A Sweet History of Saccharin

Artificial sweeteners have been around longer than you might imagine, and as long as they have been around they have raised questions and produced challenges for those trying to protect the food supply. The Fascinating history of Saccharin, the first artificial sweetener, is a story of science, industry, regulation, and consumers seeking a sweet treat without the guilt.
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Script by THG
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[@jameslovelady7751]

In 1944 I helped my Dad mix Coca Cola fountain syrup using half the normal sugar and saccharine. I hated the way the dust got in my mouth and lingered.

[@carguybikeguy]

The issue my aunt (a dietician) has is the human body also needs caloric content. If there’s an imbalance or issue (similar to our confusing thirst for hunger), someone will reach for something sweet but sidestep the sugar because ‘watching my weight’. What they don’t understand is the body gets what the tongue and brain agree on as sweet, but when the body actually processes it, an alarm goes off saying ‘Where’s my caloric content the tastebuds indicated was coming!? Must eat more!’ Artificial sweeteners can but not always be a barrier to losing weight.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

That Imbalance of expectation to reality in the body is why I tend to avoid them, personally. We eat too much sugar and sweets anyway, we should just slow our roll instead of insisting on eating sweet things without the sugar content. But that's just my personal opinion. I don't like the flavors provided by artificial sweeteners anyway, they're always a bit bitter, or nauseatingly sweet.

[@josephgaviota]

Interesting anaysis.

[@GregTheRushFan]

This can be proven through observation. I see it at my office all the time. Rotund workers drink a diet beverage then 30 minutes later head to the snack box.. I see it every day!

[@michaelmanning5379]

One of my clients was a sugar packaging plant. On the wall in reception was a picture of a little blonde girl surrounded by daisies with the text "The natural goodness of sugar" I thought the sentiment a tad saccharine.

[@navret1707]

The diet soda (Tab?) lab test required so much soda be consumed on a daily basis that you would drown before developing cancer.

[@cynthiaslater7445]

That fact didn't stop the press from attempting to create a cancer scare.

[@Svensk7119]

Bring back Tab!!

[@tygrkhat4087]

That's what me and my friends said about it back in the 70s.

[@jamespfitz]

That's not how drowning works.

[@jamespfitz]

​@@Svensk7119It's been back for decades

[@josephgaviota]

As a kid (like 6 or 7), my (older)(female) cousins got saccharin tablets, which were teeny-tiny. They used them to sweeten ice tea, and I suppose maintain their youthful figure (I was six, what did I care). I also remember these same girls getting _white_ or _orange_ lipstick ... and I thought that was CRAZY.

[@whispernorbury7985]

My father, who was born in 1929, told me once about how one of his brothers read in a book that a certain poison tasted sweet (I'm not sure which poison) and became paranoid about it. So my dad, ever the troublemaker, started putting saccharine tablets into his water when he wasn't looking!

[@ronmaximilian6953]

Strychnine is sweet. Actually, there are others. Organic chemistry left a bad taste in my mouth and my GPA

[@frogandspanner]

1:58 Serendipity is a great contributor to scientific knowledge. When I was doing my PhD one of my PhD pals was doing some gas liquid chromatography (on modified yeast - selected for its inability to produce ergosterol) . His runs of previous weeks have revealed nothing interesting. Then one day I dragged him off the the pub. He forgot to switch off the GLC, and when we returned an hour or so later, much mellowed by beer, there was a hundred metres of graphed GLC paper on the floor. But there was a peak that revealed a major breakthrough. I learned from that the importance of going to the pub during any experiment, and have dedicated myself to the principle.

[@dr.froghopper6711]

I understand and agree. I passed a couple Physics classes and pissed off the rest of my classmates by applying Newcastle Brown Ale to my homework sessions. I blew the grading curve by making 95%-100% grades. I just wanted to understand the subject matter and had a few brews while studying. Goodness me!

[@djquinn11]

Hahaha! I’ll drink to that! 🍺

[@orbyfan]

@@dr.froghopper6711 After having the ale, I thought you were going to say you pissed on the rest of your classmates.

[@Cal-cf2vo]

What are you talking about?

[@The_ZeroLine]

As a copywriter, my boss once gave something I had written the ultimate insult by calling it “saccharine.” (oddly BTW, saccharin + saccharine are both correct)

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

Too sweet to be true, huh

[@throttlejunkie5524]

I have Crohn's disease and between that and all of the resulting surgeries, artificial sweeteners do not agree with me anymore. I never realized how much stuff has saccharin in it! BTW great video!

