Free Republic

(CNN) — Consuming a drink with erythritol — an artificial sweetener used to add bulk to stevia and monk fruit and to sweeten low-carb keto products — more than doubled the risk of blood clotting in 10 healthy people, according to a new pilot study. Clots can break off blood vessels and travel to the heart, triggering a heart attack, or to the brain, triggering a stroke. Previous research has linked erythritol to a higher risk of stroke, heart attack and death. “What is remarkable is that in every single subject, every measure of platelet responsiveness (clotting) went up following...

The suspected health harms of artificial sweeteners are piling up – and now a new study has linked one kind of sugar substitute to higher risks of heart health problems. Physician-scientist Stanley Hazen and colleagues at the Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute wanted to see if they could find any signs that could warn people they were at greater risk of heart attack and stroke. They found it in blood levels of organic compounds used as sweeteners, specifically erythritol; a sweetener commonly used in low sugar, sugar-free, and no-carb foods. Among a group of 1,157 patients undergoing tests at a...

Keep calm and keep drinking Diet Coke experts have urged Brits in the wake of a bombshell leak linking a commonly used sweetener to cancer. Aspartame, a sugar alternative using in diet drinks, juices and lighter versions of chewing gum, yogurt and jellies, is set to be listed as 'possibly carcinogenic to humans' by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to insiders. The news prompted some people on social media to swear to 'never' touch Diet Coke, or other products containing aspartame, ever again. But experts today told MailOnline that the WHO leak was causing unnecessary panic and urged people...

The Chinese-backed World “Health” Organization (WHO) was perfectly happy to let a deadly virus kill 7 million people worldwide. But heaven forbid people enjoy a Diet Coke. According to Reuters, the disgraced organization is set to declare aspartame, one of the world’s most common artificial sweeteners, a possible carcinogen (cancer risk) next month. As the Guardian notes, aspartame is used as a sweetener in thousands of products globally such as Coca-Cola diet sodas, Mars’ Extra chewing gum, some Snapple drinks, Mentos, and ice cream. Reuters says it will be listed in July as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” for the first...

The "diet" in diet drinks may be a false promise for some soda lovers. True, they deliver the fizz and taste of a soda experience, without the calories. Yet, new research shows they also can leave people with increased food cravings. A study published recently in JAMA Network Open adds to the evidence that drinks made with sucralose may stimulate the appetite, at least among some people, and the study gives some clues as to why. "We found that females and people with obesity had greater brain reward activity" after consuming the artificial sweetener, says study author Katie Page, a...

After I found Diet Coke in 1982, I drank at the very least three to 4 12-ounce cans almost each day for the following 4 a long time, regardless of the place on the planet I used to be. I used to be the one that prevented sure airways as a result of they solely served Pepsi. Who purchased out a complete retailer’s stock in New Delhi as a result of she feared she won’t encounter one other soda in the remainder of the nation. Who stashed cans in her room when she visited her dad and mom, like an...

There is clear evidence that high sugar consumption leads to obesity and fatty liver disease. Synthetic and natural alternatives to sugar are available, but little is known about the effects of these non-caloric sweeteners on the liver. A new study led by Rohit Kohli, MBBS, MS, shows that stevia extract can reduce markers of fatty liver disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that obesity affects nearly 19% of children. An associated condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease affects one out of every 10 children. Fatty liver disease can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Consumption of too...

Many of us believe some kinds of sugar are somehow healthier. High-fructose corn syrup has been a scapegoat for American obesity for the past decade and a half, so you might be surprised to learn that sugar and honey both have more fructose than high-fructose corn syrup. Let’s break down the numbers here. Despite its misleading name, the most commonly used form of HFCS only has 42 percent fructose in comparison to table sugar’s 50 percent. Honey, the beloved natural sweetener, has 49 percent. Standard corn syrup doesn’t have any fructose because it’s 100 percent glucose, which explains how HFCS...

A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same. In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United...

Federal agents are now investigating reports of possibly eight threatening letters with a white substance in at least four Alabama cities this morning, an FBI official confirmed. Angela Tobon, media spokesperson for the Mobile FBI, said the letters were all mailed to federal offices and "are all the same ...white powder with threatening letters," she said.

~ EXCERPT ~ When House Democratic leaders were rounding up votes Friday for the massive climate-change bill, they paid special attention to their colleagues from Ohio who remained stubbornly undecided. They finally secured the vote of one Ohioan, veteran Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo, the old-fashioned way. They gave her what she wanted - a new federal power authority, similar to Washington state's Bonneville Power Administration, stocked with up to $3.5 billion in taxpayer money available for lending to renewable energy and economic development projects in Ohio and other Midwestern states.

Carrie Dashow dropped a large dollop of lemon sorbet into a glass of Guinness, stirred, drank and proclaimed that it tasted like a "chocolate shake". Nearby, Yuka Yoneda tilted her head back as her boyfriend, Albert Yuen, drizzled Tabasco sauce onto her tongue. She swallowed and considered the flavor: "Doughnut glaze, hot doughnut glaze!" They were among 40 or so people who tasted under the influence of a small red berry called miracle fruit. The berry rewires the way the palate perceives sour flavors for an hour or so, rendering lemons as sweet as candy. The miracle fruit, Synsepalum dulcificum,...

USING an artificial, no-calorie sweetener rather than sugar may make it tougher, not easier, to lose weight, US researchers said today. Scientists at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, studied rats that were fed food with the artificial sweetener saccharin and rats fed food with glucose, a natural sugar. In comparison to rats given yogurt sweetened with glucose, those that ate yogurt sweetened with saccharin went on to consume more calories and put on more weight and body fat. The researchers said sweet foods may prompt the body to get ready to take in a lot of calories, but when...

The documents seized in the FBI raid on the offices of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) remain unread by Justice Department investigators, pending a federal Appeals Court ruling scheduled for August 27. [snip] But we already know a bit about the charges and some of the alleged partners of Congressman Jefferson. Two people have pleaded guilty to bribing him.

Choosing a diet soft drink over a regular, sugar-packed beverage may not be the best way to fight obesity, according to new research from Purdue University. But the researchers said this doesn't mean you should grab a regularly sweetened soft drink instead. Susan Swithers and Terry Davidson Download photo caption below Professor Terry Davidson and associate professor Susan Swithers, both in the Department of Psychological Sciences, found that artificial sweeteners may disrupt the body's natural ability to "count" calories based on foods' sweetness. This finding may explain why increasing numbers of people in the United States lack the natural ability...

WASHINGTON, DC – The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) today condemned the vote by the Mexican Senate on December 27 to maintain the 20% tax on soft drinks made with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). “It is now a certainty that the Mexican soda tax will remain in place following the recent vote of the Mexican Senate. It is unacceptable that this discriminatory tax has shut down production of HFCS in Mexico and U.S. HFCS exports for two full years,” said CRA President Audrae Erickson. “We urge a speedy conclusion of the on-going U.S.-Mexican private sector efforts to bring about a...

NutraSweet: The NutraPoison by Alex Constantine "I recognized my two selves: a crusading idealist and a cold, granitic believer in the law of the jungle." Edgar Monsanto Queeny, Monsanto chairman, 1943-63, The Spirit of Enterprise, 1934. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The FDA is ever mindful to refer to aspartame, widely known as NutraSweet, as a "food additive"-never a "drug." A "drug" on the label of a Diet Coke might discourage the consumer. And because aspartame is classified a food additive, adverse reactions are not reported to a federal agency, nor is continued safety monitoring required by law.1 NutraSweet is a non-nutritive sweetener. The...