Artificial Sweeteners Are Basically Fine, So Why Are We So Desperate to Find Something Wrong With Them?


https://www.gq.com/story/artificial...-basically-fine



Seems to be that this test was sponsored by "Big Sugar".

What do you think?

I thought from the moment I first read a headline blurb about it that it sounded like a rather ridiculous idea that somehow "sucralose changes your DNA". The implication from the headline blurbs was that it changes the cell structure in your entire body - Admittely that was pretty much as far as I ever read about until your post, because it sounded so ludicrous to me.

What you quoted gives a bit more information and it's not actually changing the DNA, just breaking it down in your gut, and potentially causing leaky gut.

But if it takes 50,000 cans of Diet Rite cola consumed within a 2 hour time period, it sounds like the only way that could possibly even happen in real life (assuming it even happens to work the same way in your gut as in a petri dish) is if you go on Amazon, buy four 2.2 lb packs of pure sucralose and force down 3-1/2 packs of it within 2 hours.

calculations (please correct me if I made any mistakes here - it's late, and I'm no mathematician):

33,333 servings in the 2.2 lb bag at 30 mg sucralose/serving
Diet Rite has 68 mg sucralose per 12 oz can
For 50,000 cans of Diet Rite, that's 113,333 servings of sucralose or almost 3-1/2 of the 2.2 lb bags of pure sucralose

Bpttom line: You'd need to consume almost 7-1/2 lbs of pure sucralose to equal the amount of sucralose in 50,000 cans of Diet Rite... and do that within 2 hours.

I wonder what would happen to your gut if you forced down 133,333 servings of sugar within 2 hours? (That's 133,333 teaspoons of sugar - 2,777-3/4 CUPS of sugar)

Wow! I'm so glad you posted this. I figured it was bogus, but now I know why.

I too, figured it was bogus.

Seems to me like Big Sugar will do anything to keep their market share (just a suspicion, not an accusation).

Quite a few months ago it was, "Spenda blocks your gut bacteria from conversing with each other." I didn't know they had that kind of language capability.

That was disproved, although I didn't like it so I can't post it.

A lot of what we read was written with an agenda in mind. It's tough to find the truth sometimes.

Didn't they do the same thing back in the day with saccharin (Sweet & Low) and how it causes cancer? I seem to remember that it turned out you'd have to drink so much soda or coffee with Sweet & Low, it was literally impossible to do.

I posted the study, but didn't see a rebuttal when I lost track. But a lot of this IS "petri dish science." Which is like food questionnaire data. Not truly useful.

I suspected I had a problem with artificial ingredients in the shake mixes, but that's an order of magnitude different from an occasional homemade treat or a morning cup of something.

One thing is how I was right to question my over-reliance on keto treats, especially since they were mostly high in oxalate. But that's a candy level load, to be honest, and now they are out of the house.

Nuts and artificial sweeteners aren't really food, she said ruefully. Even if you throw in some protein.

As for what motivates them, it's as simple as a scare headline, every day, no matter what. Anything for a click.

It doesn't matter because it will be contradicted as needed. All it does is confuse people to the point they give up trying to figure it out.

Worse, they fall into the current of the "animal foods will kill you" craze which is funded by food manufacturers, and I've seen many otherwise sensible people announcing how many meatless days in their week and how last night's dinner was 90% plant based.

This isn't helping at all.

FUD? Fear, uncertainty, doubt? Throw confusion at it and people will ignore everything they should be paying attention to. Give people a sliver of hope that their favorite anything isn't as rotten as it seems and they'll glom onto it. Sometimes you can pile up all the evidence in the world and they'll still hold onto their dissonant reality all that much harder.

All I know is that since I gave up sucralose my blood sugar has dropped dramatically. I'm hoping it is because my gut is healing. My issues with gluten and other foods all started around the time I began using sucralose. Or at least as well as I can remember. It was decades ago! I was so excited by it, when I went to Canada I brought home boxes of it. They had approved it before the US.

WereBear, I agree that artificial sweetners aren't real food. But I disagree about the nuts. They are packed with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. They are high in fat, but fortunately, I tolerate that.

Since a packet or two of Splenda doesn't make up your diet, it doesn't matter that it's not real food, it's just a spice.

I went to the doc today (I turn 77 next month) and have been on Keto since it was called Atkins Induction. Blood tests came in, LDL a tiny bit high, HDL high enough to negate the LDL, and everything else is in the safe zone. Doc says, "See you next year." Stevia and a bit of Splenda are the sweeteners I choose.

I do suppose some people might have a negative reaction to any food or sweetener. Watch your body and notice changes.

I can't eat onions, garlic and a few other Allium foods without extreme intestinal problems. I discovered this via an elimination diet. I can tolerate a tiny bit as a spice, but if it is strong enough to taste, my body will chuck it back up. If I force it down it'll come out the other end after a very painful journey.

If someone can be intolerant to such a beneficial food, someone else can have sucralose intolerance.

Fortunately I mostly use Stevia, but in coffee, I add a packet of sucralose, with no adverse effects. My BP is usually between 110 and 120 over 60-something.

Fear, anger, uncertainty, doubt are big manipulators. Sales pros have known this forever. Political TV on both sides use the same tactics to manipulate their viewers.

When you know this, they have less power over you.

With the Internet, you can either seek out the facts (from reliable sources) or feed yourself with the lies you want to hear.

It's up to you.

Bob

I think I worked out what was causing my high blood sugar. It wasn't sucralose, but was my thyroid meds.

I've re-evaluated my latest tweaks to consider bioavailability in my body. From previous experience I know my ability to get protein from plant sources is very low. Probably the case with ALL plants🤣

So trying this low oxalate plan with this results so far.

We all have our challenges and our best diet.

I'm lucky, I found Keto back when it was called Atkins Induction. I tried a few others before I went to Atkins. None of them worked. I'm the only one in my immediate family under 300 pounds.

I'll be 77 next month, and had my yearly physical, along with a complete blood test and evaluation. Everything is in the normal range except the LDL and HDL cholesterol. The doc says LDL is just a little high, not to worry, and the HDL is high enough to protect me from the LDL.

I'm on zero medications. She says at my age, that's rare. So, I'm extremely healthy. That's a good thing, without health, not much else matters.

So keto works for me.

I do eat meat, cheese, and nuts for protein and fats, under 20 carbs per day, almost no fruit and veggies, but I do take vitamins and a few other supplements to make up for what I'm not getting from fruit and veggies.

The only thing I drink is water (lots of that), coffee, tea, and three 4oz glasses of wine per week. The only sweeteners I use are Stevia (mostly) and sometimes Splenda. And the Stevia is not a blend, but 100% Stevia extract.

I don't eat chicken and few eggs, because they are inflammatory for me. I went on the arthritis/bursitis diet back in 1990 and it got rid of the pain. I'd rather be pain free than eat any food.

Will it work for others? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. Depends on the person, we are all different.

When the Splenda report came out, I was suspicious, and was glad to read how it was tested. I don't think a few packets per week is going to kill me. And obviously, so far - so good.

I hope everybody finds the diet that works for them the best.

Bob

Which now includes High Fructose Corn Syrup. I think they want the public hooked on the sweet AND the wheat... both addictive substances.

Both increasingly added to foods they have no business being in. I have seen how long the ingredients list can get over the last decade. None of it is added FOOD.

But actual food costs money. That's something I learn every week!

We mostly eat just plain food. Things you get on the perimeter of the store. Things you recognize.

We found we can't eliminate the alphabet-soup ingredients, but we found we can minimize them.

We also favor organic if we can afford it. Sure, it's expensive, but good health is priceless.

Bob