Why most Americans have never had this sweetener

Don't be bitter about it. Reaction video: / 82631054
More info and sources at bottom.
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Oral Histories:
These were invaluable. Honestly, I found them just by searching for "Cyclamates" on FDA.gov.
www.fda.gov/se...
The Chemical Feast:
archive.org/de...
I admit my research made me pretty biased against this book, but I'm sure it has good points.
Check out some Upbeet:
archives.mount...
Sad dentists lol:
• Cyclamates And Artific...
Extreme Milton Friedman argument that uses Cyclamates as example (not in video but good calibration for me not to go too nuts in either direciton):
• Milton Friedman Speaks...
Funny face
• Television's Vintage B...
Lol Ayds with no Cyclamates
• WBBM Channel 2 - The S...
Big index of sugar industry + cyclamates cancellation attempts:
iadr.abstracta...
Empty Pleasures (book)(affiliate link)
amzn.to/3M4b8ub
Ultimately this book was less important than the FDA stuff, but it's still got interesting nuggets and stuff related to other sweeteners.
Food Additives Amendment:
www.govinfo.go...
FDA on Cyclamates c. 1980:
This has a good capsule summary of the issue.
www.fda.gov/me...
I'm super tired and don't feel like putting in the rest of the sources at the moment. Leave a comment or email me for more precise ones if you need them. Lotta stuff in this vid! I did try to include the most important things for substance though.

[@ethanisfancy]

Died at the completely sincere delivery of "nice work" after describing how Ayds avoided a PR crisis

[@Bacopa68]

Well, it took about 12 years until the next one.

[@rayne6719]

Ayds will leave you with that gaunt wasting figure you've always wanted

[@zumabbar]

is the joke about how Ayds sounds similar to AIDS? not from the states, so im not familiar with the candy

[@TheoFizylkl]

​@@zumabbar the joke is that ayds was before aids. And when aids happened, it went full blown in ayds and killed it. Rip

[@room34]

I'm (just barely) old enough to remember when Ayds candies were still on the market. As soon as I saw that box, I was wondering how Phil was going to handle it. Nailed it.

[@VictoriaKimball]

I remember cyclamates! The adults in my family drank a lot of diet soda with cyclamates and I drank enough Funny Face to collect lots of FF merch, like mugs and weighted walking toys. On the day before the ban went into effect, I went with my grandparents to the local Canada Dry factory (or was it Shasta?) and they bought many, many cases of diet soda! Later, they wished they had bought more as cyclamates tasted so much better than saccharine. Our family doctor said you'd need to drink a crazy amount of diet soda (like hundreds of cans a day) to consume the equivalent of what the rats were given.

[@alexanderstone9463]

350 cans per day to be precise…

[@VictoriaKimball]

@@alexanderstone9463 ... Yes!

[@meanunclebob1819]

I remember when this happened. My mother ranted about the massive amounts needed to cause cancer in rats. This was at the beginning of the hyper-sweetened breakfast cereal fad that has become the norm and lots of folks from our background were very concerned about the sheer amount of sugar entering children's diets.

[@YoungGandalf2325]

5:59 I wasn't watching the video, only listening and heard "AIDS could've had a huge PR problem but totally avoided it. Nice work." 😮 I had to rewatch that part.

[@peterjamesfoote3964]

My mom kept a box of Ayds in the kitchen cabinet. She took it with hot water. Didn’t help but it was a well known fad.

[@jackcarver1629]

You could probably do a whole series on banned products that nobody really considered. I wonder what products we are using today that will get the same treatment

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

it seems like!

[@dudukf]

@@PhilEdwardsInc Dipyrone!

[@1989Nihil]

@@PhilEdwardsInc How about Kinder Surprise Egg? Can't wrap my head around that one as a european.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

@@1989Nihil i'll look into it!

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

@@1989Nihil Shoot this has kinda been well-covered on KZbin. It seems to kinda bury the lede (and I always think his sources are a bit loose)...but I might feel redundant. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJfdk5mFZchoh9U

[@carrie.m]

The most popular artificial sweetener in my country. My grandmother used it because she had diabetes, but I always hated it. It tastes so sweet and odd🥲🥲 It's so interesting to see how some things are banned in the USA but not anywhere else, but also how some stuff are banned here and fine in any other country (i hope i can try poppy seeds one day).

