Posted on 03/13/2025 2:58:19 AM PDT by RandFan
The hidden dangers of a little-known additive in a popular children's drink have been revealed after experts issued an alarming health warning.
Called glycerol, the super-sweet substance is a common ingredient in 'slushies' — bright, colourful ice cold drinks that are a mainstay at cinemas and corner shops.
But medics have warned the beverages can trigger a potentially deadly condition called 'intoxication syndrome' in some children.
Here, MailOnline details exactly why the sweetener is so dangerous for small bodies, and how it can trigger a lethal drop of blood sugar within minutes, with fatal consequences.
Experts have warned that just one 350ml drink, about as much as can of Coca Cola, could be enough to cause problems in children under four.
In youngsters aged five to ten, one and a half of these drinks can have dangerous effects, if consumed quickly.
Doctors yesterday blamed slushies for a spate of 21 hospitalisations in children who needed medical care within an hour of consuming the drinks.
And last year, they were held responsible for almost killing two children aged three and four.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Brain freeze could be permanent.
What's wrong with good old fashioned Cane Sugar?
Maybe the drink will cost 20 cents more?
Glycerol sounds like antifreeze.
Has anyone on this site ever heard of any child going into a coma from a slushie? Ever read about one anywhere going into a coma because of a slushie? Ever?
Never had one, never will, and certainly would never give one to a child.
One is left wondering the mindset of parents these days...
From the article’s linked article, also Daily Mail:
The rare condition can occur at any point in life and can lead to a range of symptoms depending on its severity, including drowsiness, hypoglycaemia and seizures.
Many people may never realise they have the problem.
Prof Boobis believes that a small child with this condition could become severely unwell if they consumed a large portion of glycerol.
‘In this situation, consuming a lot of glycerol could overwhelm the body and cause a health crisis,’ he says.
‘Because the body could not process the glycerol, this could block the production of all glucose in the body, and the child would experience severe hypoglycaemia.’
In addition, one form of ALDH mutation is G3PDH insufficiency. G3PDH is the cell-produced catalyst which inserts ingested glycerol into the Krebs cycle for oxidation. People with a mutated G3PDH gene can’t clear glycerol, and the mutation is far from rare.
Glycerol is used in eciggs I beleive (and also glycol)
> Kind of makes one wonder who owns the FDA - they seem to have been approving a LOT of poisons over the years...<
The Self Determination rule allowed companies to decide on their own what was safe. I doubt the FDA was involved in this.
The dilemma:
Give the government more control and opportunity for corruption, or
Allow any and all lawsuits against companies.
Neither choice sounds good.
EC
Your parents probably didn’t allow you to have it when you were a three year old, though.
While I remember eating my share of sugary junk food as a kid, one difference I would note is the size of the stuff. We might have indulged on those miniature wax soda bottles filled with a minute amount of flavored sugary liquid or an occasional candy bar, but never could we have imagined a 64 Oz container of sugary glop laced with artificial colors and glycerol.
Well.....🤣😄😆
I gave them a couple of sips of my coffee instead of rushing them to emergency.
I knew a girl a few years ago that violently threw up after drinking them. She drank the 2nd one because no one thought it was the slushy the day she got sick after the first. She may have been sensitive to it, might be lucky she threw it up.
They keep changing things so much I doubt they are made the same as the ones we drank as kids.
I assumed they were referring to the widespread phenomena known as “Brain Freeze”. When children consume slushies, shaved ice or snow cones too rapidly, a freezing sensation begins in the throat and moves quickly through the neck to the brain, producing blinding and paralyzing pain. This could be one of those things your mother warned you about… “if you keep doing that, you’ll stay that way.”
Good point! Since they said it was glycerin, I thought it was essential and not new.
Guess that would have been bad in between their chain smoking, cocktails and no baby seat or seat belts in the car.
Ridiculous.
I had my share of Slurpees from 7-11 was a id.
It does
we need to bring back good ol cane sugar
If I can ever get out of debt and fly to your state.....
You’ll have to drive a bit
Maybe THEN we can go to a local Taco Bell!!
But I AM NOT FLYING ON A 737 MAX....
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