I am diabetic (LADA aka type 1.5) and the sugar tax has made it so much harder because so many food and drink products have replaced sugar with sweeteners like aspartame which I cannot have. Artificial sweeteners are a health timebomb. No wonder manufacturers have taken out such massive insurance policies to protect them against liability.
Anecdotally aspartame causes BG spikes whenever I consume it because my body simply cannot differentiate between it and 'real sugar'. Even worse, the usual limiters on the rate at which carbs are metabolised (eat them with fat and/or protein, exercise, insulin doses, etc) are less effective. This phenomenon has been reported by other diabetics. Artificial sweeteners are definitely not metabolically inert.
I'd like to see researchers look into the symtoms of non-diabetes and diabetes-related gastric paresis and epigastric pain to see if they are worsened by artifical sweeteners.
Another area of concern is their effects on our renal system; we desperately need more research into this.
Great read and food for thought on how a tax on something super unhealthy should be spent supporting those who make unhealthy food choices. However I disagree with "we need to start by understanding why people make their food choices (if they have choices at all), and to take those choices seriously". There have been so many studies and research into why people make unhealthy food choices since the 17th century, framing it like this (whilst important) isn't going to fix the problem.
I enjoyed reading this article but think you may have mentioned more about the negative effects of Aspartame (including those mentioned in Nic Miller's post).
I am diabetic (LADA aka type 1.5) and the sugar tax has made it so much harder because so many food and drink products have replaced sugar with sweeteners like aspartame which I cannot have. Artificial sweeteners are a health timebomb. No wonder manufacturers have taken out such massive insurance policies to protect them against liability.
Anecdotally aspartame causes BG spikes whenever I consume it because my body simply cannot differentiate between it and 'real sugar'. Even worse, the usual limiters on the rate at which carbs are metabolised (eat them with fat and/or protein, exercise, insulin doses, etc) are less effective. This phenomenon has been reported by other diabetics. Artificial sweeteners are definitely not metabolically inert.
I'd like to see researchers look into the symtoms of non-diabetes and diabetes-related gastric paresis and epigastric pain to see if they are worsened by artifical sweeteners.
Another area of concern is their effects on our renal system; we desperately need more research into this.
Whats happened in the years in between Sustain did the report in 2021 to show that the sugar tax was not being spent?
According to UKRI - 5000 additional obesity cases have been prevented - https://www.ukri.org/news/sugary-drinks-tax-may-have-prevented-over-5000-cases-of-obesity/ which doesn't seem a lot compared to the amount of 'funding' available.
There's plenty of evidence (https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/research/publications/publication-526031) to suggest free school meals are one of the ways to support a reduction in obesity and it seems such a shame that this sugar tax isn't being spent in the right way!
Great read and food for thought on how a tax on something super unhealthy should be spent supporting those who make unhealthy food choices. However I disagree with "we need to start by understanding why people make their food choices (if they have choices at all), and to take those choices seriously". There have been so many studies and research into why people make unhealthy food choices since the 17th century, framing it like this (whilst important) isn't going to fix the problem.
I enjoyed reading this article but think you may have mentioned more about the negative effects of Aspartame (including those mentioned in Nic Miller's post).
It’s a very good point but we were saving discussion of aspartame for today’s article!