this post was submitted on 01 Aug 2025
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I often think about what the 2025 equivalent of this is. What are we doing today that we think is helping, but is actually taking us out?
I hate to say it, and I really hope I’m wrong, but sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners. I myself use them to cut my sugar intake and have resorted to the most naturally occurring option (stevia). I hope there are no long term negative effects once they’ve existed long enough for scientists to study them.
They've studied them for quite a while, and they appear to be pretty safe. Most studies that "show" that they cause cancer were done on rats (a breed of which is notorious for developing cancer) and the amounts given to them were ludicrous, something like drinking multiple cases of diet soda in a day. The only possible issue I've seen so far is that sucralose affects the microbiome, and we don't know enough about the microbiome still to know if it's negative or positive.
IMHO the reduction in calories and sugar greatly outweigh any potential negative impacts if there are any.
Seems like you have not considered the #1 reason to stay away from fake sugar, which is of course that it tastes terrible.
Fair - I know it tastes awful to some people. I personally don't mind it, and I actually prefer it in a few things like sodas.
Using non-caloric sweeteners are a "tweak" that can result in some positive health changes - drop a bit of weight, improve A1C a bit, etc. It's certainly not the only tweak that can used, though (e.g. increasing your daily step count or incorporating more fruits and veggies).