[@DeanStephen]

Try stevia. It’s all natural and may not trigger an immune response.

[@badstate]

For some of us, saccharine is not sweet at all, but unbearably bitter. When I was a kid, I assumed it tasted like that to everyone, and I couldn't understand how people liked it.

[@JagerLange]

Same. I tried it once as a kid and it was horrible, and haven't used any sort of artificial sweetener since.

[@bjs301]

Growing up in the '60s, it was the only artificial sweetener out there. The taste wasn't unbearable to most of us, but I don't think anybody really liked it. I do know your reaction isn't unique. Some people would try Tab or Diet Rite once, and spit it out. I don't think the diet soda market really took off until aspartame was introduced.

[@JagerLange]

@@bjs301 I tried Tab in the 90s and liked it, they may have changed the ingredients by then.

[@peterwodzianski1958]

Same here. I was always wondering why people used it?! Bitters as shit. LOL

[@ChIGuY-town22_]

I find it to be very bitter as well. There is nothing sweet about it to me, I only use pure cane or confectionery sugar.

[@sptownsend999]

Sugar will always be the sweetest, according to my tongue. All of the artificial sweeteners are unpalatable and anything but sweet. I'm glad to know it isn't a cancer risk to those who eat it, but I'm going to continue putting turbinado or demerara ("raw") sugar in my tea.

[@RogCBrand]

I figure eating natural stuff in moderation is always better than Frankenstein creations!

[@knurlgnar24]

The artificial stuff may be 'sweeter' than sugar, but it isn't sugar and doesn't taste like it. It does, however, taste very sweet. Everyone needs to choose their own diet including what they use as sweeteners.

[@kevinobrien2311]

55-year-old joke: Q: Who's your favorite artificial sweetener? A: Barry Manilow!

[@Erin-Thor]

I saw him in concert about 8-or so years ago, remarkable showman, I was floored at his voice and energy!

[@indy_go_blue6048]

So long but so short a time ago. My late wife and I had a female St. Bernard we named Mandy after Barry's song that was popular at the time.

[@robertmatson5617]

I loved the bottle the tiny pills came in...dispensing one little saccharin pill at a time.

[@OdysseyCamper]

Glad to see you went with the survey results! An occasional military history episode is OK, but this type of video is what sets you apart, and I really enjoyed this one. History is more than war, something that so many channels miss.

[@StrongDreamsWaitHere]

I think lead acetate was probably the first artificial sweetener. As I recall, the Romans used to drink wine from lead vessels because it added a sweetness to the wine. Possibly one of the reasons for the downfall of the Roman Empire.

[@jamespfitz]

They didn't live long enough to get serious lead poisoning. Or heart disease or cancer or diabetes or or or

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

The sweetening power of lead acetate wasn't much compared to the natural sugars in the wine, I gather. However at least it did not add a bad metallic flavor, which was the main concern with metal vessels. (Gold, being relatively inert, would also not have added such a flavor, but it would have been prohibitively expensive.)

[@roberthess3939]

I was in college at Johns Hopkins in the late 1970's when this debate raged on. Interestingly, in Remsen Hall (the chemistry building on campus), there was a plaque on the wall by a stairway that said "Behind this plaque lie the ashes of Ira Remsen --President of the Johns Hopkins University..." It was said he died of bladder cancer!

[@gregaj7]

I find it fascinating that THG did not say anything about Monsanto (first incarnation), yet showed graphics with that name in it. Saccharin was their first product. The Monsanto then is not the same as the one of today.

[@Torby4096]

In the 60s, Mom got a bottle for us to sweeten our tea with since it was better for skinny, active children than sugar. Then, she threw it away in a panic.

[@lawrenrich-nf3ni]

Decent non-military episode. Thank you 🙏

[@callmemike__1]

I’m actually super stoked for this! My grandma SWORE by Splenda.

[@kevinvilmont6061]

My grandmother was quite the astute market trader, she retired with a substantial nest egg, and she never stopped helping herself to “free” sweetener packets whenever we went out to eat. ❤u grandma Lucy. I miss your sweet idiosyncrasies.

[@Nudhul]

@@kevinvilmont6061 was she jewish?

