Read Labels! (SIS in particular)

So just in case anyone else got swept up in the belle de jour marketing of SIS…

Make sure your read all labels all the time. Sure they are safe sport certified. That is cool bro. Cool.

Anyway, I go to fill up my bottles with SIS Electrolyte mix the other day and I look up at the label and under “Other Ingredients” there it is, blinking like a neon sign: ASPARTAME.

Now maybe its my veganism. Maybe it is my understanding of what aspartame does in the human GI tract, but I was pretty pissed off 1. at SIS and 2. at myself for not reading up on it before i purchased it as part of an SIS training package.

Anyway, buyer / cyclists beware.

I still use their gels, but the idea that they would ADD aspartame to a performance product kinda puts me off of them.

#TMYK

7 Likes

Care to explain? I thought it was safe product… And its not on a banned list?

2 Likes

No no no, its not a banned item.

Aspartame is not good for you. In any way. And it seriously messes with your gut flora.

I’ll link some studies later.

Interested in the studies you have. I know the entire cancer link has been more or less disproved but the GI part is a new claim to me - so I’m curious what you’ve read and which peer reviewed journals they’ve been published in

3 Likes

Likewise! Here in the UK SIS can be very cheap with the discounts they offer so I’m a long time advocate.

1 Like

Aspartame isn’t vegan?

1 Like

Actually, I don’t know that they have been disproved as a carcinogen. Industry sponsored studies ‘disproved’ it, but not consensus peer reviewed studies afaik.

anyway, here are a few:

https://www.nature.com/articles/npjbiofilms20163

USDA linked studies are highly suspect IMHO. The USDA is almost always on the side of big consumer food additives and product.

2 Likes

Forgive me, I did not disambiguate.

Because of having studied and looked at what I eat, as a vegan, aspartame and other additives (and their removal) were part of my path into full blown veganism.

1 Like

Like I said, this is one product. I still use their gels.

1 Like

What does aspartame have to do with being Vegan?

1 Like

Perhaps it was mentioned because he’s always checking ingredients to verify it’s Vegan safe?

:slight_smile:

6 Likes

Affirm, sir. Didn’t in this case though…obviously.

Do you have a copy of the Roca-Saavedra paper? It’s not publicly available and the abstract doesn’t really discuss their conclusions.

The Wang paper doesn’t actually cover aspartame. They tested “sucralose, saccharin, acesulfame potassium, and rebaudioside A”.

The Claus paper has some interesting references.

See also:

4 Likes

Calling a company to task for including a generally accepted additive seems a bit melodramatic.

14 Likes

I beg to differ. Why would you put an artificial sweetener in a product that is, erm, supposed to be sweet by design?

That additive is an artificial sweetener (with question marks over its actual health safety) in a sweet product meant to fuel a workout and give you electrolytes. Why is it in there at all?

10 Likes

Because to put in an equivalent level of sugar to sweeten the electrolyte mix would result in it being a carb drink and not an electrolyte mix? How else are they gonna get it sweet (or even just balance out the taste vs salt and other stuff in there)?

7 Likes

Because it makes it more palatable.

There’s no definitive studies that say it is bad. That’s why the FDA allows it. Billions of people consume it every day with no ill effects. You’re making assertions with no support.

3 Likes

You seem nice.

If you read above it had nothing to do with that. Its that I discounted aspartame or other artificial sweeteners being a big deal until I started doing some research on food additives, because I became more concerned about what was actually in my food.

3 Likes

I actually had a similar realization recently with SIS gels. Once my current stock is gone, I will be searching for an alternative without the artificial sweeteners. I really don’t understand why a sugar gel needs it. I’m okay with more calories in this instance.

Anyway, let’s not forget about this:

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/STROKEAHA.119.024456

2 Likes

Why, thank you!

I think I sorta get it. But I have a moderately allergic reaction to posts that assume consensus over scientifically controversial issues, particularly nutrition. Your post implied that we all share your read of a pretty diverse and inconclusive literature, and that kind of thing wakes the sh*t stirrer in me. I promise, I can sometimes be nice as well. :wink:

3 Likes