Lately, I've been seeing zero-calorie drinks everywhere in town.
Many of these products use artificial sweeteners, and if you look at the ingredients, you'll find the words "acesulfame K".
In the past, stevia was a common artificial sweetener, but nowadays acesulfame potassium is more prevalent.
Is acesulfame K really harmful to the body?
My conclusion is that "it might be harmful in the future, but it's better than sugar."
I've already stated the conclusion here, so the following is just unnecessary information.
Why I started choosing zero-calorie products.
The reason I decided to investigate this substance further was because it's included in a drink I often buy in bulk, and it piqued my interest.
As you know, commercially available sugary drinks contain a frightening amount of sugar when converted to the equivalent of sugar cubes.
I have a sweet tooth, so I often buy sweet drinks while I'm at work, but the calories (i.e., sugar) in them are not to be underestimated.
Drinking it every day can cause weight gain, and it also increases the risk of other problems such as increased body fat percentage, diabetes, and tooth decay.
Even so, I still wanted something sweet to drink.
So I came to the conclusion that I should just drink as many artificial sweeteners as possible.
The dangers of acesulfame K
Sweet foods that are calorie-free often contain sweeteners such as acesulfame potassium.
It seems that this sweetener was originally approved in the United States, and when I looked it up online, I found all sorts of things written about it, such as it being a carcinogen and a dangerous toxic substance.
However, many of the descriptions lacked objectivity, and there were no views that presented a risk based on concrete data.
There are also reports that when administered to rats, they died.
However, that experiment was designed to calculate the median lethal dose, so it's natural that the rats would die in that experiment.
To put it more precisely, the median lethal dose for salt and sugar is much lower.
Comparison with sugar
So, how does its level of danger compare to that of sugar?
Diseases such as diabetes caused by sugar are widely known, and evidence-based claims have been made about them.
We often hear slogans like "Let's cut back on sugar," but we never hear anyone say "Let's cut back on acesulfame K."
As of May 2021, we have not found any reported health problems caused by acesulfame K.
It's now common knowledge that consuming too much sugar is bad for you, especially in relation to diabetes.
However, for those who still crave sweets, I think this is a wonderful way to reduce sugar intake without stress.
Attitudes toward things that are not yet clear
Indeed, future research may prove that this substance is extremely dangerous, potentially leading to restrictions on its use.
However, if we consider the potential risks in the future, I feel that sugar is far more dangerous at this stage.
Humans tend to be very wary of the unknown and are prone to believing rumors and misinformation.
I think that it's precisely in such situations that we should think for ourselves and make our own judgments.
Even if I were to develop an illness in the future because of this, if I've made the best decision I could based on the information available at this time, I'll accept it as unavoidable.
This article might sound a bit preachy, but I think that if you make a decision after thinking it through yourself, you'll be able to accept any disadvantages that arise from it.