[@noelletakesthesky3977]

Splenda is sucralose, bound to various agents to let it be measured like sugar. Saccharine is different.

[@maxshea1829]

"And their heads of brawn were nicer shorn, And how they bought their positions with saccharin and trust, And the world was asleep to our latent fuss...." -- David Bowie

[@vlmellody51]

I remember when cyclamates were banned in the United States because they also caused cancer in rats if consumed in impossibly large amounts. My mother was appalled because she said that they didn't have that weird aftertaste that saccharin has.

[@BasicDrumming]

I appreciate you and thank you for making content.

[@tygrkhat4087]

I remember the controversy about saccharin in the 70s. We also knew that the amounts of saccharin needed to increase your chance of cancer was so great, that you'd probably drown before you got cancer. My friend's sister drank diet pop and when she opened a can, someone would say, "Saccharin! I can smell it from here!"

[@JagerLange]

Some high-quality alliteration in this episode.

[@kevinvilmont6061]

You never really know who is a scoundrel until money is involved.

[@rabbi120348]

Or power.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

@@rabbi120348 Or sex

[@Controllerhead]

Stevia is another artificial sweetener and it's just a plant like mint! You can eat the leaves and it tastes exactly like the processed stuff. Great video!

[@mattgeorge90]

The best channel on KZbin!

[@51WCDodge]

Coal Tar emolients and such are still widespread and effective for dermatology and psorasis treatment. The smell though, does leave a bit to be desired.

[@tygrkhat4087]

Although coal will be phased out as an energy source, it will still be mined for coke and the other by-products.

[@tonywhite2596]

When I was a kid I had psoriasis and that's what they prescribed for it was a cold tar rub that you put on your skin

[@tonywhite2596]

In my opinion it never worked in any better than anything else they put on it

[@51WCDodge]

@@tonywhite2596 There are now controls. I'm on a stuf called Adulimumab. A mono clonal antibody. Inject twice month, scale free. Mind you, in UK we have the National Health Service thankfully. It costs about £740 a shot.

[@MayheM_72]

My parents used Sweet N Low in their coffee when I was growing up. I never could stand the taste, preferring real sugar. I never cared for NutraSweet, either. That may be why I could never stomach diet sodas until the "Zero Sugar" sodas came out.

[@holben27]

Most zero carb sweeteners just taste like shit tbh. The only one that tastes like sugar is monk fruit extract, and aspartame has a bearable taste but does damage to your gut.

[@coreym6449]

I love your videos on forgotten automakers. I'm a studebaker owner in South bend where they were built. I would love to help make a studebaker episode!

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Another automotive nerd here to say I love all his automotive related videos. They're phenomenal and I always learn something, which is saying something.

[@guyfuller1369]

Great video! Saccharin gets a metaphorical and (probably) unintentional product-placement nod in Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” (1949).

[@joshpayne4015]

I miss Tab. When it was still sold and available, I would buy a 12-pack and drink it throughout my birthday week as a special treat. Nothing tasted like it, and I liked the taste quite a bit. It became increasingly hard to find in the local markets until one day not too long ago they announced they were retiring it. A sad day for me, lol.

[@djchaiwallah]

My grandma and grandpa stockpiled this before they stopped selling it. They'd always make lemonade with it 😅

[@TheGreatAtario]

Vast numbers of useful chemicals were discovered in coal tar - it's basically a giant melange of organic compounds, formed at random.

[@davidjernigan8161]

How about cyclamates sp? which were banned as a sweetener in the 1970s. It seems like that was a popular artificial sweetener as well

[@badstate]

Still used in Canada and other countries.

[@neskire]

@@badstate and yet saccharin is still banned in Canada

[@tommost1]

Cyclamates tasted much better than saccharine.

[@dww332]

The original "saccharin" study in rats that reported cancer was in fact done with a combination of saccharin and cyclamate because that combination was more widely used than either one alone. Canada banned saccharin and still does - the US banned cyclamate and still does - even though the reason for the bans are long gone. Cyclamate is an excellent sweetener when combined with other artificial sweeteners and reduces that after-taste common to most of them when used alone. The piece by the History Guy while very good only told a very small part of the interesting history of low-calorie sweeteners.

[@frankgulla2335]

Dear THG, you do have a way of telling the story. I love your effort to share your passion for history, especially controversies.

[@MarianneKat]

Artificial sweeteners are a godsend to diabetics.