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

oh poppy seeds!

[@kasugaifox8571]

Go to an American Costco when you can. They have giant poppy seed muffins. Walmart in the States also sells poppy seeds in big jugs. Now I wanna make some muffins. Crap.

[@humanwithaplaylist]

Poppy seeds are legal in pretty sure

[@ijchua]

You could do a cover on the state of sunscreens and the FDA - why is much of the world okay with many of the advances in sunscreen chemistry but the US is lagging so far behind?

[@Dead_Goat]

Because the US prefers sunscreen that actually works.

[@jeroid123]

@@Dead_Goat how does that make sense?

[@ryanortega1511]

You should consider a new series: 'Banned in America'.

[@dkpqzm]

I remember those Sucaryl bottles, they had pointed tips so you could shake it out. Has anybody ever done a study where they give rats 100x the average amount of sugar?

[@I_enjoy_some_things]

Yeah we have done those experiments: they all turned into “Body Positive” Twitter users.

[@maniesh]

Sodium cylamate is cheaper than sugar for the same amount of sweetness, but it doesn't dissolve as easily as sugar. If it's not dissolved properly, it can have an odd aftertaste. It's easy to sweeten most beverages with it, but it's more of a challenge to cook with it and sweeten baked goods for example, in my opinion.

[@robkorczak]

It's fascinating that the exact same thing just played out in the W.H.O. in regards to Aspartame. I mean word for word, study for study, the exact same thing except this time not in the U.S.

[@reddcube]

I hate that the US use so much aspartame. The bitter aftertaste is just gross.

[@B_Van_Glorious]

This is super random but does anyone know the name of the font used inside UpBeet? At 7:24? I've been trying to find that font for a good year to no avail.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

WhatTheFont shows a bunch of possibilities but I don't have sharp enough an eye to find the exact one. Have you used it? You can upload a screenshot.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@PhilEdwardsInc such an underrated tool, I’m glad it’s still going. I got the early iPhone app in 09, font identification on the road babey! There were a few times I was on 2G and waited 10 minutes to upload the photo and view the results. On 3G it was only a few seconds at least.

[@B_Van_Glorious]

@Phil Edwards Wow, that site is a gem, I had no idea! Thank you for sharing that with me! And I see what you mean about the discerning eye, holy cow. I *think* I've found it, or one that will suffice for my needs (which is bringing a product to print) , in 'news-gothic bold'. That hyphen was pretty important in the title, strangely. Something about the cold war era typeface just resonates with me, specifically, the sterility of the lettering, with what feels like a bit of inkbleed, close together yet with exaggerated spacing, as if from a worn typewriter. Idk. It's like it brings me to an ethereal ennui, or a liminal place of a bored, cold soldier stuck at a post for 12hrs a day for the 27th day in a row. Maybe thats how I died in a past life. Maybe I was just some NPC guard on duty in Goldeneye. Who's to say? 🤣

[@cannedmusic]

According to the Delaney Clause, salt and sugar both need to be taken off the market; both have been linked to cancer and one to diabetes. As well as a few artificial food colorants including red #40 and yellow #3. Of course, there have been a lot of deaths linked to excessive dihydrogen monoxide.

[@constancestrawn1303]

As soon as I saw the tablet in the thumbnail, I knew exactly what it was. I don't know if this is one of those "cilantro tastes like soap" genetic things, but it tastes horribly bitter to me. I legit can't eat artificially sweeted stuff here. Thankfully we have real sugar sodas here so I'm having a lot better time with my metabolism while still satisfying my sweet tooth without HFCS (which, unfortunately, is in all the good Balkan Fanta)

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

this makes me even more curious to try the soda!

