this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2025

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167

Scientists Link Popular Sugar Substitute to Liver Disease (scitechdaily.com)

submitted 1 day ago by moretruth@lemmy.ml to c/news@lemmy.world

84 comments fedilink hide all child comments

What I don't get is why it took them decades to figure this out. Why have they been giving us sugar substitutes without understanding what they have been doing to us? Why were these approved for use in the first place?

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[–] medgremlin@midwest.social 30 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

Copied from another posting of this article:

The headline (and the article for that matter) are very sensationalist and I don’t think they’ve presented this in a balanced way. They are discussing how sorbitol behaves in zebrafish with limited data presented on human biochemistry, and they discuss it in a vacuum without quantifying the amount of sorbitol it takes to cause a problem. Yes, any substance in excess can be harmful, but the amount of sorbitol in food compared to the amount of high fructose corn syrup makes it the substantially lesser evil. The artificial sweeteners are vastly more potent than actual sugar, so you don’t need very much of it to get the same amount of sweetness. High fructose corn syrup is used in massive amounts in food and is much worse for you on the scale that either substance would be consumed.

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 9 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

The scientific paper grift chain: get private funding from a company to publish a paper, use wild methodology, have the shit denounced and condemned by mainstream academia but not before every fucking news outlet in the world puts out a headline "BREAKING: SCIENTIFIC PAPER LINKS EATING SALAD TO BRAIN-EXPLODING DISEASE"

Never mind that to get this evidence they had to inject a marmot with enough salad dressing directly into its skull to make it explode thousand-island grey matter across its cage.

[–] turmacar@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago

There's a whole cycle of perverse incentives with University Press.

The underlying research is necessary and valuable but the marketing arm of universities blow everything out of proportion.

[–] Jollyllama@lemmy.world 14 points 11 hours ago

Phew! Thank God I'm not a zebra fish, otherwise I'd need to seriously reconsider my diet high on sorbitol.

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago

Give up sugar. Try it, and tell me it isn't addictive.

Give up all sweeteners, because keeping them just makes you crave more, making it much harder.

I gave up sugar, and most fruits except berries. It made staying at my ideal weight MUCH easier. I really don't need to think about it, I weigh myself every few weeks, and I'm always at my ideal weight. Exercise is the other part of the equation, I think we need to do both.

[–] CM400@lemmy.world 363 points 1 day ago (3 children)

It’s sorbitol.

[–] shittydwarf@piefed.social 147 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The real mvp right here, fuck headlines like this

[–] capt_wolf@lemmy.world 41 points 1 day ago (1 children)

But if they just put it in the title, people won't click and get bombarded with ads! Think of the big corporations!

[–] FlyingSpaceCow@lemmy.ca 3 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago) (1 children)

The reporter/publisher also doesn't get anything

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 hours ago

I am ok with this not being my responsibility.

[–] DupaCycki@lemmy.world 2 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

I've never even seen this in any food. Think I'll be okay.

[–] IamSparticles@lemmy.zip 2 points 5 hours ago

It's typically used in items where you would only be consuming small amounts at once. Like sugar free gum and mints.

[–] Nollij@sopuli.xyz 4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

The article calls it "common", but I've only seen it in a single brand of low-carb ice cream. I've actively sought low-carb options for over a decade. It's even less common than xylitol.

[–] CM400@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

According to this site, stone fruits like apricots, peaches, cherries, etc., dates, chewing gum, horseradish, jams, pears, apples, prunes, raisins, and many sugar-free processed foods have significant amounts in them.

[–] Punk_face@lemmy.zip 23 points 1 day ago (3 children)

But…isn’t sorbitol a laxative??

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 11 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (2 children)

all the -tols are laxatives, you heard ethyrthiol, i think its one of the potent ones that cause laxative effects the most. i heard tons of people were getting cramps or diarrhea for people who sensitive. some people are mildly affected by it, and some has no effect.

[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 hours ago

I think its one of the potent ones that cause laxative

No, that's maltitol

[–] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

So, that includes Fuckitol®, too? That makes sense.

[–] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 2 points 8 hours ago

That explains the last 18 years or so.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 18 points 20 hours ago

I learned that one the hard way with some delicious sorbitol candies as a teenager.

[–] TheLowestStone@lemmy.world 23 points 23 hours ago

Yes. Its also a sweetener.

[–] network_switch@lemmy.ml 26 points 19 hours ago

The article doesn't read as very concerning. Too much of anything usually means bad. Under the right conditions anything can be bad. Figuring out what can be bad and when it can be bad can often take decades. Don't stress too much on trying to optomize out anything that can do you harm in a diet. You'd have nothing left to eat and even the greatest collective of biologist getting together to make the greatest nutritional shake meal replacement would probably miss something that causes issues decades down the line or people drink too much and overdose

[–] Veedem@lemmy.world 91 points 1 day ago

Sorbitol-degrading Aeromonas bacterial strains convert the sugar alcohol into a harmless bacterial byproduct.

“However, if you don’t have the right bacteria, that’s when it becomes problematic. Because in those conditions, sorbitol doesn’t get degraded and as a result, it is passed on to the liver,” he said.

Pretty big caveat but the sensationalist headline is all people will see.

[–] KiwiTB@lemmy.world 62 points 1 day ago (10 children)

... In fish.

[–] doughless@lemmy.world 49 points 1 day ago

And after they had depleted the zebrafish's gut microbiota.

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