[@jeanthony4003]

I loved this video and info. You filled in a lot of blanks that I did not know. Thank you.

[@shawnr771]

Thank you for the lesson.

[@MomentsInTrading]

For some reason, I thought that it was outlawed when other artificial sweeteners came out.

[@BenjySparky]

THG,you rock! ❤ Peace

[@nelsonbrum8496]

My best friend's grandmother used to keep a squeeze bottle of saccharin in the kitchen for sweet iced tea. She and my friend would put 3-4 drops in their tea, but I would have to put in 10 or more to even get a hint of sweetness. Guess I don't have the tongue for fake sweeteners.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

at least not that one

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

Sweet Treats

[@kellybasham3113]

Love your videos

[@v.e.7236]

When I read about saccharin back in the late 60s, I immediately thought to myself, "This can't be good - a product made from coal." Still can't bring myself to ingest anything artificial, like the named sweeteners sucralose, aspartame, etc. I just can't/won't do it. I've spent my life avoiding artificial ingredients in my food and became a food label reader and started exercising at age 13, after doing some research on diet and things like atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis that took my grandmother and aunt. Its all about quality of life for me, so if I can make it to my deathbed and retain my mental and physical faculties, I'll take that as a win. Heart disease will not claim me if I eat right and exercise regularly - my mantra for the last 50 years. We'll see if my theory was right or I was delusional.

[@jamespfitz]

I have bad news: you're going to die anyway.

[@Cleveland.Ironman]

@@jamespfitzTrue! Statistically 1 out of 1 people die, that’s why i am not worried about using sugar or having a good steak 🥩.

[@167curly]

After WW1 in Britain when sugar became more obtaInable after wartime rationing there was a large surplus stock of large drums of saccharine which was sold off cheaply and was followed by a suspicious spike in cases of cancer.

[@MarianneKat]

I'm sure it had nothing to do with the coal burning benzene in the air, smoking cigarettes, alcohol drinking, and introduction of antibiotics to thr world.

[@sexyshadowcat7]

Wouldn't lead actually be the first artificial sweetener?

[@canaanval]

Lead acetate made by the Romans

[@Tealice1]

Depends on where you draw the line between artificial and natural

[@agolftwittler1223]

Correct. You could say it's kinda natural though.

[@LazyLifeIFreak]

"Wouldn't lead acetate be the first artificial poison?"

[@SRW_]

What the what?!

[@user-oh2hs6jh5x]

I never would have guessed that Saccharin had a history of being developed nearly 150 years ago. Here's the link to the cranberry scare video that THG mentioned. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rGK1aoF3bdWFo6s

[@KartiacKID]

Thank you wishing you a great day

[@ChIGuY-town22_]

I only use pure cane sugar, and I avoid corn syrup. Even then I regulate the amount I ingest daily.

[@doglegjake6788]

Excellent video

[@andycraddock7677]

Thank you for another fascinating video Sir. Perhaps no one would be surprised if President T. Roosevelt had alternately replied to the would-be regulator: “BULLY! BULLY! Go pick on Taft! He’s twice the man I am.” (Literally)

[@naweed9040]

The same sweetener was the reason behind the death of a 10-year-old Girl in Punjab, India where she ordered the cake for her birthday which had this substance in abundance. Hours after she cut the cake, her entire family fell sick, including her younger sister

[@robertlucht4657]

The studies of the rats you talked about illustrates a basic problem with toxicity studies in all areas. Virtually all such studies rely on dosing test animals with incredibly high dosages of the test chemical. Drinking water standards in particular are based on the idea that if specifically bred rats that are susceptible to cancer show a statistical increase in cancer while ingesting in credibly high dosages of a test chemical, then even one molecule of that substance might cause cancer. Then politics enters into the equation when they state that a statistical increase of on cancer in one-million people is acceptable.

[@garryrice1954]

Very interesting! One minor correction. Coal is not used to produce natural gas, but manufactured gas, which was commonly used prior to the construction of natural gas pipelines. Natural gas is gathered from wells. A related topic would be the Ames test for cancer causing substances, developed by Dr. Bruce Ames and later repudiated by him.

