Saccharin. Or Do You Mean Paint Thinner?

What’s Wrong with Food

Did you know that saccharin is the third most used sweetener in the United States? That’s what is in those pink packets of Sweet’N Low, by the way. That’s probably the tamest piece of information we learned about saccharin, and hang on because it gets so much worse, friends.

In this episode, we’re talking about what’s wrong with saccharin. We dive into the wild history of saccharin, what it’s made of (you don’t want to know… except you kind of do), how it’s marketed to consumers, and what Teddy Roosevelt has to do with all of this. We’re still flabbergasted especially by the lack of transparency about how things are made in our food system.
Disclaimer: We want to emphasize that we're not medical professionals, and none of this podcast should be interpreted as medical or legal advice or counsel. The ingredients we're discussing are all currently approved by the FDA and, as such, are legal in the U. S. And any statements we make about corporations or individuals are opinions based on publicly available information, either published by those entities themselves, or reputable third party journals and sources.

In this episode, you’ll learn…

[00:31] Some extremely messed up information about the history of saccharin

[05:33] The chemical make-up and production process for saccharin

[10:11] How saccharin, and sweetness in general, affects your brain chemistry

[15:18] How sweetener distributors get around the questions about saccharin

[21:15] Why the existence of saccharin in our food supply is a systemic problem

To join the conversation on what’s wrong with food, sign up here. Every week we do the homework on what exactly that hard-to-pronounce ingredient on the nutrition panel is so you don't have to. But we make it, like, fun.