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submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

So maybe the huge worry people had after the news that WHO would classify it as cancerous was a little too much. I think the media could have reported on it in a bit more responsible way.

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[-] [email protected] 60 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Not a shock.

Food scares are almost always over blown (except obviously tide pods).

People thought MSG was going to kill everyone. People thought Cholesterol was the key to good health. Even fat in moderation is perfectly fine.

But Fish will kill you with mercury, uncooked pork will kill you with everything (which is unlikely to happen in the first place, but also most pork you get is already cooked, at least sausage and hams). Salmonella is definitely going to kill you. Your kitchen is going to burn down, Fried food will end your life, and all processed food is bad.

Remember Supersize me? Remember the guy who ate two big macs a day for multiple years. That SINGLE guy should have been the end of the entire documentary, because he basically showed "Yes you can eat McDonalds in moderation and have a healthy life." But instead "McDonalds is going to kill you with super sized food."

The fact is you're probably more likely to get Ebola than most of these things actually contributing to your death.. though speaking of disease myths...

These things rush in, kill a business or a company, and then are forgotten, and then 10 years later new science comes out and goes "Btw it wasn't as bad as people thought... try it out"

[-] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago

About the MSG hysteria, it's not even rooted in actual medical data, just run-of-the-mill xenophobia, which in itself is absolutely wild to me. It's like a whole chunk of the population collectively decided to develop the palate of a toddler, turning up their nose to "foreign" food.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate "Researchers, doctors, and activists have tied the controversy about MSG to xenophobia and racism against Chinese culture,[62][63][64][65][66] saying that East Asian cuisine is being targeted while the widespread use of MSG in other processed food hasn't been stigmatized.[67] These activists have claimed that the perpetuation of the negative image of MSG through the Chinese restaurant syndrome was caused by "xenophobic" or "racist" biases.[68][69]"

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I didn't dive deep on MSG just to not sound like I'm ranting about that specifically but you nailed it. It was more about Chinese restaurants (at least that's how I heard it) and I remember my parents saying we don't go to Chinese restaurants during the hysteria.

Sucks because I love Chinese food, and Thai, Korean, Japanese and more.

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[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Even the tide pod thing was over blown. No one was actually eating them, it was just a meme.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

I mean, unless this article is a fabrication, I think that's enough deaths for concern.

Not suggesting in any way that it was the fault of the mfr, but to me that's plenty to justify folks wanting something done to curb it.

And I curse those folks every single time I have to smash through the lid of my Persil laundry discs with brute strength because the lids are actually people-proof. 🙂

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Some people literally were tho.

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[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Everything in moderation as long as it isn't straight up poisonous.

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[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

As a side note, i don't think the skinny guy from Super Size Me who eats 2 Big macs a day is a picture of exemplary health. Dude is either a genetic outlier or he will drop dead of a coronary one day.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

All of those could be explanations. Here's another one.

Big macs are 583 calories... two big macs are about 1100 calories... aka perfectly reasonable in a healthy diet. I forget if he ate two a day or two in some meals, but a nutritionist would ok that Calorie count.

Morgan Spurlock pushed "no one can eat here and be healthy" but he constantly pushed for combo meals ate in one sitting, and supersized every time they asked. That's like someone going into a bar and saying yes every time the bartender goes "Want another one" and then going "OMG I'm so wasted and got alcohol poisoning" he set the rules up to make sure he failed, because no one is saying eat a combo meal at Mcdonalds for three meals a day.

The thing is it WOULD be interesting if he looked into why he can maintain a reasonable weight while eating it.... but of course they didn't because that would prove Mcdonalds isn't the worst thing ever. Morgan had two goals. Prove Mcdonalds is unhealthy (And ignore contrary evidence) and make an entertaining documentary. He did the later, but I feel like he never even came close to the former because his methodology was shit.

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[-] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago

Something being carcinogenic is not the same as it being likely to cause cancer. I wish this was a better understood distinction in the public. It comes down to how carcinogenic it is and how much you're exposed to/consume. It is technically true that aspartame is carcinogenic -- it's a scientific fact. But like they say here, normal human consumption amounts makes the likelihood of getting cancer from it negligible.

It's important though to recognize that carcinogens come in varying levels of strength. I'm fine with drinking two cans of diet soda, but I would never wash my hands in benzene. Benzene and aspartame are both carcinogenic, but benzene is WAY more potent. We've limited the amount of benzene that can be in gasoline for this reason -- but again note, it's limited, not eliminated.

I took an environmental engineering class in college, and our professor had a very cute but apt tagline. Dilution is the solution to pollution. You'll never get rid of 100% of something. But reducing its concentration can make it safe regardless. Same idea goes here.

Thanks for coming to my completely unsolicited Ted Talk.

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[-] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago

Up to 14 cans is technically limited but I don't think that limit is relevant for the average person. Or what do the Americans say?

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

14 cans is like 4.62 liters, which is more than what an average person needs in water per day.

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[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

I'm in the US. I've never know anyone to drink that much soda, aside from some clients with severe mental illness. One of my clients damaged her kidneys to the brink of failure from drinking such absurd amounts of soda every day.. It's not just the sugar to worry about, but all that carbonation.... It's bad for the kidneys.

