this post was submitted on 19 Aug 2023
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311
Revealed: WHO aspartame safety panel linked to alleged Coca-Cola front group (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 10 months ago by FlyingSquid@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
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[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 52 points 10 months ago (5 children)

I always find it amusing that people have been like “well it doesn’t cause weight loss!”

It doesn’t.

Is it water better than diet soda? Absolutely. But no one is replacing water with diet soda. They’re replacing coke with Diet Coke. Or whatever.

Which means fewer calories which means potential weight loss (or for lower weight gain. CICO.) the problem is that most people who drink doet sodas tend to have a lot of other dietary habits that are equally awful as slamming back a 12 pack of Mountain Dew everyday…(eew.)

As for aspartame causing cancer… I dunno. But I’m guessing it’s lower than the threat being obese makes. S

[–] Magrath@lemmy.ca 19 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Actually this dude I worked with replaced water with diet Pepsi. He said the tap water was filled government nanobots or something. Hasn't drank water in 20 years. But he's not sane so...

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It is. and you see, he's replacing the government nanobots.

but. you should tell him about the Coke Industries nanobots... implanting viral marketing in his head.

[–] ScrollinMyDayAway@lemm.ee 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Or that one of the main ingredients in Diet Coke is, you know, water...

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

Tap water from Mexico. Still has nanobots, also comes with worms. And because it lacks the alchohol in tequila… the worms survive and that’s why you don’t notice.

[–] siewyuk@monyet.cc 2 points 10 months ago

Government nanobots must weigh quite a bit, so maybe he's lost some weight after the switch?

[–] Sightline@lemmy.ml 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

From the EPA:

PFAS are widely used, long lasting chemicals, components of which break down very slowly over time.

Because of their widespread use and their persistence in the environment, many PFAS are found in the blood of people and animals all over the world and are present at low levels in a variety of food products and in the environment.

PFAS are found in water, air, fish, and soil at locations across the nation and the globe.

Scientific studies have shown that exposure to some PFAS in the environment may be linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals.

There are thousands of PFAS chemicals, and they are found in many different consumer, commercial, and industrial products. This makes it challenging to study and assess the potential human health and environmental risks.

[–] there1snospoon@ttrpg.network 9 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I explicitly know of at least two people, whom I’ve met, who claimed that they refused to drink “just water”. It was always either soft drinks, juice, or water with flavoring, which often uses either aspartame or sucralose.

Dunno if it was diet drink, but still…

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

W. C. Fields didn't drink water. "Fish fuck in it." But he didn't drink soft drinks either. All of the liquid in his diet was obtained from booze.

[–] molleja@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

But no one is replacing water with diet soda. They’re replacing coke with Diet Coke. Or whatever.

You’d be surprised.

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

not really. there are plenty of people that don't drink water. at all... if they're just not asking for kidney stones, then they're replacing it with other things. sugar'd up soda being the most likely.

[–] UltraMagnus0001@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

artificial sweeteners causes your brain to crave sugar and you end up eating more sugar elsewhere.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=artificial+sweeteners+and+sugar+cravings&pc=MOZB

[–] Silverseren@kbin.social 0 points 10 months ago

That's still just a self-control issue on your caloric intake regardless.

[–] Cleverdawny@lemm.ee 44 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Aspartame, when it hits your intestines, immediately decomposes into 40% phenylalanine, 40% aspartic acid, and 20% methanol. Phenylalanine and aspartic acid are nutritious amino acids, otherwise known as protein. Since aspartame is so much sweeter than sugar, it's used in quantities small enough to make the methanol intake levels from a can of diet soda lower than what you would get from a cup of fruit juice.

There's no real danger.

[–] naught@sh.itjust.works 16 points 10 months ago (2 children)

From the reporting I saw, it can be a problem if you drink like gallons of the drinks every day, which can actually happen irl, but is not common. Worth pointing out but not a cause for concern

[–] Cleverdawny@lemm.ee 6 points 10 months ago

At that point the amount of water taken in and the acids in the soda will cause far more of a problem

[–] agressivelyPassive@feddit.de 5 points 10 months ago (2 children)

If you're drinking gallons of anything over a longer time, you'll have problems.

[–] idunnololz@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

If you keep drinking then it all works out. Can't have any problems if you're dead taps temple.

[–] naught@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 months ago (3 children)

water 😎

[–] agressivelyPassive@feddit.de 13 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Even that. Your kidneys don't like to be overworked.

[–] magikmw@lemm.ee 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

There was this woman few weeks ago that drank like 3 gallons of water in 20 minutes and died. Water toxicity is, weirdly a thing.