[@sugarpacketchad]

Very Interesting

[@Nova_Needle]

I've always had an aversion to saccharine (Sweet N Low). The acrid chemical aftertaste is way worse than the sweetness it imparts. Aspartame (Equal) had the same problem, but to a lesser degree (probably because of something like dextrose, as THG mentioned). Sucralose (Splenda) is the only one of the big trio in which I do not detect off-flavors. Splenda helped carry my sweet tooth through my 20's. I eventually realized it's healthier to tame the sweet tooth, and have controlled amounts of *natural* added sugars (e.g. honey; maple syrup; agave syrup), rather than recklessly using laboratory sugar.

[@CarsandCats]

We used lead chips back in the day. It was much sweeter.

[@bigdaddyofsi]

this really made me laugh!

[@MarianneKat]

Well the Romans used it in wine, so...

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

@@MarianneKat by accident as it were. leaden vessels were the only metal that didn't add a bad taste to wine.

[@bigsarge2085]

Sweet!

[@indy_go_blue6048]

When the original Pure Food and Drug Act of 1905 was passed, Dr. Wiley wanted to remove saccharin from the new GRAS (generally recognized as safe) list. As a byproduct of coal tar, he felt that it was a carcinogen. But Pres. Roosevelt used saccharine and wouldn't approve of it. Stevia is possibly the safest of sweeteners, considering that it's a natural product, but a gram of it's enough to sweeten a gallon of tea as it's super sweet.

[@walterdennisclark]

The only objection left from those who’s religion is natural food is that Zero Sugar soft drinks causes one to be hungry. But using sugary drink to satisfy a craving is worse than merely wanting more of the zero affect stuff.

[@jamespfitz]

"worse" is a subjective term

[@petesheppard1709]

As a child in the '60s, I practically grew up on saccharin, since it was much cheaper than sugar. At 68, I'm fine. It should also be noted that in those experiments with rats, they used strains of rats bred for high occurence of cancer. Supposedly, this would be accounted for in the statistical analysis.

[@kittty2005]

Do you have a video on the calcium cyclamate ban I thought that was bogus also.

[@johnomelia2991]

Graduated from Johns Hopkins in ‘87 and again in ‘90 and at the time, this story was used to teach ethics, morals and intellectual integrity.

[@pintsizestories196]

That was really interesting. I'm thinking the sugar companies weren't too happy to have an artificial sweetener available. So many vested interests came into play. I've given up trying to figure out which sweetener is best so I have some sugar, some diet soda and try not to have too much of either.

[@wasyertakeawaythaturmadeofcorn]

Oh, see, your good ol' buddy Monsanto likes it. What have you to worry about?

[@seatedliberty]

Your insistent insertion of intellectually intriguing interlocution interests me indubitably.

[@Erin-Thor]

So… you like THG’s content.

[@user-ol2so9ce2q]

When I was 12, and for the first time body conscious, I began substituting saccharine for sugar. Not long after aspartame went into widespread use. I hated it's chemical taste and quickly discovered that it would give me horrendous migraine headaches including chills, convulsions, partial blindness with auras, and vomiting. Years later I discovered that I wasn't the only one affected this way. Give back the saccharin!

[@pacopeso8474]

Reminds me of the lyrics of a John Prine song. She’s sweeter than saccharin at a drug store sale.

[@drdghattierdc]

The shelf behind his right shoulder top far rt, his rt, has a Toby mug from the movie 12 oclock high. Rare item.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

It is a reproduction based on the movie

[@drdghattierdc]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Yup, looks like the one I have right next to my Maltese Falcon repro. This is not a common Item and I know not cheap. Nice!!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

@@drdghattierdc I have a Maltese Falcon as well…

[@bauhnguefyische667]

Sweet N Low Equal Nutra Sweet Stevia. Just gimme some real sugar, honestly, I don’t use much.🍚🍚🍚🍚🍚🍚🍚

[@timothyhays1817]

Connections with James Burke had a whole episode dedicated to the products developed from coal tar. Synthetic Asprin was one of them.

[@ShornDunlevy]

It's worth reading about the reaction of nitrogen oxides and alkenes. I think one of them is referred to as the Nef reaction. Anyway, apparently it killed the first two people who tried working with it. One in the 1840s, the other in the 1850s. It's amazing to think that fume cupboards only became common in the 1960s. Yes, the Nazis used it in their production of Sarin (two layers of glass with air blown through the gap) and yet it still killed 10 (if memory serves). Likewise when the Kremlin-regime were producing the Novichok agents, it killed 2 or 3 people depending on if you believe Lev Fyodorov or Vil Mirzayanov. One presumes that those were the only confirmed deaths. Not a class of chemicals that I take a great interest in but along with the accidental discovery of the alkyl pyrophosphates and 'strong rat poison' discovered when formaldehyde glue and sulfonamide antifungal treatments both make workers ill, it's a bit of history mostly forgotten.

