while endangering people's health in the process. I know of a few who developed serious health issues after consuming too much Diet Coke.
This is what happens when you let greedy, power hungry and misguided politicians make decisions that affect us.
And how about this guy costing this country thousands of lives and billions of dollars by invading Iraq??
4
@John E.
So nutrasweet caused the Iraq invasion?
2
This is anecdotal, just my personal experience, but aspertame changed my brain. I drank one drink a day with aspertame in it for a year and I started tasting things that weren't really there. First sweet, then salt. It became unnecessary for me to salt my food because the hallucinated salt taste was so strong. Obviously, I stopped using it. I always read labels and will never ingest aspertame. I'm just sayin'...
5
No matter how many studies are done that prove Artificial Sweeteners are safe, people will still believe they are bad for you. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the word artificial. Maybe we should rename them Safe Sweeteners. Sometimes it’s all in the names.
50
@Sharon Kane Some folks are prone to believe pseudo-scientific claims, including that artificial sweeteners are bad for you.
8
@Sharon Kane And why not the same level of concern about artificial fats and other flavorings? There are lots of other chemicals in our food supply that don't inspire nearly the same vitriol as artificial sweeteners.
10
@Sharon Kane
It's like "natural flavors" vs. "artificial flavors." People see "natural" and are drawn to that (can't say I haven't ever been taken in by that my self! The difference is the process to make the flavor, not the outcome of the process.
Source: "The Dorito Effect" (highly recommended, really interesting about the rise of the flavor industry and why we add flavor to things)
3
I have been using 2 packets of sweet & low in my two cups of coffee (1 each) every day for about 35 years. So many of my friends have told me I would die because of this poison but I'm happy to report that I have had no ill effects. This article, hopefully, will allay their fears.
47
@Nancy
Sweet 'N Low is made primarily from granulated saccharin. It is aspartame that is a neurotoxin, and which some people find problematic.
4
@Don Wiss
Saccharine
1
I have arthritis and when I stop having artificial sweeteners it reduces the pain I feel by about 80%. It may not be for everyone, just like acupuncture doesn’t work on everyone, but for me no artificial sweeteners means no pain in my feet and hands.
6
Artificial Sweeteners, the word in itself says a lot of the detrimental effects it has on a body both long and short term. Artificial equates to chemicals, I wouldn’t want to intake chemicals into my body regardless if research doesn’t give you the verification of it being a bad choice to consume. For me personally it has activated brain pleasure in response to sweet tastes, triggering me to have more and more sugary foods, it didn’t go well in which I ended up with Metabolic Syndrome. Hence, I stay away from my previously favorite beverage of Diet Coke !
9
It’s good that you are concerned about your health. But everything is a chemical. Vegetables are made if chemical crop, just different ones. The dose makes the poison- even water can be dangerous in large quantities.
68
@Nick
The problem is that for thousands we have developed with certain foods. Now we are faced with thousands of new chemicals that humans have never been exposed to.
They should be used at your own risk.
7
@Jennifer Glen
Water is a chemical. H2O. One hydrogen molecule combined with two oxygen molecules. Not artificial, not dangerous. Just a thought.
22