11mo ago

Common low-calorie sweetener may be riskier for the heart than sugar, study suggests

www.nbcnews.com

A small trial from the Cleveland Clinic is the first head-to-head analysis of how erythritol affects cardiovascular risks compared with sugar.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/5yESq

15 comments

n=20. This is wayyyy too small a study to draw conclusions beyond "more research required".
- If you were actually versed in statistics and designing scientific studies, you would know that is a perfectly acceptable sample size.
TLDR: it’s erythritol.
I avoid erythritol because you have to use so much of it. With something like aspartame it's so much sweeter than sugar per gram that even if it all converted to formaldehyde a few sodas would be nothing to worry about. But erythritol is 30% less sweet than sugar so they put a bunch in. And the full effects of a bunch of a not-very-metabolized substance haven't been well-enough studied for me to not just get some other fake sugar thing instead.
As the other commenter said, though, this study had very small N.
I hate artificial sweeteners. They taste worse than suger.
Some people can just drink a glass of normal, no diet, soda once in a while. Rather have some sugar containing soda once every 4-5 days. Some people can moderate.
lol. Diabetes is worse.
- I have a fairly healthy diet, with little risk of diabetes, but sweeteners screw my digestion up. They are now in so many things that it’s hard to avoid them, especially in soft drinks and mixers. For the rest of the world that doesn’t eat an American diet, the balance of the risk presented by sugar vs diabetes is not as one-sided as all that
  
  Well, when they do a study of more than 20 people, maybe I’ll pay attention. Until then, I’ll bet that study money can be traced back to big sugar.
- The statement is partially true. Some artificial sweeteners, such as sucralose and aspartame, have been shown in certain studies to affect insulin response. However, the effect can vary depending on the sweetener, the individual, and the context (e.g., whether consumed with other foods). The evidence is mixed, and not all artificial sweeteners have been proven to significantly impact insulin levels.
  Overall, while there may be some effects on insulin response, it's not a uniform response across all artificial sweeteners or individuals.
Nice try, Big Sugar!
- ngl if artificial sweeteners also turn out to be bad for you, i'll just cut out the last bit of sugar-free sodas i still drink and switch to water. No way am I going to go back to sodas with sugar.
  
  There’s always seltzer!
Something has to be wrong with artificial sweeteners based on how they taste

15 comments