Artificial sweeteners

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  • LAW_714
    LAW_714 Posts: 258
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    After some reading, as far as I can tell it's not going to be an easily settled matter.

    For one thing, nearly all of these artificial sweetners are trademarked substances. Because of this they aren't given to many independent studies.

    To be cleared for market they have to prove that -- at least in the short term -- they are not dangerous/poisonous. The company of the trademark does research to prove this fact, is approved for sale, and there you go. The trademarked company has little reason to continue to research for long term physiological impact, because such studies would hold the potential of discovering something that could possibly lessen the value of their trademarked product. Why would they want to do something that could lessen the value of their trademarked product? They wouldn't. So they don't. After all, it's impossible to be accused of covering up what you legitimately do not know... so what motive is there to inquire?

    Independent studies are rarely allowed, because the trademarked company won't sign off on it (which is required if it's a trademarked product. See: Mosanto and anyone trying to study round-up-resistant plants). Trademark owners frown on allowing their products out for independent research for the same reason as the previous statement. No company wants to damage the value of its trademark.

    The government doesn't do studies because they don't have the funding to and because interested lobbyists would be against it (and besides where does the funding come from but from the lobbyists? ) So the government says it's the corporation's responsibilty to run the studies. The corporation says it's the government's responsibility to run such studies, as the corporation has met all the requirements of them (and aren't they always characterised as ornerous requirements). Having done everything required to be to be cleared for sale, everyone feels they've met their minimal obligations, end of the road. Done and done (only nothing is done... which is fine with all involved).

    Then, to further muddy the waters, you have the whisper campaigns of one group against another group all because of what serves their own product/lobby/whatever.

    The net result is that that there are very few verifiable independent studies on this subject. We can all speculate and we all have our opinions. But if reaching for verifiable, peer reviewed facts... by default or by design, there aren't many to go to. Actual evidence is sparse -- which neither says that there is a problem or that there isn't. It's an unknown. And absense of evidence is not evidence of absense. We simply don't know.

    What this ends with is that no one can say with any degree of certainty because there simply isn't enough publically available research on the subject to actually say with any degree of certainty. What we know is that they are considered safe for consumption because they've been shown in the short term to not cause damage. The rest is unknown.

    Use our own best judgement.

    In the absense of much good science on the subject, our own judgement is as good as anyone else's. Anyone who claims to know for a certainty must either work for the research department of one of the companies holding the trademarks or is simply stating their opinion.



    (Personally, I avoid them more often than not (but use them on rare occasions), but that's just my own personal opinion. There isn't a great deal of hard science saying that I must).
  • xinit0
    xinit0 Posts: 310 Member
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    Artificial sweeteners are terrible for you. They cause massive unhealthy cravings, they bloat you up like a balloon and they can cause your bladder to become sensitive to where you are running to the bathroom all the time for a wee. As soon as I started kicking out the diet coke I was drinking, all these symptoms went away and it was easier to stay on track and just feel healthier over all.

    No they don't.
    No, that's untrue.
    Bloat you up? I think you're thinking of "too much soda" not "too much sweetener."
    That's kooky. Also a "too much soda / water / caffeine" thing.
    Drink what you want.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    Artificial sweeteners are terrible for you. They cause massive unhealthy cravings, they bloat you up like a balloon and they can cause your bladder to become sensitive to where you are running to the bathroom all the time for a wee. As soon as I started kicking out the diet coke I was drinking, all these symptoms went away and it was easier to stay on track and just feel healthier over all.

    No they don't.
    No, that's untrue.
    Bloat you up? I think you're thinking of "too much soda" not "too much sweetener."
    That's kooky. Also a "too much soda / water / caffeine" thing.
    Drink what you want.

    Some people have an intolerance to artificial sweeteners and can probably cause them to bloat up.

