sugar free drinks? health risk?

Question

This is not just connected to the lager/vodka question previously asked but also to the drinks i supply my kids with. I've heard that the artificial sweeteners can contain chemicals linked with cancer such as aspartame and phenylalanine? Anyone got any info on this? Should i go for full fat, full sugar "fruit shoot" type drinks for them or the sugar free version with sweeteners?

Answer 1

There`s only one drink that`s` safe.Water ! And where I live even thats` questionable !

Answer 2

There's a rare medical condition in which some people have a serious adverse reaction to phenylalanine. Hence the labels on products that contain it, but most people don't have to worry about it.

Aspartame always says "has been associated with cancer in lab animals" or something similar. For them, it's a legal buffer, but millions of people consume it every day regardless.

Personally, I hate artificial sweetners for the taste, but I'm also not real big on stuffing myself with chemicals. Even though they seem harmless, you never know what the cumulative affect might be. For kids, I'd say go with relatively low-sugar drinks etc, and definitely limit sugar and fat, but you can do that without going to artficial sweetners.

Answer 3

Just go for natural sweeteners. Like in fresh orange juice. Kids should definitely get the best juice you can buy. If you want to give them an artificial sweetener make sure it is Splenda. That is the safest kind I have read. I also read that if you do eat artificial sweeteners that your body becomes less able to process real sugar when you do finally eat it and you are more suceptable to gaining weight. Not sure this is true but seems to make sense. You really should go for the real fruit juice!!!

Answer 4

There has been research done that aspartame causes cancer. You can have more immediate reactions as well, I used to drink the flavored water that didn't have any calories, and I started having some side effects, stomach pains, headaches, etc. My doctor linked these side effects to the aspartame.

If you had to make a choice between Pepsi and diet Pepsi, i was suggested to go with Pepsi.

Answer 5

The sugar free are by far the better choice as children find enough sugar in other products but it also depends on other ingredients and additives in the drinks. There are many natural fruit juices that are naturally sweet and have no sugar added.

Answer 6

the best thing to do is not to give your kids those kind of drinks. the best drink for them is fresh juice. anything else is bad. The artificial sweeteners phenylanine and aspartame is bad. If you buy regular drinks, they contain chemicals too, so the result is the same.

Answer 7

Avoid anything sweetened with aspartame - it breaks down in the body to methyl alcohol (meths!) and phenylalanine.
Would you give your kids Meths to drink?
Best thing to give them is water out of the tap - subject to much more stringent regulation than bottled water.
If they want it flavoured, use pure fruit juice - from concentrate - nothing added, miss out the fancy stuff.

Answer 8

When I buy stuff for my son (or me!), I don't buy sugar free anything. He actually doesn't have a lot of processed sweets, so the natural sugar is what he gets. It is 15 calories a teaspoon. Use that guide when feeding it to your kids.

Answer 9

i asked my health visitor about this as i am trying to calm my three year old son's behaviour with his diet, she said go for the sugar free version everytime, even with my other children who dont have behavioural problems

Answer 10

It seems EVERYTHING is a health risk these days...