[@constancestrawn1303]

@@PhilEdwardsInc I got DEEP into EU labeling regulations a few years back. My favorite cola is a 49c store brand that boasted its "American taste" and I was worried there was some corn lobby shenanigans afoot. Nope, it is just a bit more syrup than the other brands. HFCS is "Glukose-Fruktose-Sirup" and only sugar is labeled as "Zucker", though it can come from a variety of sources. Beet is most popular here. I'm not avoiding sugar so I don't often come in contact with artificial sweeteners, but the few times I do there's an extra text box (it's not really appropriate to say "warning", but I can't think of another word) that there are artifical sweeteners. My most favorite "Erfrischungsgetränke", though, is Balkan Grape Fanta. It legit tastes like Dimetapp so I can live my childhood dream of slugging down the whole bottle. I finally found one with German labeling, though, and saw it has HFCS. My body just can't hang with HFCS and I'm trying to avoid it. Balkan Shokata also has the HFCS, but the German produced version is Zucker. I am deeply curious as to why, but haven't yet had the time to let myself follow that rabbit...

[@SomePotato]

@@constancestrawn1303 With Coke brands, the local bottlers can decide which sweeteners to use. So having one country bottling with HFCS and another with white sugar isn't that uncommon.

[@morgan0]

afaik, in the acidic conditions in soda, sucrose will break apart and be pretty comparable to HFCS, unless you made it at home and drank it fairly soon after. HFCS is still more glucose than fructose as well, since normal corn syrup is mostly glucose. HFCS isn’t any worse for you than sucrose/glucose/fructose/most other sugars

[@constancestrawn1303]

@@morgan0 I, personally, have issues with HFCS and my health has been a lot better since I have been able to avoid it. My weight has dropped despite no other changes to my diet, my A1C is amazing now even though I satsify my caffeine addiction with 1L of cola per day, and my CRP levels are more manageable. High five to you that you can eat HFCS without issues. It can be really hard to avoid.

[@petuniasevan]

We used to pick up cyclamate when on vacation in Canada in the 1970s. No law against that, fortunately. I still miss the only artificial sweetener that was worth a damn.

[@tomrichardsonstudio]

haha sitting here in Germany drinking a Coca Cola Light which is sweetened with sodium cyclamate whilst I watch this

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

jealous to try

[@savagesarethebest7251]

So if they just have worded the results a bit different, cyclomates would be legal. "cyclomates don't give cancer up to doses higher than a 100 times more than one could reasonable consume"...

[@cee8mee]

My brother was a type 1 diabetic since 5 years old. In '69 he was 17 and very angsty about being different. He used sucaryl daily for cereal and when it was banned and he had to switch to saccharin. He wasn't happy as the latter has a very noticeable after taste.

[@tomsherwood4650]

Diet soda had cyclamate in it when I was a kid. Then they banned it and saccarine replaced it in soda. Saccarine tested awful in comparison. Sort of a bittersweet in comparison. Cyclamates really tasted like sugar sweetener.

[@Thebreakdownshow1]

Nothing better than a Phil Edwards video on a sunday morning.

[@riftwytch]

I remember drinking Goofy Grape and the other flavors. I didn't realize they went off the market because of cyclamates.

[@RussellD11]

If its banned HERE, then someone is profiting from it NOT being legal here...

[@Mahbeiserts]

Great format! I really enjoyed the lightside/darkside, science/politics separation. Awesome presentation as always

[@Walkercolt1]

There are SEVEN artificial sweeteners available almost EVERYWHERE BUT the US. The most popular one in the EU is fluorescent ORANGE, but sourced from plants then a chlorine atom is tacked on that turns it orange and makes it 60 times sweeter. The French call it "Sucure". It's been in use since since before WWII, because sugar became so scarce, it went from about 20 cents per 5 kilos to $8 dollars a kilo. Side effects: It leaves your tongue bright orange after having it in your tea or on your grapefruit! And your pee may be orange too!

[@eduardoeller183]

Great video as always

[@chanpasadopolska]

Make Cyclamates Great Again!

[@Kyranio]

I like it that the coffee sweetener you used during the video is something I have in my kitchen cabinet for whenever guests would come over in case they want that in their coffee or tea etc, but that it's banned in the US... But in Europe we still widely use sugar as well. I always enjoy these old "this stuff is really bad, so we made this very chemical and untested alternative that is probably better!" solutions to usually made-up or rather exaggerated problems, they seem to be very prominent during the 20th century.

