on artificial sweeteners

[Mavi]

I heard that they're bad for the health because the sweet taste triggers the body to produce insulin. And since there is no sugar in sweeteners, the increased amount of insulin in the body can cause you to go into shock.

And how does one know if one is phenylketunoric? Diet sodas always have that warning on the side of the can.

Is saccharine in toothpaste bad for your health. I also heard that it's cancerous (my gosh, my medical knowhows all rely on gossip) My mom got me the colgate bugsbunny toothpaste and it contains sacc. Sayang, bubblegum flavor pa naman!

[batang uliran]

Like many things, I don't believe artificial sweeteners can cause bad things to happen to you so long as they are consumed in moderation. The argument repeatedly pushed forward by the medical establishment is that whatever side effects there are (and cancer is probably highly unlikely) they are still better than the consequences of increased weight gain and consequently increased risk of heart disease, stroke and the like.

Phenylketonuria is an inherited deficiency in a specific enzyme - I believe phenylalanine hydroxylase - which is manifest shortly after birth if left untreated. In the US and some other developed countries (probably not done routinely in the Philippines), this condition is screened in all newborns since leaving it untreated for a month or so will lead to signficant mental retardation. Left untreated, these kids are in mental institutions before they are 5 because of severe mental dysfunction and seizures. The bottom line here is by the time you get to adulthood, you know if you have it or not.

[This message has been edited by batang uliran (edited 11-22-1999).]

[Ira]

The thing with those laboratory animals tested on saccharine, the amount of saccharine pumped into these animals were way , way over what humans would take in their whole lifetime. I'm not quite sure, but I think it's around at least gallon a day of saccharine if we translate it to human consumption. Plus, they have not yet proven that saccharine produces cancer on humans. Taking it in moderation will not hurt, like with toothpastes--anyway you spit much of it out, right?

Nutrasweet's safer than saccharine. The only side effect so far, like b.u. says, is phenylketonuria for phenylketonuric children.
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