Live data from Hacker News

Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

dynomight.net

111–120 of 267 posts

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#111
post #4

Sucralose-6-acetate, however, an impurity found in sucralose and produced in vivo from sucralose, is genotoxic. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37246822/ I would avoid sucralose. I have a suspicion it may be responsible for the observed increase in colon cancer in younger age groups.

I'm still expecting the cause to be HPV and increase in anal sex. Some studies seem to point that way (and other studies that say it might not), but it hasn't been proven yet. However it would make sense, considering that it leads to cervical cancer, throat cancer, etc. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9610003/ Not an expert on this by any means, just went down this rabbit hole when deciding if I should be as…

A rise in meat (esp red & cured meats) consumption and a drop in vegetable consumption would also do it, particularly if it were disproportionately occurring in certain cohorts.

12% of Americans eat half the nation's supply of beef, and members of that group are disproportionately male and disproportionately middle-aged.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#112
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed. It turns out that “MSG headaches” are just high sodium level headaches, either through dehydration, unbalanced electrolytes, elevated blood pressure or whatever else higher than normal sodium levels cause headaches. The same headache could be caused by salt. MSG actually makes recipes require less of other flavor ingredients, including salt. It’s also often found in dishes that still contain relatively massiv…

I have a family member who has discovered through gradual process of elimination that she gets migraines from MSG, aspartame and yeast extract. "just sodium headaches" doesn't really apply to her case; simply chewing a piece of gum that has aspartame, or eating a piece of meat cooked with MSG in her salad is enough to trigger them. I agree in the general sense with your comment and the article that there's no widespr…

Sounds like an allergy.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#113
post #7

An important missed angle is the effect of artificial sweeteners on gut microbiome. They cause intestinal inflammation which is relevant for IBD sufferers. My take is that I don't miss out on much by being conservative with food, as we still don't understand these complex interactions well enough. What's the harm in sticking to a balanced whole diet of ingredients that were available to our ancestors 200years or more…

I have had a long diagnosis of IBS before being diagnosed with crohns. You can drive yourself crazy chasing spurious diet/symptoms corolations. Alot of people drive themselves into disordered eating habits trying to control symptoms with diet. Ultimately your mental state has more to do with how you feel then any specific dietary input taken with moderation. Most people with autoimmune diseases also have high amounts of anxiety and stress. If you put more focus on the mental component, you'll likely find more symptom relief.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#114
When I drink a single can of Diet Coke or anything with aspartame, I get crippling stomach aches and then sudden diarrhea, all within about 2 hrs and very predictable. It's definitely not harmless. This doesn't happen to me with stevia or sucralose, and I know sucralose isn't good for your either.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#115

I'll impart my n=1 experience, since I've been using powdered Aspartame (in combination with Stevia) in drinks and baking for almost 20 years, and I've tried almost all available sugar substitutes over the years. We already know from glycemic index charts that almost all sugar substitutes impact blood glucose to a certain degree, and there are only a few that have no impact. When sucralose became widely available, I…

I'm pretty sure that the minor glycemic spikes after sweeteners (artificial, zero calorie) is because they're sweet it's a combination of some glucose mobilization and insulin response that shapes the results after use of artificial sweeteners. You're carrying a fair amount of glucose in the kidneys which is quickly available and glycogen the muscles that can be activated nearly as quickly. The impact from this on those that consume a lot of sweetened beverages over the course of a day may not be such a good thing and may even contribute to insulin resistance.

Aspartame is really inexpensive compared to real sugars... the sugar industry really doesn't like it and that was well before sucralose was an option.

My personal take is it's probably best to limit sweetened drinks to with meals, and to limit meals to 2-3 a day in a relatively narrow window of 6-10 hours.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's just a preference thing. They taste bad _to you_, not to everyone. Even among people that like artificial sweeteners, people have preferences. I prefer pink and my wife prefers yellow. When I'm forced to use yellow, I just can't enjoy the drink as much. And, yes, it's a totally different kind of "sweet" for each of them. So if you're expecting "sugar sweet", it won't be that for the others.

> It's just a preference thing. They taste bad _to you_, not to everyone. That's great, but it still means I can't have soft drinks any more.

Most soft drinks are not made with artificial sweeteners.

Where are you that the only available soft drinks are artificially sweetened? Never been to a restaurant or fast food place or grocery store that only carried the diet/zero and didn't carry the standard coke or pepsi.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#117
post #81

So basically there's no scientific consensus either way, there's no tradition of using it and there are extreme commercial incentives for harm so it's a no from me

> So basically there's no scientific consensus either way "The current science says that the health impact of aspartame is essentially zero. Every credible body that has studied this question has reached the same conclusion." Did you even read the article?

"While informative, this does not prove aspartame is safe"

There is no such thing as "it's just a normal chemical". Sugar is "just a normal chemical" that doesn't mean refining it and injecting it into products with a commercial incentive to habit form hasn't helped create a health crisis

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#118

When I drink a single can of Diet Coke or anything with aspartame, I get crippling stomach aches and then sudden diarrhea, all within about 2 hrs and very predictable. It's definitely not harmless. This doesn't happen to me with stevia or sucralose, and I know sucralose isn't good for your either.

I have a similar negative response to legumes... but billions of people eat them without issue every day.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#119

I'll impart my n=1 experience, since I've been using powdered Aspartame (in combination with Stevia) in drinks and baking for almost 20 years, and I've tried almost all available sugar substitutes over the years. We already know from glycemic index charts that almost all sugar substitutes impact blood glucose to a certain degree, and there are only a few that have no impact. When sucralose became widely available, I…

Still, why would you willingly manually add aspartame to your diet?

Especially since stevia exists I see no reason to put my health at risk with these. Personally I avoid sucralose and aspartame at all costs, regular sugar is much preferred in moderation.

Re: Aspartame is not that bad? (2022)

#120
phenylalanine is DLPA which many people use to deal with chronic fatigue and mild pain management

there's a reason why the President guzzles gallons of it per month

I'm not convinced large amounts of Methanol is harmless but DLPA is harmless, maybe even beneficial

Post reply on HN