What's the truth about acesulfame potassium???

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milkmaid1980
milkmaid1980 Posts: 11 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I bought some Optimum Nutrition whey protein powder and I love the taste. However, I noticed it has acesulfame potassium in the ingredients, which is an artificial sweetener. So I have been looking at numerous articles on the web and they are all contradictory about it's safety. If anyone on here has studied it out, or has experience using it long-term with or without side effects, I would be interested to know! I can't decide if I should continue to use this product or not.
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Replies

  • delicious_cocktail
    delicious_cocktail Posts: 5,797 Member
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    There are plenty of contradictory pieces of writing out there.

    Here's one study, (PDF) http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/GMM_rpts/GMM2.pdf

    SUMMARY
    Background
    Acesulfame potassium is an artificial sweetener widely used in beverages and foods. We tested if acesulfame potassium could cause cancer in two different strains of genetically modified mice.
    Methods
    We fed groups of male and female Tg.AC mice and male and female p53 mice diets containing up to 3% acesulfame potassium for 9 months. Animals given feed with no sweetener added served as the control groups. Tissues from 15 sites were examined for every animal.
    Results
    Exposure to acesulfame potassium had no effect on the survival of any of the animal groups. No increases in tumors were seen in males or females from either strain of mice.
    Conclusions
    We conclude that acesulfame potassium did not cause cancer in the genetically modified mice used in these studies.

    At 3% of their total diet, that would be like humans drinking 1,343 12-oz diet colas every day (source: Wikipedia.)


    There are other studies that draw other conclusions, but this substance has been around for 50 years and enjoyed frequent use for about 20. If it were to cause harm we'd probably have noticed a correlation by now.
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
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    should try to read studies to interpret the information for yourself. I can make an article about anything on the internet. That doesnt mean it is right.
  • dwalt15110
    dwalt15110 Posts: 246 Member
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    As far as artificial sweeteners are concerned, none of them are safe. All of them are chemically produced and put some form of toxin in the body. Rule of thumb for any list of ingredients, if they are not natural, they really are not good for you. If you cannot pronounce them or have to figure out the pronunciation then it is not natural and therefore most likely not digestible.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
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    The truth about acesulfame potassium is that it's delicious.
  • delicious_cocktail
    delicious_cocktail Posts: 5,797 Member
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    I can make an article about anything on the internet. That doesn't mean it is right.

    Case in point:
    As far as artificial sweeteners are concerned, none of them are safe. All of them are chemically produced and put some form of toxin in the body. Rule of thumb for any list of ingredients, if they are not natural, they really are not good for you. If you cannot pronounce them or have to figure out the pronunciation then it is not natural and therefore most likely not digestible.

    I can pronounce "hemlock" and it is naturally occurring. It is in the Apiaceae family - - the carrot or parsley family. It is poisonous; a genuine toxin. Thus, the above criteria do not make for sound dietary discrimination.
  • Hauntinglyfit
    Hauntinglyfit Posts: 5,537 Member
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    As far as artificial sweeteners are concerned, none of them are safe. All of them are chemically produced and put some form of toxin in the body. Rule of thumb for any list of ingredients, if they are not natural, they really are not good for you. If you cannot pronounce them or have to figure out the pronunciation then it is not natural and therefore most likely not digestible.

    I have a speech impediment. By that rule I shouldn't be eating much.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    As far as artificial sweeteners are concerned, none of them are safe. All of them are chemically produced and put some form of toxin in the body. Rule of thumb for any list of ingredients, if they are not natural, they really are not good for you. If you cannot pronounce them or have to figure out the pronunciation then it is not natural and therefore most likely not digestible.

    I should be alright eating arsenic then, 'cause that's natural?

    I'd rather have an "artificial" sweetener though, if it's the same to you!

    ^damn, delicious_cocktail beat me to it!
  • milkmaid1980
    milkmaid1980 Posts: 11 Member
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    There are plenty of contradictory pieces of writing out there.

    Here's one study, (PDF) http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/GMM_rpts/GMM2.pdf

    SUMMARY
    Background
    Acesulfame potassium is an artificial sweetener widely used in beverages and foods. We tested if acesulfame potassium could cause cancer in two different strains of genetically modified mice.
    Methods
    We fed groups of male and female Tg.AC mice and male and female p53 mice diets containing up to 3% acesulfame potassium for 9 months. Animals given feed with no sweetener added served as the control groups. Tissues from 15 sites were examined for every animal.
    Results
    Exposure to acesulfame potassium had no effect on the survival of any of the animal groups. No increases in tumors were seen in males or females from either strain of mice.
    Conclusions
    We conclude that acesulfame potassium did not cause cancer in the genetically modified mice used in these studies.

    At 3% of their total diet, that would be like humans drinking 1,343 12-oz diet colas every day (source: Wikipedia.)


    There are other studies that draw other conclusions, but this substance has been around for 50 years and enjoyed frequent use for about 20. If it were to cause harm we'd probably have noticed a correlation by now.

    Thank you for the link to the study! I pulled it up and will wade through it as I have time. This is a big help. Much better to read the actual study than articles about it!
  • missability
    missability Posts: 223
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    As far as artificial sweeteners are concerned, none of them are safe. All of them are chemically produced and put some form of toxin in the body. Rule of thumb for any list of ingredients, if they are not natural, they really are not good for you. If you cannot pronounce them or have to figure out the pronunciation then it is not natural and therefore most likely not digestible.