    I have a friend who can't eat or drink anything with artificial sweeteners in it. She has a really bad reaction to them.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    I have to say that I love the artificial sweeteners debate. Yes, right now there are so many conflicting "studies" that are done proving/disproving whether or not they're bad for you, yes they cause cancer, no they don't cause cancer. 7 lab rats got fat when put on an artificial sweetener diet only, 2 lab rats died etc. etc. etc.

    I personally try to avoid the stuff as much as possible because I feel that they are bad for you. No one will know what the true long term effects of these chemicals are doing to your body until 50 years from now when research is better and they find out that wow! They were actually bad for you all along!

    There are a lot of things out there that are passed through the FDA and deemed "safe" only to find out several years later that they in fact were wrong with their findings.

    Please don't ask me to "provide research on what I stated above" because there is none. This is just my thoughts and my opinions on the subject.

    I also stay away from HFCS because that **** really is bad for you. (and please see above for my *disclaimer*):flowerforyou:
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
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    So many conflicting studies? I'd like to see ONE with direct correlation between sweeteners and any form of cancer in HUMANS (i'm not a mouse, never have been a mouse and never will be a mouse).

    Go!
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
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    I have to say that I love the artificial sweeteners debate. Yes, right now there are so many conflicting "studies" that are done proving/disproving whether or not they're bad for you, yes they cause cancer, no they don't cause cancer. 7 lab rats got fat when put on an artificial sweetener diet only, 2 lab rats died etc. etc. etc.

    I personally try to avoid the stuff as much as possible because I feel that they are bad for you. No one will know what the true long term effects of these chemicals are doing to your body until 50 years from now when research is better and they find out that wow! They were actually bad for you all along!

    There are a lot of things out there that are passed through the FDA and deemed "safe" only to find out several years later that they in fact were wrong with their findings.

    Please don't ask me to "provide research on what I stated above" because there is none. This is just my thoughts and my opinions on the subject.

    I also stay away from HFCS because that **** really is bad for you. (and please see above for my *disclaimer*):flowerforyou:

    This is total nonsense. And don't ask me to prove it is nonsense. It is nonsense because I say it is.
  • xinit0
    xinit0 Posts: 310 Member
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    Some people have an intolerance to artificial sweeteners and can probably cause them to bloat up.

    I have a friend who can't eat or drink anything with artificial sweeteners in it. She has a really bad reaction to them.

    The key is SOME. A distinct minority of people.

    The poster I was replying to was using the pronoun "you" when they meant "me" when they were describing how artificial sweeteners affect her.

    Also, why are they called "artificial sweeteners" still? They're actually[/B} sweeteners...
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
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    Some people have an intolerance to artificial sweeteners and can probably cause them to bloat up.

    I have a friend who can't eat or drink anything with artificial sweeteners in it. She has a really bad reaction to them.

    The key is SOME. A distinct minority of people.

    The poster I was replying to was using the pronoun "you" when they meant "me" when they were describing how artificial sweeteners affect her.

    Also, why are they called "artificial sweeteners" still? They're actually[/B} sweeteners...

    Exactly. Peanuts, dairy, fruit etc all make people bloat up too - should they be called out as bad too?
  • LAW_714
    LAW_714 Posts: 258
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    sweeteners affect her.

    Also, why are they called "artificial sweeteners" still? They're actually[/B} sweeteners...

    Not sure, but, taking a wild guess (I.e. I do not know, just speculating) , it may be that sugar is grandfathered as FDA GRAS, and the others aren't? (Though I would think stevia would be).

    re: GRAS
    On January 1, 1958, the FDA established the Food Additives Amendment of 1958, with a list of 700 food substances that were exempt from the then new requirement that manufacturers test food additives before putting them on the market. {...}
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
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    So many conflicting studies? I'd like to see ONE with direct correlation between sweeteners and any form of cancer in HUMANS (i'm not a mouse, never have been a mouse and never will be a mouse).

    Saccharin, by the way, was banned in the 1970s as a carcinogen. It's since been delisted as a carcinogen as the result of further study. In general, there don't seem to be any studies that demonstrate a link to human cancer for ANY artificial sweetener. See:

    http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artificial-sweeteners

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