[–] Cleverdawny@lemm.ee 4 points 10 months ago

If you drink water faster than your kidneys, lungs, and sweat pores can expel it, your body gets out of homeostasis and can't maintain proper function

[–] blackberries33@sh.itjust.works -3 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Well, aspartame is a sure fire way to give me a migraine, so I don't believe your explanation.

[–] Cleverdawny@lemm.ee 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Aspartame isn't what is giving you the migraine. It's either psychosomatic or something else in the beverage you drank. Unless you receive a migraine when you drink fruit juice.

As to whether you believe me or not, uhh, I don't know how to nicely put this. Factual reality doesn't change just because you feel it should be different. The metabolic products of aspartame and its digestion are well understood. It never reaches your bloodstream intact.

[–] blackberries33@sh.itjust.works 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

There is no way for me to know if you are an expert or an otherwise trustworthy source of information on this topic. You are a random person on the internet, who did not cite any sources. I should not automatically believe any explanation you offer.

There is no need to be condescending.

[–] Cleverdawny@lemm.ee 1 points 10 months ago

I don't think you should, but I do think that Googling the metabolism of aspartame would be warranted if you want to be educated on the subject, rather than discarding it.

https://www.greenfacts.org/en/aspartame/l-3/aspartame-3.htm

That's your information on the metabolism.

As to amount you'll intake, the average can of diet soda contains 0.18g of aspartame according to Wikipedia.

According to the UK, fruit juice contains an average of 140mg/L of methanol naturally, due to fermentation of sugars in fruits. That means that 12 oz of fruit juice will contain an average of .05g of methanol, while an average soda would contain .036g of methanol.

Here are the other metabolites of aspartame:

Phenylalanine (essential amino acid) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylalanine

Aspartic acid (non-essential amino acid) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartic_acid

Amino acids are proteins. The difference between an essential and a non-essential amino acid is that while our bodies require both to live, we produce non-essential amino acids but must intake essential amino acids through our food.

[–] Tikiporch@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You know what, I get a migraine when I spend more than 10 minutes with my mother-in-law. Just because you don't, doesn't mean she can't give you cancer.

[–] blackberries33@sh.itjust.works 0 points 10 months ago

I did not say anything about cancer. I said migraine.

[–] Silverseren@kbin.social 26 points 10 months ago

Okay, corruption like that should be corrected. Regardless, there's no scientific evidence that aspartame is harmful. Let alone a biochemical reason for why a dipeptide of two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid, that dissociates in the stomach into its constituent components and some byproducts would be harmful in the first place.

Unless you have phenylketonuria, but you have much bigger problems in that case and, if that is the case for you, kudos on being at an age and capability to read and understand this post, you are incredible.

Edit: Also, just noticed the part about US Right To Know, which is a well known anti-science group that's been pushing pseudoscience and fearmongering about other topics, such as biotechnology, for years. So them being involved here raises questions.

[–] ReallyKinda@kbin.social 13 points 10 months ago

Broo I knew something was off about that saga. Pretty bold, Coke.

[–] MorgoFett@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I don’t get it. What would be Coke’s motive here? Wouldn’t they be cutting into their own sales if aspartame was shown as terrible for you?

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 14 points 10 months ago (1 children)

They released the study that said it wasn’t so bad. That article was a mashed wreck, though, so I could be mistaken

[–] stealthnerd@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago (2 children)

If it's the report I think they're referring to, it basically said Aspartame is possibly carcinogenic but safe at normal consumption levels.

It raised a lot of doubt around Aspartame being carcinogenic without going so far as to deem it non carcinogenic, concluding that more studies are needed.

I wouldn't call it overwhelmingly positive for Coke but it's not hurting them.

[–] Silverseren@kbin.social 3 points 10 months ago

There have been dozens of studies over multiple decades looking into aspartame and have found it isn't carcinogenic. One Coke-funded study one way or the other doesn't change the massive body of research.

[–] ivanafterall@kbin.social 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

If the truth is that it's a carcinogen, a WHO report saying it's fine in small amounts would be overwhelmingly positive for Coke, I'd say. Just like tobacco companies being behind the studies showing the "healthiness" of vaping as an alternative, even though it might decrease cigarette sales a bit.

[–] JustAManOnAToilet@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

I'd imagine getting early knowledge of the report long before its release could be a huge benefit if it turned out they needed to do some damage control.

[–] Apeeksiht@lemdro.id 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Just drink black coffee.

[–] Waldowal@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Let's not be crazy. A little half and half...

EDIT: You guys must really hate creamer

[–] lars@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Quarter and quarter just to be on the safe side