Artificial sweeteners, have they been proven safe yet?

Energize said:
Yes of course the studies were randomised, that is the entire point. If you use a group of hypochondriacs claiming it affects them then obviously the result is going to be tainted and scientifically invalid.
Click to expand...



Not if youre trying to prove that it is hypochondria.


Because its double blind if theyre just making it up you'll see the same elevated claims in both groups.

Which disproves thier claims.


Iirc this was done on people complaining about radio waves affecting them.

Sat in a room with an antenna they where told was turned on or off those who claimed radio waves afgected them negatively reported the same level of negative effects when it was on or off
 
Energize said:
Yes of course the studies were randomised, that is the entire point. If you use a group of hypochondriacs claiming it affects them then obviously the result is going to be tainted and scientifically invalid.
Click to expand...

It is well known that sensitivity to various artificial food substances (which is proven to exist) often effects only a small percentage - so it is entirely possible to do dozens of tests with truly random subjects and never encounter someone who is actually sensitive within those groups.

The whole point of double blind studies as mentioned is to see if hypochondriacs show a difference between testing with the real thing and a placebo. The only major study in this case that I know of showed slightly higher results for the real thing but not enough to be conclusive and no further studies seem to have been done to make sense of the results i.e. it could be that say half the group were hypochondriacs with no actual sensitivity and half actually sensitive.
 
Arthur Hucksake said:
Certain drinks make my son go wappy. Like Fruit Shoots that are marketed towards kids.

Normal sweetener based juice, no problems at all.

It's not the sweetener itself, it's the other additives in the drinks.
Click to expand...

There are no unusual additives in Fruit Shoots - no artificial colours etc. It does't even contain aspartame

Are you sure it's not the environment that the drinks are consumed in that makes him "go wappy"? I.e. they are normally consumed when out at a pub for a meal etc.

Get a Fruit Shoot bottle, empty it and fill it with apple juice - see what happens when he drinks it.

Too many parents blame food/drinks for loopy children, when in actual fact it's just a lack of discipline.

joeyjojo said:
The most plausible health problem with sweeteners AFAIK is around weight gain. Here's a quote from a review:

TLDR: if food tastes sweet but doesn't have any sugar in it it confuses your body, making you seek out more calories.
Click to expand...

The research on that is inconclusive and the article you linked cites some very out of date studies - studies that have since been superseded. The current consensus is that artificial sweeteners do NOT lead to weight gain or increased appetite. Research is ongoing.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
amigafan2003 said:
There are no unusual additives in Fruit Shoots - no artificial colours etc. It does't even contain aspartame

Are you sure it's not the environment that the drinks are consumed in that makes him "go wappy"? I.e. they are normally consumed when out at a pub for a meal etc.

Get a Fruit Shoot bottle, empty it and fill it with apple juice - see what happens when he drinks it.

Too many parents blame food/drinks for loopy children, when in actual fact it's just a lack of discipline.



The research on that is inconclusive.
Click to expand...

Has Acesulfame K in it - if he is drinking a lot of it could be messing with his blood sugar levels altering his mood.

The more common one for causing stuff like that in drinks is tartrazine.
 
Last edited:
Rroff said:
Has Acesulfame K in it - if he is drinking a lot of it could be messing with his blood sugar levels altering his mood.
Click to expand...

The most up to date studies show that artifical sweeteners do not affect blood sugar levels.

"Like sugar, sweeteners provide a sweet taste but what sets them apart is that, after consumption, they don't increase blood sugar levels," she says.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/the-truth-about-artificial-sweeteners.aspx
Click to expand...

Rroff said:
The more common one for causing stuff like that in drinks is tartrazine.
Click to expand...

Which isn't an ingredient in Fruit Shoots - I haven't seen Tartrazine as a listed ingredient for ages.
 
amigafan2003 said:
The most up to date studies show that artifical sweeteners do not affect blood sugar levels.
Click to expand...

Acesulfame K has some links to lowering blood sugar levels but in quantities way above normal consumption i.e. concentrated dosage but has been postulated that if someone was intolerant to it it may trigger insulin related effects at quantities not much above the recommended daily intake - so far hasn't been exhibited in testing but its potentially possible on paper.

amigafan2003 said:
Which isn't an ingredient in Fruit Shoots - I haven't seen Tartrazine as a listed ingredient for ages.
Click to expand...

