[embedyt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITVS_0-SXnk[/embedyt]Marquel, TPVs NYTimes Fat People Section correspondent, was eating some candy full of aspartame, sugar and corn syrup, when he stopped to drink some Red Bull with Coke®, and read Artificial Sweeteners May Disrupt Body’s Blood Sugar Controls. New research in mice suggests artificial sweeteners may disrupt the ability to regulate blood sugar, causing changes in metabolism that can be a precursor to diabetes. Marquel pondered the significance. Would people desperate to be thinner care if they got diabetes? Now of course nobody wants that kind of chronic disease, but when deciding to use aspartame, are they thinking of being thinner and NOT getting diabetes or wouldn’t that enter into their calculus?
Clearly Marquel needed to talk to an expert. So he went downtown to the manufacturer of aspartame, Merisant, headquartered in Chicago, with branches all over.
I asked the PR man they gave me, “Have you heard the news? Aspartame can give you diabetes!”
“Do you know what’s more important?” He asked.
“What could be more important?” I wondered, “here you are, sweetening your coffee with Nutra Sweet, and, bang, you’re in the hospital with diabetes.”
“Cancer” he said.
“You’re in the hospital for cancer? No, the Times said diabetes.” I corrected him.
“No, I said cancer is more important. It kills you. Aspartame doesn’t give you cancer. There! It just saved your life.” He asserted.
“But if you get diabetes, you could die. It can give you a heart attack. Foot ulcers leading to removal of a limb. Just to avoid sugar?” I questioned.
“Sugar makes you fat. Nutra Sweet doesn’t give you cancer.” He said.
“You said that already. If you take aspartame you get glucose intolerance. You can die from that. And diabetes is a life long disease. You end up in the hospital.” I said.
“Betcha don’t weigh much.” He asserted.
“Well some people with diabetes get very thin; others put on weight.” I said.
“But remember, aspartame doesn’t give you cancer and you might end up thin.” He said.
“Thin and dead,” I said, “or maybe obese. Why should people take aspartame with all those risks?” I questioned.
“Because it doesn’t give you cancer. Some artificial sweeteners give you cancer.” He said.
“Yes but the Times says ALL sweeteners give you diabetes and glucose intolerance.” I said.
“But only aspartame doesn’t give you cancer.” He insisted.
“What’s with the cancer?” I asked, “you’re acting like aspartame prevents cancer. You can use aspartame and still get cancer.” I said.
“Not from the aspartame. When you use aspartame you know it won’t give you cancer.” He said.
“Now you know it’ll give you diabetes. You’ll lose your legs, need a kidney transplant and be on dialysis until they find a donor. If they find a donor.” He said.
“Did you know aspartame won’t give you cancer? Without cancer, you have a much better chance to get a donor.” He said.
“Do you think people want to be so thin they want to risk a transplant, amputation, or dialysis? Assuming they are thin, they’re thin in the hospital.” I said.
“Better than being fat in the hospital. And it doesn’t give you cancer.” He said.
“Did you know diabetes can make you stupid?” I asked.
“Do you think our customers care?” He asked, “but they do care about cancer…”
I interrupted, “and aspartame doesn’t give you cancer, I know. But it does give you diabetes and related diseases. I don’t think people taking aspartame want to get thin so they can be in dialysis nor do they want to fall into a coma in the street so that they’ll look thin lying there.” I said.
“Most of our customers would like to be thin, especially if they were to fall unconscious in public. Especially because everybody will know they don’t have…”
“I couldn’t resist interrupting again, “Cancer. But I don’t think any of your customers are going to want to take aspartame when they realize they risk getting diabetes, kidney failure, amputation, or cognitive defects.” I aid.
“Well, you go have your sugar. You’ll get cavities and fat. Think people like fat toothless people? Your dead wrong. And speaking of dead, at least you’re not risking cancer.” He said.
I could see we were getting nowhere. But the manufacturer of aspartame didn’t contest the risk of diabetes. He thought being thin was the goal in life. I don’t know if I’d rather have cancer, but it wasn’t a risk I’d have to take by eating sugar. So I took out my Tootsie Pop, and feeling like Kojak, said, “See ya.”
***
BY MARQUEL: Do Not Go Fat into that Good Night!
perfect pitch
ditto
ditto2
..we will eat ourselves to death. the end of the American empire? eating
over-eating
over-eating bad stuff
Liked this very much: But only aspartame doesn’t give you cancer.If you can come up with the tune for the jingle, I think you’re on to something.