[@cbroz7492]

...MAN!!! You ARE old..you remember TAB!!!

[@jamespfitz]

You say that like it's a bad thing

[@lelandcarlson1668]

It might be interesting to do a story on cyclamates. I remember Kool-Aid products being offered that had cyclamates in them in the 60's and early 70's.

[@jamespfitz]

And here we are, half a century later, laughing at "scientists"

[@mommatanya1]

Watched this episode while sipping my sweet tea. Every day I make a gallon of sweet tea sweetened with half Sweet & Low and half Aspertame. If you mix artificial sweeteners, they produce a taste more like sugar. This is because they trigger different receptors on the tounge. Science.

[@patmcnally2529]

aspertane is the worst of the worst . killed my brother .

[@jamespfitz]

Stay away from Aspartame.

[@indigobunting5041]

Aspartame gives me headaches. I stay away from all artificial sweeteners. I'd rather have the real thing.

[@user-js2us1kc1w]

My overweight, diabetic grandmother used the stuff religiously in the 1960s and 1970s.

[@debbybridge7064]

I remember cyclomates ( spelling???). Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[@highpath4776]

In some thoughts their is a idea that the body treats sweetness of any kind in much the same way, increasing visceral fat and liver accumulation, but it is not easy to prove that due to most people lying about what they eat on food diaries !

[@stormrunner0029]

“Every time I want some sugar, Honey, you give me Sakareen.”

[@jimsmith556]

People like Wiley, without credence or proper training, are typical of those who are able to influence lawmakers concerned about their own careers to ban products based on fear rather than good science.

[@Mrshoujo]

Saccharine tastes sweet to me but it's got an aftertaste that's "yeccch" & while tasting it, I can tell there's something odd with it. Aspartame tastes the way sugar should (though it didn't always - today's production is Much Better) - to the point where I can tell when pop has high fructose corn syrup which has a "heavy flavor." Splenda tastes sweet but odd but it'll do in a pinch & I haven't tried Stevia but I worry about drug interactions.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Often two sugar substitutes are combines to cover aftertastes.

[@jamesbrown4092]

2:58 - And that's why she won't be making the next big discovery in food chemistry. On the other hand, that's also the reason she'll make it into her 20's.

[@thomosburn8740]

Your video misses part of the story: cyclamates were added to saccharin to prevent the odd aftertaste experienced when a LOT of saccharin was used at once. And the "causes cancer" label applied only to the cyclamates. These cyclamates were removed from "Sweet N Low" immediately, but the "causes cancer" label stood for several years (until, as you said, it was quietly dropped).

[@h.paulsprojects3061]

My grandmother used saccharin tablets and sweet and low in her coffee every day... never had any ill effects

[@BoSmith7045]

I don't eat a lot of sugar. I hate sweet tea and just drink coffee black with no sweetener and my carbonated indulgence is sparkling water. ( I do, however, enjoy a Red Bull or Monster once in a while.) But my roommate is morbidly obese and in a wheelchair so I get him different kinds of sweaters for his coffee and try them myself to see how they actually taste. They all taste "sweet" but also very odd boarding on nasty. Some leave a metallic taste in my mouth and others leave what feels like a thin coat of oil on my tongue. I don't notice any of that in a diet soda or sugar free candy so I guess the food scientist are really good at hiding their more unpleasant characteristics.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

Sugar free candy often uses sugar alcohols, which metabolize more slowly.

[@loufancelli1330]

I had an aunt who always had those little saccharin pills with her. When I finally tried one, I thought it was terrible! It was way too sweet, sickeningly sweet, and left a terrible aftertaste.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

By itself, yes. It would be horrible. Diluted in a cup of tea or coffee, not so much.

[@walterdennisclark]

"Zero Sugar" is a universally used untrademarked title ALL soda makers use to indicate a mixture of acesulfame-potassium and the much older aspartame. It is so much better than "Diet" drinks, but the reason none of these manufacturers stopped selling "diet" version of their drinks is because after years of drinking "diet" drinks, you can tell when it is not a “diet” drink. Customer habit is why they still sell the old diet drink. For those who are accustomed to sugar, however, the Zero Sugar version is identical to what they are used to.

