Sweetners in drinks

Originally posted by Ian McLean
Mentioning other sweeteners, a month or so ago I heard someone say that Aspartame (slightly dampened) is actually a much better ant-killer than any commercial products. Makes em drop dead right there. Yikes. Anyone know how true that is, or is it just an urban legend?

Ants won't touch it. When they have the choice between sugar or apartatme, they always choose the calorically dense source....(sugar)

reply to post by Ian McLean


I think that is a hoax. I read the same thing in a satirical article.
www.thespoof.com...

Originally posted by Gregandgemma
Is it me or since the whole drinks industry has promoted sugar free drinks/cordials etc, the obesity rates in the young have soared?

Probably just you.

I personally by the high juice drinks with natural sweetners, tnot the special R type drinks.

Sweetners taste bad and are bad.

Just my pennies worth

Maybe some are bad. Not all are. Stevia and xylitol are great sugar substitutes that are NOT artificial.

The long term effects of artificial sweetener consumption aren't really well understood; the short term effects are negligible.

The long and short term effects of sugar consumption are VERY well documented. They include metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity, cancer, gout and many other chronic diseases associated with western civilizations.

I really hate the bitter aftertaste of most sweeteners and I don't really have a sweet tooth at all.

I don't see that sweeteners are responsible for obesity though, I think it's more down to the fact that ordinary people used to have very physically demanding jobs, toiling in fields and working in factories, or hand scrubbing floors for hours, and now everyone (including me) just sits behind desks munching on chips.

Being fat used to be a sign of being rich and that you didn't have to do any manual work, that's more or less all of us now.

All of this has happened in less then 50 years and we just can't adjust that fast.

reply to post by DevolutionEvolvd


Can those effects really be attributed to sugar?

You are really talking about high fructose cornsyrup.

Sugar, cane sugar does not cause any of the mentioned problems even when consumed in higher amounts. Its the corn byproduct that causes the problems and it's in everything.

reply to post by ISHAMAGI


You couldn't be more wrong.

Metabolically, HFCS and Sugar are the same.

Glucose + Fructose

Both individually, especially consumed in the large amounts found in sodas, are detrimental. Combined...these two sugars are extremely lipogenic (causing fat to pour into fat cells) and promote a host of health problems.