[@josephkanowitz6875]

ב''ה, for a while at least, tablet forms of saccharin and the other approved sweeteners were available recently in US. Perhaps the cyclamate concerns were one reason these weren't fashionable for a few decades, and for the moment they were on the market it was fairly known it was using the European-style packaging equipment.

[@IDK_Mr.M]

My grandmother had lost of them when i was a little kid.

[@fegolem]

There's about three Cyclomate sweeteners sold through US-Amazon.

[@johnk8825]

Long before cyclamates the battle began and the side with the most money was the "healthy" side, usually winning. UNless an undercurrent shifted the odds ($$$) in their favor

[@direlando446]

The absolute brilliance of the AYDS joke earned a sub from me.

[@JaykPuten]

And to think, at the same time they were touting 0 calorie sweeteners(50s), doctors will still RXing amphetamine to housewives for energy and weight loss Also fun fact, with aspartame still causes your body to release insulin, and can still cause diabetes... Another great video Phil, always picking interesting topics I didn't know I was interested in until after I hear about them

[@vulpo]

Actually, it is a fun myth. Aspartame does not effect insulin levels.

[@JaykPuten]

@@vulpo really? I actually believe I read it in a medical journal, however; given I'm not a doctor, and only read that stuff when my wife was becoming a nurse, I could be totally wrong and thinking of another non sugar/corn syrup sweetner And rule one of having a nurse spouse Never wake them And have their caffeine ready when they wake And the rule one of KZbin is to never use Google So maybe I stand corrected I probably am wrong... I don't use artificial sweeteners But I also like drink Pepsi with sugar in glass bottles from Nicaragua like a fish porque el mercado local los tiene.

[@BrBill]

@@vulpo Came here to point out the same. That insulin level claim was indeed debunked years ago but like all garbage science its claims live on.

[@44hawk28]

In 2001, I found out that my mother who was living several states away was drinking an inordinate amount of Diet Coke. I told her she had to stop that yesterday. Within that year she was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis the very first question she was asked as for the cause of this disorder. Was whether or not she drank Diet Coke because aspartame had been linked to the onset of pulmonary fibrosis. Aspartame is not and never has been a safe chemical. Most artificial sweeteners also have the strange effect of increasing the output of insulin from the pancreas because it registers most of the chemicals as sugar and of course then produces insulin to deal with the sugars there are no sugars to deal with so you become insulin-resistant and therefore causes diabetes. But it still doesn't cause cancer. The question I have is what difference does it make which way it kills you. Now I don't know whether or not cyclamates caused this reaction with the pancreas or not. What is well-known that the sugar substitutes that we have in this country, save for possibly Stevia, do indeed pause this diabetes issue. Why do you think people who started to get a little bit higher evidence of diabetes in the early sixties it suddenly just ravage the country after the onset of many of these sugar substitutes? I'll leave you with this or salt or so where they were discussing the testing by scientists on laboratory animals not only did they conclude that the number one cause of cancer in laboratory animals was the scientists themselves. They also noted that if you force-feed a squirrel 700 lb of marijuana, they tend to play with their nuts rather than eat them!

[@tciopp2101]

I think the bigger story is that there are scientific agencies tasked with protecting consumers all across the world and yet they disagree with each other about many different substances. So how confident can we be that the science is prevailing and not politics? Shouldn't the results be replicable if we are following the scientific method? What should be banned and what is harmless?

[@Guds777]

In America, if something is banned or allowed then it usually has to do with Lobbyists and money. Usually, not always...

[@BrBill]

I live in the US and I routinely go to Canada once a year to stock up on cyclamate sweetener for my tea. Because it's *delicious* and the FDA ban was idiotic.

[@DanteVelasquez]

The US has a LONG history of this type of thing and we are still seeing it today. The corruption runs so deep and the corporations call all the shots.

[@dduude87]

"I've been so worried about cyclamates lately that I've been smoking more." oh

[@pjaypender1009]

OMG cyclamates are what made Tab Tab in the 60s! I miss Tab...