[@walterdennisclark]

By the way, the powdered versions of Ace-K (nick name for acesulfame-potassium) is . . . Sweet One and Sunett.

[@walterdennisclark]

The only objection left from those who’s religion is natural food is that it causes one to be hungry. But using sugar-drink to satisfy a craving is worse than merely wanting more of zero affect.

[@joemazzola7387]

I remember when there were saccharin little tables The cyclamates put an end to those and reformulated Sweet and low I always Said that they used those little pills in the movies when they spiked someone drink

[@capacamaru]

Artificial sweeteners go back much further. The Roman's used lead to sweeten foods.

[@Rolf-son-of-an-electrician]

I havn't seen a bowtie with such nerd induced vigor since the preppy Republicans showed up to my state youth government conference. That was a fun program. It was organized by the YMCA. I had tons of fun dressing in a tie and debating with other kids about shit none of us knew anything about. Now I'm an adult, and arguing with other adults about politics isn't fun anymore.

[@helenel4126]

I think saccharine has a weird taste and aftertaste, but then, I think aspartame, sucralose, and the sugar alcohols do too. I therefore prefer to stay with a *tiny* bit of sugar, honey, or maple syrup - and then only occasionally.

[@larrylaffer3246]

Saccharin is probably my favorite of the artificial sweeteners. The rest have an off taste to me. Especially whatever one Diet Coke/Diet Pepsi uses. That's why I miss Tab so much. It used saccharin rather than the other ones.

[@frankcooke1692]

That would be aspartame, and yeah, it's gross. Coke Zero and Pepsi Max now use some blend of Ace K and Stevia I think, that's become more of the norm in diet soft drinks now - and it's miles better - you'd be insane to keep drinking the full sugar ones - I kinda wish they'd take those off the shelves, just that measure would make the average person about 8 kilos thinner.

[@KeithZim]

Fountain served Diet Coke still has Saccharin. You will have to find a corporate owned store with dedicated fountain technicians on staff or a extremely rare store owned by naturally born Americans to find a seller who is not "turning the screws" to weaken the soda fountain mixture ( most gas stations owned by "the muslim mafia" are adjusting the machine to produce watered down beverages)

[@Erin-Thor]

Yes, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a few years back and have had to change what I drink. I’ve sampled pretty much every diet or sugar free beverage out there, and found my favorite! Water! 😂

[@PeterEdin]

I prefer sucralose.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

​@@frankcooke1692I enjoy full sugar sodas. I don't keep them in the house or buy more than one at a time these days. I'd rather reduce significantly my consumption of full sugar sodas, than taste those artificial "sugar free" versions provided. I've tried almost every sugar free version of regular products i tend to drink, and none are sufficient. I have yet to meet an artificial sweetener I couldnt spot a mile away or that tasted right to the original sugar included formulas. When they get em right, maybe I can drink a few more sodas, but for now I just consume in moderation. They're already terrible for you for reasons far beyond the sugar content. Cutting that out doesn't make them healthier, that's for sure.

[@genxskeptic5816]

I never had a problem with saccharine, but TAB was some pretty awful tasting stuff. 😂

[@haywoodyoudome]

Most artificial sweeteners leave a bad after taste. TAB was like "hold my beer".....

[@MR2Davjohn]

The first artificial sweetener was cyclamates.

[@glenns5627]

Fact: 100% of people who consume saccharin die, as do 100% of people who consume sugar. My first brushes with it were when my grandmother would drop 2 of those little saccharin pills into the tea she gave us. I found it too bitter to tolerate, and have since preferred my tea unsweetened. But my poor grandfather had saccharin nearly daily, until Grand-mom died (at 89), and he lived to be only 102 years - and 9 months - old.

[@desperado8605]

Tab... wow don't here that name often. Used to be my dad's favorite drink until he didn't have one for a long time then he tried one and said how did I drink this crap

[@JohnSmith-dh4gw]

I believe that "taste" was one of the characteristics early chemists noted.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

Hey! this tastes like arsenic! (flop)

[@JohnSmith-dh4gw]

@@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648 That was a real concern.

[@chrismusix5669]

I got mad at Faygo because I found out they are putting sucralose in their regular sodas, not the diet ones.