Scientific research says that aspartame (Nutrasweet) is safe
Scientific research has provided convincing evidence that the non-nutritive sweetener, aspartame, is not dangerous to human health.
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Diet soda has a bad reputation, but science disagrees
There are a lot of myths about diet soda, but published clinical evidence indicate it is safe and may actually help you lose weight.
Artificial sweeteners have no effect on post-meal hunger hormones
A new systematic review and meta-analysis provides evidence that artificial sweeteners have no effect on hunger hormones or post-meal glucose.
Top 10 articles on Skeptical Raptor for 2022
These are the top 10 articles that I published in 2022 based on viewership. They are all very interesting for the reader.
Artificial sweeteners linked to obesity – poor evidence
This article about artificial sweeteners and obesity was written by Linda Tock, an American living in Denmark, who has an extensive research background in the biomedical sciences. She has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Chemistry and Health and will be pursuing a Ph.D. Ms. Tock has a fascination for Daphnia, an interesting planktonic crustacean, that is an important organism in studying pollution and environmental stresses.
So I received a message from a friend of mine, wanting my opinion on this news article, which loudly proclaims that artificial sweeteners are linked to obesity. Because it was a genuine question regarding the science behind the study, and not a ‘concern troll’ about my preference for diet cola, I went and looked at the study itself to see what the fuss was about.
Read More »Artificial sweeteners linked to obesity – poor evidence
Artificial sweeteners and cancer — what does a new study tell us
A new study of artificial sweeteners in place of real sugar seems to show a link to cancer. Of course, this starts a new set of claims that these sweeteners are dangerous and should be avoided.
But your obstreperous feathered avian or non-avian dinosaur has a different take. I don’t think the research is all that conclusive, and I’m not even sure it tells us anything about the safety of artificial sweeteners. I have a long tradition of being skeptical of research into artificial sweeteners.
As I like doing, let’s take a look at this new article and determine if it presents anything linking artificial sweeteners to cancer.
Read More »Artificial sweeteners and cancer — what does a new study tell us
Diet soda increases risk of stroke and dementia – does it?
Two recent studies published in respected journals seem to indicate that diet soda increases risk of stroke and dementia. Not to give a free pass to sugary drinks, one of the studies seemed to indicate that either artificially sweetened or sugar filled drinks might be linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Typical of the popular press and your average website, they accept the findings of these studies without any serious critique of these studies. US News blares a headline that says, “Health buzz: drinking diet soda linked to stroke, dementia risk, study says.” Thankfully, many of the headlines use the qualifier “may be linked,” but I’m afraid most people will overlook that nuanced discussion of these studies.
But what does the actual science say? Do these studies provide us with robust evidence that cutting out diet soda will suddenly decrease our risk of stroke, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease? Probably not, but let’s see what this data actually tells us.
Read More »Diet soda increases risk of stroke and dementia – does it?
Pepsi and aspartame – an unscientific decision
Unless you’re a follower of the junk science presented by the pseudoscience shill, Joe Mercola and other crackpots, you probably didn’t think much of the artificial sweetener called aspartame (or by its more common trade name, Nutrasweet). You might have wondered if it was safe, but your skeptical mind probably rejected any safety issue not because most of the negative information came from bad sources–like Mercola.
Now that you’re here, reading this story, probably because you just read something about Pepsi and aspartame – because the giant soft drink bottler decided to remove it from their diet sodas. They did replace aspartame with–oh wait for it–two other artificial sweeteners. Obviously, Pepsi did it for marketing/public relations reasons, but the decision itself is based on bad information (on the internet, of course), rather than real science.
Aspartame is safe according to the scientific consensus
This article has been completely updated with new information and can be found here. Comments are closed on this article, but please comment on the new one.
Aspartame (brand name Nutrasweet) is a popular artificial sweetener, approximately 200 times sweeter than common table sugar known as sucrose. Aspartame is a dipeptide of the natural amino acids L–aspartic acid and L–phenylalanine–these amino acids or peptides are consumed regular with nearly any animal or plant protein.
When aspartame is ingested, it is hydrolyzed (broken down by water molecules) into its constituent components: aspartate, phenylalanine and methanol, in an approximate 4:5:1 ratio. No aspartame has been found in the bloodstream, since it is so quickly hydrolyzed in the gut, and only the constituent components are absorbed.
To be absolutely clear, there is no difference between aspartic acid and phenylalanine that form aspartame than all “natural forms” of those amino acids that are contained in the proteins of food sources.Read More »Aspartame is safe according to the scientific consensus
Harvard hospital retracts statement about data on aspartame and cancer
This is a story about clinical research, misinterpreting said clinical research, an overaggressive Public Relations department, honest scientists, and good scientific journalism. Let’s start at the beginning. This week, an article was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition by Schernhammer et al.,… Read More »Harvard hospital retracts statement about data on aspartame and cancer