[@gonnfishy2987]

Me too

[@Stuff_And_Things]

Yeah...Back in the 60s and 70s, the most commonly used sweeteners like saccharin had a bitter, undesirable taste that people tried to explain away as, "it tastes bitter because its so sweet". I was just a kid and I could see how stupid that argument was. My understanding is that when you combine cyclamate with saccharin, the two sweeteners kind of mask each others' off tastes. It doesn't matter these days though. Many of the more popular sweeteners today are far sweeter than either of those. That's why three squirts of water enhancer in a 48oz tumbler of water is more than enough. But they still haven't gotten sweet tea right. I really hate that.

[@Geeksmithing]

Camera slider! 🎉😂 Great vid Phil!!

[@dmsalomon]

Why is it still banned? Have there been attempts to bring it back?

[@EmilyJelassi]

The FDA goes against the EU’s equivalent agency in a Lot of food additives, chemicals and drugs/treatments! You’d be amazed at just how much conflicts of interest actually happens at the FDA!

[@steveanderson9290]

It was a sad day when they banned cyclamate. Every other artificial sweetener, before or since, is inferior taste wise.

[@supercompooper]

I love sodium cyclamate in my hong kong milk tea

[@Keith.Zielinski]

Intriguing how politics plays such a large part in a "free market" country.

[@willofdodge1]

Is it advante? It was an ant killer now used in low-fat chocolate milk? Ant killer cause so sweet and ants eat it up but has no calories.

[@ethanlewis1453]

Telling us what chemicals we can and can't own is a violation of our property rights. You can't be a force for good by violating people's rights. Certifications are the correct answer, not government abusive bullying.

[@yotsu4241]

Granted I will always prefer sugar over chemicals when it comes to stuff. I mean rn sugar got replace with hf corn syrup which is awful for you

[@SuperMortiki]

Canada is also the highest country for IBS/IBD and many doctors point to artificial Sweeteners. USA is 2nd

[@thinkythinkypanic882]

would have liked to see a bit more about how cyclamates were proven safe in other countries. seems pretty key to the video

[@boulderbash19700209]

FDA is one of the cause of astronomical drug price in the USA.

[@MIKEMAKESTHINGS]

I remember tasting soda with cyclamates when I was a teenager. I didn't like it.

[@shadowxthevampiressofficial]

I definitely would advise against using more than one tablet in a cup because it is so potent but because it is so small I don't see anything wrong with it

[@Altoclarinets]

"I've been so worried about cyclamate lately that I've been smoking more." Seems counterproductive

[@Seba-zz2vy]

¡Gracias!

[@chrisevans4318]

If you haven't already, I suggest going down the rabbit hole of how aspharteme* was able to be legal. Talk about a back door job.

[@tudorc.stamate5523]

I remember my grandmother always having this in her home. I would eat them like candy. Don’t have cancer! …yet

[@marthanewsome6375]

Rather drink a real sugar Coke here in Australia rather than a corn syrup American Coke.

[@maryrizor3314]

Now they put in high fructose corn syrup in every thing

[@Zacian2.0]

So before I watch the video. Ima make a guess. Is it due to corporations not wanting to allow competition from overseas while they try to expand their market overseas?

[@golevka]

Thanks, Gary Oldman

[@T0Gth3Mighty_369]

There's a huge joke in that AD for the ÀYD'S Candy that will help you loose weight fast .... By giving you aids !!! 🤣😁 . 🤘👹

[@Master_Yoda1990]

I can't have artificial sweeteners, even chewing sugar free gum will upset my stomach. I found this out the hard way when i was about 6 when my parents accidentally bought some sugar free cookies, i ate only one and got sick.

[@trashcatlinol]

Dude, that sucks as much as a mint allergy...

[@GugureSux]

American megacorps: ban artificial yet safe sweeteners Also American corps: put corn syrups into every single food item imaginable

[@TheEsseboy]

Simple solution, put a 4 dollar tax on sugar per pound, if that doesn't work, increase it to 6 dollars, and so on.

[@macjc5]

Never trust government on anything either way. Keep government out of your life! Never eat processed food!

[@rodrigob]

I missed a better explanation of how were cyclamates decided safe for humans. Proving that absence of harm is usually harder, so understanding how would be interesting.

