The Evidence Supports Artificial Sweeteners Over Sugar

[LostOne4Ever]

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JULY 27, 2015

Aaron E. Carroll

In the last few years, I’ve watched a continuing battle among my friends about which is worse for you: artificial sweeteners or sugar. Unless you want to forgo all beverages that are sweet, you’re going to run into one of these. Rather than rely on anecdote or myth, we can inform this debate with research.

The available evidence points to the fact that there appears to be a correlation between sugar consumption and health problems; none can be detected with artificial sweeteners.

Let’s start with artificial sweeteners. These have, for decades, been attacked as harmful chemicals. But everything is a “chemical,” and not all of them are bad for us. One of the oldest artificial sweeteners is saccharin. Starting in the 1980s, Congress mandated that any product containing it be accompanied by the following: “Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin, which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals.”

But what was the basis for this decision? A review article published in The Annals of Oncology in 2004 noted that more than 50 studies had been published looking at saccharin in rats. Twenty of these were “one generation” studies, meaning that they did not look at the rats’ offspring. In only one of those studies did huge amounts of saccharin produce cancer, and it was in a type of rat that is frequently infected with a bladder parasite that would leave it susceptible to saccharin-induced bladder cancer...

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]More at link.

Just another nail in the coffin of the people who insist that artificial is always bad, natural is always good. Now, please excuse me as I go drink another can coke zero and enjoying all the weight I lost since I switch to it from real cokes.[/font]

[Rainforestgoddess]

1. My issue with artificial sweetener

Is the heavy handedness of it. Not everything needs to taste like syrup.

There used to be a lower calorie drink called fresca which had sugar, just less of it. It was fairly tart and I loved it. Then they came out with nutrasweet and turned it to a zero calorie drink. And made it syrupy sweet at the same time. Blegh. 😝

[Warpy]

2. Soda Stream is great

Their sugar free mixes are good and I can add what I want to control sweetness. I do find, as you do, that most commercial soft drinks are icky sweet, with the exception of Wal Mart's house brand that is spectacularly gassy but nearly flavorless.

With the Soda Stream setup, I can also make the occasional liter of plain seltzer water, something I especially enjoy in the summer.

They made a mistake and sent me sugared mixes one time. It was like trying to drink maple syrup. Ugh.

[progressoid]

5. I love my soda stream for that reason as well.

Since using it, I've noticed I no longer like the overly sweet drinks on the market.

Sometimes I also just make the soda water but add a little bit of lemon or lime.

[Warpy]

6. That's good, too

What I like best is not having to lug heavy cans or bottles back from Costco.

I'm getting too old for that crap.

[LostOne4Ever]

3. You will get no disagreement from me on that

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]But I am a complete soda addict. I would be morbidly obese still if not for artificial sweeteners.

That said, they need to offer more products made to taste not so sweet all your teeth crack instantly upon tasting it regardless of it being made with sugar or saccharin or aspartame or stevia.[/font]

[Rainforestgoddess]

4. Yup

I can't be the only person who doesn't enjoy overly sweetened stuff. Might look into that soda stream thing, or just stick to my usual iced tea (not sweet)

[SheilaT]

7. I find that hard to believe.

I also understand that the artificial sweetners in sodas tend to leach calcium from the bones, making it a rather poor choice.

I gave up sodas around fifteen years ago, and I simply don't miss them. I also amazed in the supermarket that almost every shopping cart has at least one of those big boxes of soft drinks, often three or four.

[LostOne4Ever]

8. Actually its the Phosphoric acid (not the sweeteners) that leeches Ca

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/how-does-coca-cola-affect-your-body-hour-after-drinking-stuff

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]Further:[/font]

http://muscle-insider.com/content/sweeteners-do-they-cause-fat-or-calcium-leaching

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]That said, I am a soda addict. It is beyond me to give them up at this point. I am stuck with a choice of evils and only evils.

One evil is SIGNIFICANTLY healthier for me. The one with artificial sweeteners. Which is the point. Despite, what those who live their lives based upon an appeal to nature fallacy will tell you, Artificial sweeteners are not, unto themselves, bad for you.

In fact, they are quite a superior choice for those wanting to lose weight but can not live without a sweet fix. And having something like that is a great thing![/font]

[SheilaT]

9. A far better choice would be plain water.

There's a lot of evidence that artificial sweetners don't actually satisfy that sweet craving, and the image of an overweight person with a diet soft drink and a donut is there for a reason.

And thanks for correcting me on the particular villain here.

[drm604]

10. My problem is the taste.

They just don't taste the same. I can use saccharin in coffee. It's not exactly like sugar, but it's palatable. But I've yet to find an artificial sweetener that works for me in tea. Saccharin, Nutrasweet, Stevia, they're all disgusting in tea, at least for me.

[Lordquinton]

13. This

Although with the HFCs even sugar in soda tastes funny these days. Like lostone4ever I'm a soda addict, but i haven't had weight problems from it. I do get migraines from some of the artificial sweeteners, so i avoid them.

[Codeine]

11. But they taste like shit.

I admire anyone who has the ability to overcome that nasty flavor and avoid the sugar, but I can't manage it. They taste so bad!

[NickB79]

14. Not just taste but also mouth-feel

http://www.livescience.com/4414-secret-bad-tasting-diet-sodas.html

[Archae]

12. I seldom drink soda at all.

Most of the time, just water.
Tap water.

Even though my water is so hard it rattles, I like it.

I do indulge once in a while, Sprecher root beer, eggnog from October until January, and chocolate milk once in a while.