He mentioned it as one example - Tartrazine tends to be avoided in juice drinks these days due to those kind of side effects but you still see it occasionally.
 
Rroff said:
He mentioned it as one example - Tartrazine tends to be avoided in juice drinks these days due to those kind of side effects but you still see it occasionally.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I was certainly sensitive to artificial colours when I was younger. Fortunately, most of the colours that caused issues are either banned or no longer used nowadays.

My earlier point still stands though - there is no ingredient in Fruit Shoots that has been linked to hyperactivity in children - therefore the cause of the hyperactivity mentioned earlier is probably environmental or some other stimulus. It's an easy cop out to blame additives for a child's misbehaviour. Like when a kid misbehaves at school and the parents assume ADHD is to blame, when in reality it's just NLS syndrome.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
amigafan2003 said:
Agreed. I was certainly sensitive to artificial colours when I was younger. Fortunately, most of the colours that caused issues are either banned or no longer used nowadays.
Click to expand...

I am very sensitive to a few in the lower 100 range like completely flip out inverted personality type stuff as a child though seem to have largely out grown it/they aren't used so much these days - so I'm a bit cautious writing intolerance to stuff like that off.
 
amigafan2003 said:
Agreed. I was certainly sensitive to artificial colours when I was younger.
Click to expand...
Me too - I used to be *very* hyperactive on them. No other E-numbers did it, it was just certain colours... Sunset Yellow and Quinoline are the only two I can remember now.

Strangely, the Attention Deficit side of it only seems to have developed/worsened as I've gotten older.
Not sure if it's an age thing, or if it's just because I stopped giving a damn about what I was eating once I moved out of home!!

Raikiri said:
Probably the same reason they 'get headaches' from MSG.
Click to expand...
The one person in particular I was thinking of had claimed headaches even when not knowing they've been given aspartamey things. I'm not saying it *is* the aspartame, but likely an ingredient other than either aspartame or caffeine.

Another friend gets headaches off strawberries - He loves them though, so he just doses up on Neurofen!!
 
Rroff said:
It is well known that sensitivity to various artificial food substances (which is proven to exist) often effects only a small percentage - so it is entirely possible to do dozens of tests with truly random subjects and never encounter someone who is actually sensitive within those groups.
Click to expand...

If you are trying to determine whether or not individuals in a population are sensitive to something and if so what % it needs to be randomised. If you use hypochondriacs exclusively then the response is elevated in both groups and you cannot determine what % of the general population may be affected.

Studies are designed so that with randomisation they have the statistical power to detect effects that only affect a low proportion of the population.
 
amigafan2003 said:
The research on that is inconclusive and the article you linked cites some very out of date studies - studies that have since been superseded. The current consensus is that artificial sweeteners do NOT lead to weight gain or increased appetite. Research is ongoing.
Click to expand...

Good to know, this isn't my area. Is it yours?
 
I use stevia, since my diabetes diagnosis it's great and natural, 49p per 100 pills, I've cooked with it and dissolved in milk and put on cereal.
 
just have the normal sugar version :confused:

compare the effects of trying and then worrying about a non sugar substitute drink maybe suffering headaches brought on by worry anxiety or whatever.

or just have a normal drink with sugar in and dont worry about it.

the sugar variety will end up being better for you :p

had a similar discussion with a women who always went on about eating too much salt. i said with the amount of worry and energy you spend on going on about eating too much salt it would have been healthier to eat the salt in the first place. :D
 
~>Dg<~ said:
just have the normal sugar version :confused:
Click to expand...

You mean the no added sugar version surely? Drinks with added sugar are relatively bad for you and can lead to weight gain if you aren't consciously controlling your calorie intake. Being overweight is a major contributor to developing diabetes. Even excess fruit juice contributes to weight gain.

the sugar variety will end up being better for you :p
Click to expand...

See above.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
yes if you drinking like 2lts a day. moderation everything yes.

show me the health differences between a normal drink per day . the effects will be literally nothing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom