11 Comments
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Caro Feely's avatar

Fascinating. Pharmaceutical companies investing in the things that create the problems they have the 'solutions' for. We have seen this before and some names just keep coming up. Dark. Thanks Julia.

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Julia Watson's avatar

A lot of money rides on keeping profits high and health low.

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Elisabeth McKay's avatar

Interesting! I find aspartame and saccharin both leave an unpleasant after-taste, so I tend to avoid stuff containing them. Also interesting that your rhubarb season is winding down - my rhubarb is currently 4" tall!

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Julia Watson's avatar

Hahaha! When I lived on the Isle of Mull I was advised to plant my seeds 6 weeks later than it said on the packet.

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Elisabeth McKay's avatar

Absolutely, unless I start them in the heated propagator, but then they need to go into the greenhouse or cold frame, swaddled in fleece. And this year the weather is making a determined effort to lull me into a sense of false security - even the wind is warm!

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Kate Walker's avatar

Aspartame is gross! Give me real sugar infrequently, it's so much better for you than all the crap dreamt up in labs.

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Julia Watson's avatar

Like pretty much anything to eat or drink, 'natural' is better for taste and health. Too much of what we consume has been scientifically manipulated to encourage us to indulge ourselves whenever we want. But there's a price to pay.

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Kate Walker's avatar

Problem is, our primitive desires for sweetness and fat are in a battle with some of the world's best funded scientists. We'll never win!

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Julia Watson's avatar

Fro the moment, I fear you're right.

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Karen Beckman's avatar

Thank you for this great analysis of artificial sweeteners AND the vintage pic from Some Like Hot!

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Julia Watson's avatar

Some Like It Hot - one of the great stylish movies! Any excuse to insert a still from it...I hope the sweetener story justified it.

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