    ^^^^ AGREE!! I was using Equal brand for about 15 yrs. I was having fainting spells, went thru an 8 yr bout of depression, had to be medicated for that, which did not work in spite of trying approx. 8 different anti-depressants over the time frame....gained mammoth amts of weight during that time. bad skin, hair wouldn't grow, had muscle spasms, insomnia, the list goes on and on....I stopped ALL artificial sweeteners on January 1, 2013....in the past 9 months my hair has stopped breaking and is past my shoulders for the first time in years, my nails grow at lightening speed, my skin does not have unexplained lesions, and sores anymore. Mentally I feel alert, sleep great, am happy for the first time in decades, and have lost 91 pounds in 9 and a half months.

    Now I am not claiming all my woes was from Equal, BUT a homeopathic doctor told me that they are "Neuro-toxins", and probably did account for a large part of my issues, especially the muscle jerks, sleeplessness, and depression.

    Good luck to you!
  • DatMurse
    DatMurse Posts: 1,501 Member
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    As far as artificial sweeteners are concerned, none of them are safe. All of them are chemically produced and put some form of toxin in the body. Rule of thumb for any list of ingredients, if they are not natural, they really are not good for you. If you cannot pronounce them or have to figure out the pronunciation then it is not natural and therefore most likely not digestible.

    I heard cyanide is natural, so that should be fine.

    Many things in this world that allowed us to live longer are chemically produced such as vaccines, medications, and what not. Why do you think humans dont die at 30 anymore? please go
  • krokador
    krokador Posts: 1,794 Member
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    I find acesulfame potassium tends to be way too sweet, and has a tendency to stay in my saliva for the longest time. Or maybe that's aspartame. I think it's both. As far as artifical sweetners go I try to stick to sucralose. Of all of them it's the only one i don't mind the taste of too much.

    Now whether they're safe or not... *shrugs* Considering my clumsiness, it's unsafe for me to walk around without a bubblewrap armor, so meh xD
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
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    I have had no issue whatsoever with consumption of acesulfame potassium.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    at 10 mg per serving or so this is the equivalent of 0.0001% of your body weight.
    No incidence of cancer in rats was seen at 3000x that.

    Also worth noting
    Acceptable daily intakes of the currently available such sweeteners, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, neotame, saccharin, steviua, and sucralose, are 15, 50, 18, 12, and 5 mg/kg body wt/day, respectively. These are the maximal amounts considered safe for daily consumption over an individual's lifetime, based on animal toxicology testing, with a 100-fold safety factor

    In other words, if you are taking 90 doses of protein per day you are reaching the limit of the safe level (with a 100 fold safety factor).
  • dirty_dirty_eater
    dirty_dirty_eater Posts: 574 Member
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    I had some once. I died.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Hasn't made me sick or killed me yet. So we're good.

    Carageenan and I, however, are enemies. It may be natural, but it will *kitten* me up.

    1_gif.gif
  • mrscool5
    mrscool5 Posts: 24
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    The way I figure it.....anything in too great of a quantity is a bad thing. If you like the stuff, eat it and then if you start noticing "side effects" you should worry about it. I am not a fan of artificial sweeteners because to me they taste funny, though there are a few things I'll eat with them. Aspartame gives me migraines, however, so I avoid that at all costs. Found that out by trying and liking Kool-aid - a couple of weeks after switching to it over regular sugared sodas I started getting migraines. That was the ONLY change, so I quit drinking it....migraine went away. Drank it again, got a migraine. Okay, no more aspartame for me! Never noticed any side effects from anything else, so who knows.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    As far as artificial sweeteners are concerned, none of them are safe. All of them are chemically produced and put some form of toxin in the body. Rule of thumb for any list of ingredients, if they are not natural, they really are not good for you. If you cannot pronounce them or have to figure out the pronunciation then it is not natural and therefore most likely not digestible.

    The elements that form the compound acesulfame potassium are oxygen, sodium, sulfur, and potassium. That's it. Nothing else. All of these are required by the body, and all are naturally occurring. The bonds that hold these elements together is the exchange of electrons between the atoms. This is pretty basic chemistry...
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    As far as artificial sweeteners are concerned, none of them are safe. All of them are chemically produced and put some form of toxin in the body. Rule of thumb for any list of ingredients, if they are not natural, they really are not good for you. If you cannot pronounce them or have to figure out the pronunciation then it is not natural and therefore most likely not digestible.

    The elements that form the compound acesulfame potassium are oxygen, sodium, sulfur, and potassium. That's it. Nothing else. All of these are required by the body, and all are naturally occurring. The bonds that hold these elements together is the exchange of electrons between the atoms. This is pretty basic chemistry...

    Now while I agree that the compund in question isn't an issue the above is just really poor logic. Methyl alcohol is just carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and it will screw you up like nothing else. Just like it is dumb to fear chemicals one can't pronounce, it's silly to give chemicals a "safe pass" because "atoms".
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
    Options
    As far as artificial sweeteners are concerned, none of them are safe. All of them are chemically produced and put some form of toxin in the body. Rule of thumb for any list of ingredients, if they are not natural, they really are not good for you. If you cannot pronounce them or have to figure out the pronunciation then it is not natural and therefore most likely not digestible.

    The elements that form the compound acesulfame potassium are oxygen, sodium, sulfur, and potassium. That's it. Nothing else. All of these are required by the body, and all are naturally occurring. The bonds that hold these elements together is the exchange of electrons between the atoms. This is pretty basic chemistry...

    Now while I agree that the compund in question isn't an issue the above is just really poor logic. Methyl alcohol is just carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and it will screw you up like nothing else. Just like it is dumb to fear chemicals one can't pronounce, it's silly to give chemicals a "safe pass" because "atoms".

    Fair enough. Didn't think that argument logically through.

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