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Sugar and its synthetic brothers are addictive. Sugar addiction should be classified as an addiction and given the same sort of attention and funding that alco

Sugar and its synthetic brothers are addictive. Sugar addiction should be classified as an addiction and given the same sort of attention and funding that alcohol and drug addictions receive.

lotsofpulp 5y ago
What harm is there from artificial sweeteners? Or rather, how much consumption of artificial sweeteners is harmful?
- mey 5y ago
  They may mess with your sense of taste, making you crave even sweeter foods. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/artificial-sweeteners-sugar-free-but-at-what-cost-201207165030 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/artificial-sweeteners-su...
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    I feel like I have seen a lot of BS peddled about artificial sweeteners over the years, but it seems like they would certainly be a better alternative to the sugar people have been eating. Despite their widespread consumption, I have yet to see any reports of people being directly affected by them, at least in the amounts currently consumed.
- asciimov 5y ago
  One issue with artificial sweeteners is that they can make a person feel hungry an hour or two after consumption. Thus causing a person to consume more calories than they normally would.
CanceledAccount 5y ago
Being against artificial sweeteners is like being against vaping. Even if they cause some harm, the alternative is a massive danger, so we should still encourage people to switch.
- ErikVandeWater 5y ago
  Artificial sweeteners haven't had the effect of making people thinner in the real world because it affects your sense of taste and the microbiome in your digestive system. > Dr. Robert Lustig, an obesity expert and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, said that artificial sweeteners confuse the body: Their sweet flavors send a signal to the brain and the digestive system to brace for a flood of sugar. But when those calories never arrive, it can send hormones like insulin out of whack, over time leading to metabolic dysfunction, he said. > “The short answer is that artificial sweeteners are probably better than sugar, but not by much,” Dr. Lustig said. NYT: https://archive.ph/MoRg7#selection-887.0-891.114 https://archive.ph/MoRg7#selection-887.0-891.114 The difference between smoking and vaping is far more vast than the difference between sugar and artificial sugar

Sugar and its synthetic brothers are addictive. Sugar addiction should be classified as an addiction and given the same sort of attention and funding that alcohol and drug addictions receive.

lotsofpulp 5y ago

What harm is there from artificial sweeteners? Or rather, how much consumption of artificial sweeteners is harmful?

mey 5y ago
They may mess with your sense of taste, making you crave even sweeter foods. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/artificial-sweeteners-sugar-free-but-at-what-cost-201207165030 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/artificial-sweeteners-su...
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  I feel like I have seen a lot of BS peddled about artificial sweeteners over the years, but it seems like they would certainly be a better alternative to the sugar people have been eating. Despite their widespread consumption, I have yet to see any reports of people being directly affected by them, at least in the amounts currently consumed.
asciimov 5y ago
One issue with artificial sweeteners is that they can make a person feel hungry an hour or two after consumption. Thus causing a person to consume more calories than they normally would.

CanceledAccount 5y ago

Being against artificial sweeteners is like being against vaping. Even if they cause some harm, the alternative is a massive danger, so we should still encourage people to switch.

ErikVandeWater 5y ago
Artificial sweeteners haven't had the effect of making people thinner in the real world because it affects your sense of taste and the microbiome in your digestive system. > Dr. Robert Lustig, an obesity expert and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, said that artificial sweeteners confuse the body: Their sweet flavors send a signal to the brain and the digestive system to brace for a flood of sugar. But when those calories never arrive, it can send hormones like insulin out of whack, over time leading to metabolic dysfunction, he said. > “The short answer is that artificial sweeteners are probably better than sugar, but not by much,” Dr. Lustig said. NYT: https://archive.ph/MoRg7#selection-887.0-891.114 https://archive.ph/MoRg7#selection-887.0-891.114 The difference between smoking and vaping is far more vast than the difference between sugar and artificial sugar