Commentary: Recent Headlines Claiming Sucralose ‘Damages DNA’ Are Scary, But What Does the Study Really Say?

When I went back to the U.S. for the first time in several years last year, I made an incredible discovery. It’s called Sparkling Ice and is sold separately or in 12-packs of 17 ounces (curious size) and has a ton of flavors that mostly taste alike but taste very good. Sparkling ice contains the artificial sweetener sucralose and is also lightly carbonated (low carbon footprint!) so that I didn’t drink it like water; I essentially drank it instead of water.

But lo! Newsweek headline: “America’s Most Popular Artificial Sweetener Damages Our DNA, Scientists Say.” You know, like atomic bomb victims. The alleged result is a leaky gut, and you don’t have to know exactly what that means to know it’s probably not good. Except it may not even be real; but we’ll get to that.

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No Tariffs, No Barriers, No Subsidies: The Rep. Yoho Path to Subsidy-Free Sugar

sugar cubes

by Rick Manning   “No tariffs, no barriers, that’s the way it should be — and no subsidies,” President Donald Trump during a speech to G-7 leaders on June 8, 2018. Congress has a chance to move the ball forward on achieving this ideal as they consider the farm bill.  Representative Ted Yoho (R-Fl) has legislation to end sugar subsidies immediately upon presidential certification that other nations have taken the same steps.  The Zero for Zero bill would allow President Trump to confront other major sugar producing nations with a simple stark offer.  We agreed to end our sugar subsidies, but it is contingent on you ending yours. This basic reciprocal tool would empower the president to seek fairer, freer trade and hopefully set a precedent for lowering or ending all agricultural subsidies.  In my mind this is a great move forward. Rather than playing the stale stalemate game between those who abhor agriculture subsidies, particularly for sugar, the Yoho Zero for Zero language changes the debate because it puts the onus on foreign governments like Brazil and India to do the same allowing true free markets to set prices and even production volumes. It is time for the entire…

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