[@tristanhameleers7506]

I would be happy if less chemicals are used (and then mostly the possible harmful ones)

[@ignatiusjackson235]

I wonder if the bans had anything to do with continuing the exploitation of South American labor for sugar, etc. Why pay U.S. workers a minimum wage if you can just keep expediting foreign natural resources on the cheap? I could be wrong about this, but it feels dreadfully irresponsible to ignore the possible connection.

[@johnvance882]

When I stayed with a German host family I remember them using this. I picked up the bottle one day, dropped out one sweetener and threw it into my mouth. It was the worst tasting thing I've ever had hahahaha, it like burned my mouth and throat!

[@CharlesHess]

Get it in Canada when you visit.

[@dursty3226]

this is a great example of why i hate politics. "the law is very clear." yeah, but the law is completely ignorant! just because the law is *clear* does not mean that the law is *correct* !!!

[@czbaterka]

I love when Harvey from Stardew valley makes great video essays 😊 🎉.

[@mikuso-iw6gj]

america already have HFCS, its big business here

[@Schaddn]

Taste testing is mandatory in chemistry

[@nco_gets_it]

Let's be frank here; nothing the FDA has ever done or not done has been based on "science". It is a political entity, not an R&D lab. If we did not know this before, we should have learned it in 2021.

[@kwamesmith3214]

By sweetener I thought you meant OxyContin 🤣🤣😂😂

[@boxfoxscoot1614]

America when someone asks to make food out of gym mats and tar vs when someone threatens the bottom line

[@ferrarirobin]

If you like food scandals, you should look into seed oils.

[@seasong7655]

"Land of the free", but they're not even allowed to eat cyclamate 😅😅

[@TheOneZoot]

Wonder if I'm allergic to these like I am to every other artificial Suger

[@camerica7400]

Why is it legal to use aspertame?

[@Crispman_777]

Why are they still illegal?

[@andrewwiggen4434]

Even science gets screwed up by politics!

[@carly09et]

I would contrast this with paten life -

[@hopkapi]

Sweet video Phil.

[@LordGooben]

But yet FDA oh let's allow all this other crap in our food but is banned everywhere else in the world.

[@rocksnot952]

Now do the HFCS boom during the Reagan years!

[@KendlickLama]

Hack to getting a ton of extra views: Change the title to „Most Americans never had this German Sweetener“ We eat that shit up and click it no matter what- it has the word german in the title

[@coryart]

Aspartame causes various cancers and brain damage. Glyphosate, (round-up) increases the risk of a cancer (non-Hodgkin lymphoma) by 41 percent. The FDA is a hypocritical, unethical JOKE.

[@SoundBlackRecordings]

Please don't get people buying up my Süsstuffs from Germany lol

[@colonelweird]

It serms the only reasonable conclusion is that the wording of the Delany Clause is too imprecise. Would it be safe to assume that every other substance that has ever caused cancer in rats, regardless of quantity ingested, has also been banned? That's what the video seems to imply would have to happen.

[@riellyalexander]

The Miracle Berry is another interesting one

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

I have had those! Remember when they were all the rage...it kinda lived up to the hype for me.

[@WalterBurton]

OH DON'T GET ME STARTED! lol That was great! Nicely done! (You want to talk politics and science? Go down the "Orrin Hatch thinks homeopathy represents freedom" rabbit hole.) (EDIT: Pronounced "DUH-SHAY," the relevant historic act. >>> Some legislators and consumer advocacy groups wanted vitamins and other supplements to go through a tight approval process, akin to the testing the Food and Drug Administration requires of drugs. But DSHEA reined in the FDA, determining that supplements do not have to meet the same safety and efficacy standards as prescription drugs.

[@PhilEdwardsInc]

oh interesting. yeah i'm trying to figure out the next angle that's a good one

[@jockcooper8888]

did they test what happens when you give rats 100-120 times the normal amount of sugar

[@Johninatorful]

I feel like it's not too far fetched to tie this to certain groups wanting high fructose corn syrup to take back some marketshare from cyclamates

[@t4squared]

Eh, now that I’ve discovered allulose, I don’t really care if this sweetner is banned here or not

[@benjabooly1]

"cyclamate humor" oh screw you man, take my sub

[@pavihahn]

Gary Oldmann?!?