I'm not trying to imply that people drinking that much soda are mentally ill, but rather that it is a dysfunctional behavior.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

My first thought was my teeth would be brittle as chalk from all that soda

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[-] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

Cancer is one thing, what about other health aspects? Does it affect your gut microbiota like earlier studies have suggested?

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[-] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

Anyone with functioning kidneys is fine. Anyone with kidney problems probably isn’t drinking much soda anyway, and if they are that’s their choice. The occasional diet soda won’t kill you any faster than, say, standing outside would.

Nobody’s drinking 5 LITERS of soda in a day. If they are? More power to ‘em.

This isn’t a big deal in the slightest. A lot of diet sodas aren’t even using aspartame anymore, so it’s nearly a moot point.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Won't effect the US, even if it causes cancer. EU has prohibited food additives which are carcinogenic, but we don't because the poor, poor food producers might have to pay farmers more and pay a couple pennies to make food that doesn't kill people.

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[-] Obsession 8 points 1 year ago

What a surprise, the claims were overblown. Glad to hear I can stock up on my Pepsi Zero again, since 1-2 cans a day won't kill me

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Why limit yourself to 1 or 2? The WHO says you can have 14 a day!

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

They say digesting the contents of aspartame equivalent to 14 cans is safe. Nothing about the actual drinking of 14 cans of coke lololol

[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Safe in limited amount, so just like normal sugar then. Just don't drink liters of soda each day. (Or even better, don't drink soda but water instead)

[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

I’m still not eating it. It tastes terrible or makes my mouth go numb depending on the type. There is a serious hole in the market to be filled by quick low calorie snack foods that are shelf stable and don’t involve sugar alternatives. Most stuff is just too sweet any way.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

14 cans of soda a day, even diet soda, can't possibly be safe or good for you. Especially since aspartame is also linked to kidney and liver failure and is even worse for you than ibuprofen in that regard; and you wouldn't normally take 14 ibuprofen in a single day.

How much did Coca-Cola pay for this PR? I swear, ever since the first news that aspartame is linked to cancer, there have been way more articles trying to convince people it ain't that bad. It's a corporate smokescreen.

[-] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

Im 90% sure they mean that digesting the Aspartame found in 14 cans per day is safe. Not the drinking 14 cans of coke lol

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I've used this for distilling too, when people start talking about methanol. Even with the worst distiller in the world, you'd have to drink something crazy like 10L before it would kill you.

Obviously by that point you'd be dead with alcohol poisoning. But saying "you can safely drink 14 cans of coke a day before the carcinogenic effects of aspartame become an issue" is completely valid, and not the same as saying "drinking 14 cans of coke a day is a healthy way to live".

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I've been on a low sugar diet for 3 years, to try to curb my binge eating disorder. Sugar was a huge trigger. I recently looked into how many low and zero sugar products use aspartame and every thing I buy to adhere to my diet has it in it. I'm introducing a bit more regular sugar into my diet so I stop consuming so much aspartame. It's going well. I haven't binged since the start of this, and hopefully it stays that way.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

You need a huge amount of aspertame to cause issues. Sugar is very unhealthy and it's in everything. I'd recommend sticking to sugar alternatives. If you're adding sweetener yourself, to coffee or whatever, there are other options though. I like stevia, which you can even grow and extract yourself without too much trouble. Ragardless, unless you're consuming absolutely massive amounts of aspertame, you'll be OK. (Maybe switch to water from soda though. That'll help regardless.)

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[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Who tf is drinking more than 14 cans of anything in a day. That's way too much liquid. My guts would be sloshing around all day if I did that. I love soda and I drink like 1 every few days. Can't give it up but at least I don't drink crazy amount of it.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Idk, I drink like 3L of liquid a day, especially during the summer. Doesn’t seem that infeasible.

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[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I have always heard the 52 can argument but the thing is, who in the hell is drinking 14 cans a day? I'm a physique competitor, I need an exorbitant amount of water and 14 12 fl oz/355 ml cans is a shit ton of fluid.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I'm all for removing toxics from my diet, sure. The thing is, afaik, there is no nutritional function nor benefit to consuming aspartame or for that matter any non-nutritive sweetener. So if it isn't doing anything I need, I'll just skip it. As Michael Pollan said, "Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants."

[-] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

Nobody drinks diet sodas for the nutrition value. They drink it for the taste.

And there is a benefit in not having sugar. Sugar is far worse. If artificial sweeteners mean you can enjoy the taste of something without sugar, that's healthier. Not nutritious, but healthier. I mean, they're saying up to 14 cans of diet coke a day is fine. But 14 cans of regular coke is 490 freaking grams of sugar and nearly 2000 calories (a pretty typical amount that many folks should have for the entire day). Obesity is a far bigger risk factor for most people.

The anti aspartame thing is just a combination of crackpots, people who have fallen for the "appeal to nature" fallacy, and people who really want everyone to know that they're better than you because they don't drink soda.

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[-] donut4ever 4 points 1 year ago

I still cut it off my diet. I didn't drink it much to begin with, possible one or two cans a week, but I'm still getting rid of it.

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[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Hydro homies where you at? Soda is trash, diet soda is trash, tiktok water is trash. Aspartame aint a problem in our lives.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

This. Nothing to worry about if you only drink high quality h2o.

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this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2023
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