Hacker News Reader

Comment by detritus | Hacker News Reader

I fundamentally couldn't much care less about the supposed effects of one synthetic sweetener over another versus highly processed sugars, if it were't for the fact that as soon as I taste whatever synthetic sweetener it is, it tastes disgusting to me.

I just don't get how people are content to consume this stuff - they markedly change the taste, indelibly affecting the thing they're sweetening. Heck, even stevia adds its own distinct nastiness to whatever it flavours.

So, I stick with sugar, and just consume waay less of it than I used to. Though this somewhat limits the choice of soft drinks I can enjoy consuming when it comes to a treat.

View on HN

    I just don't get how people are content to consume this stuff

This may be pedantic or overly literal but: do some folks not understand that the same food substance may taste wildly different to different people?

I'm with you, by the way. Alternative sweeteners taste like absolute poison to me. Like I've accidentally sipped some industrial cleaning chemicals or something.

But I'm also one of those people that likes cilantro. To some people, it is incredibly nasty and it "tastes like soap." My impression is that some people think us cilantro-enjoyers actually enjoy the soapy taste as opposed to simply not experiencing the soapy taste at all.

The difference in experience is not because I enjoy the taste of soap. Cilantro just simply does not taste like soap to me! Based on all available anecdotal evidence that is why some people enjoy the taste of artificial sweeteners: it actually does taste like sugar (or close enough) to them and not like they are chugging cleaning fluids.

(edit: softened wording, clarified)

I can completely relate to both of you, as I’ve never even been able to finish diet sodas because they tasted so bad to me. Then one day I had a Dr. Pepper zero and actually enjoyed it. Now I can enjoy most Zero sodas.

Like most things, you can learn to enjoy artificial sweeteners. Whether or not that is a good thing probably depends on your current diet.

I find saccharine and stevia both ~bitter. I don't love aspartame, but it's tolerable in a pinch.

Edit: I went to look and guess I'm mistaken below on Sucralose in zero-branded sodas. It sounds like most of these do have aspartame. I guess I just assumed they were doing the same thing as zero-sugar energy drinks since I feel like they started coming to market in roughly the same time frame and used similar zero-sugar marketing.

Sucralose, which is AFAIK what you're getting in most modern zero-branded sodas and 0-20ish calorie energy drinks, is... ~good (to me). I keep liquid concentrate of it at home for coffee and will take a travel bottle with me if I know I'm going somewhere ~crunchy that insists on only raw sugar and stevia.

Same experience. Aspartame and every other artificial sweetener tasted disgusting to me. I’d find where it was hidden in all sorts of things because the taste stood out so much.

Found I could tolerate Sprite Zero. Drank enough of that when it was all that was available that it didn’t taste disgusting anymore, then tried some Coke Zero and it didn’t taste so bad anymore. From there pretty much everything was on the table.

Yeah, I get that, hence the 'to me'.. but the flavour is SO distinct, and nasty.

Where coriander is concerned I on occasion get that soapy taste, but like once a decade and it weirds me out, otherwise it just tastes like it should :)

Interesting! I didn't realize that coriander/cilantro's taste could flip back and forth for some people!

Absolutely. I love it in some salsas, where I think the acidity of the other ingredients blunts the “soapiness”. OTOH, cilantro rice tastes like “soapy rice” to me. Mostly I’m fine if I don’t think about it, but if I do I really notice the taste.

They don't all taste the same, though. For example, I find stevia disgusting but quite like saccharine.

I enjoy the taste of Diet Coke. Regular coke feels too sweet to me now. Coke Zero and Diet Pepsi is weird. I hate sugar alcohols. I dislike most foods with fake sugars. But Diet Coke for some reason is just addictive.

Same here, it’s super weird. I hate the artificial sweeteners of all kinds in almost everything except when it comes to soda, and Diet Coke especially somehow masks that nastiness for me and I’m totally addicted to it, maybe it’s the other ingredients in there that is able to overcome the artificial sweeteners. I wish it was not the case as I hate myself for not being able to resist Diet Coke.

I'm the opposite, I prefer the Zero sodas, but both diet Coke and Coke zero use aspartame, which surprised me.

I found that at least one of the big 3 artificial sweeteners tastes bad / bitter to everyone, but which one is not consistent. This is the reason a lot of foods now use a blend in an effort to "normalize" the aftertaste.

Since at least one of the artificial sweeteners gives me cramping if consumed more than once in a 48-hour period, blending just makes me reject all of them.

I don't actually mind how they taste, but post-consumption regret has driven my behavior here.

Xylitol, perhaps? It’s in sugar-free sweets. For me it is a potent laxative with side effects not unlike the ones I experience when I consume lactose, though I assume it’s coincidental. Bloating, nausea and worse.

Aquiered taste plays a role

Can confirm; I'm just fine with artificial sweeteners but cilantro tastes like soap to me.

My best friend in high school turned out to be one of the rare people who could taste phenylketones, even in extremely small quantities. We discovered this because our biology teacher had everyone in the class take a test, as part of what he was teaching that day. My friend knew he hated the artificial sweeteners at the time, but that's when we learned why he hated them.

Soon after I met the woman who later became my wife, I was introduced to her family, including her brother and sister, and her cousins. As soon as I found out her cousin Wayne ran the website nocilantro.com, I knew this was going to be a good family to be associated with. I've considered myself a subscriber to nocilantro.com ever since.

The bitterness of artificial sweeteners relates to your DNA.

I would assume that there has to be an element of getting used to and your brain starting to expect the version that you tend to consume. I, for instance, have never drank the non-diet versions of sodas on purpose, even as a child, so when I occasionally buy the sugary versions on accident and try drinking them, they taste quite foul, and I could not imagine drinking them for enjoyment, only for thirst if they were the only thing available.

I don't hate the sugar based pop but I can only drink a small amount before they are way too sweet for me. The other thing that get me is the sticky mouth feel that lingers afterwards.

I believe there's an aspect of preference to it and in my case the preference was replaced over time.

As a kid to young adult I would drink non-diet soda for the caffeine boost but switched to diet as I got older and my metabolism slowed down.

At first diet soda didn't taste as good to me but was worth it for not gaining weight, but at this point after many years of having made the switch diet sodas taste better to me and drinking real sugar cola tastes significantly worse.

I always disliked diet sodas until I tried a keto diet for a couple months, which practically means fasting from sugar. Afterwards, the non-diet drinks taste way too sweet whilst the diet ones are fine. So it does seem like one can recalibrate themselves.

I don't really care about the calories, but I developed type 1 diabetes which means I have to use insulin to offset carbs. Sugary soda drinks are not even remotely worth it - one can of Coke has as many carbs as a large slice of pizza or a bowl of rice or pasta. I typically drink unsweetened seltzer water as far as prepared beverages go, or black coffee, but I don't mind the flavor of artificially sweetened sodas. Now when I drink regular sugar soda, it tastes strange and horrible.

They are an acquired taste. That isn't a joke by the way. As you decrease the amount of sugared soft drinks you consume and switch entirely to diet, it won't be long before the ones with real sugar start to taste gross and the fake sugar tastes good. That's what happened with me anyway.

I get this solely based on the texture of my teeth after a sugary drink, but the US using HFCS instead of real sugar might contribute to that larger difference too.

I get that as well and I live somewhere, where HFCS is not used, so I don't think that is the culprit.

Personally if given the choice between a regular coke and coke zero, I will choose the zero every time.

Sweeteners do taste different.

But if you want another data point about how other people feel about it... me and my relatives can't stand the taste of Coca Cola with sugar/syrup in it. Coke Zero tastes much better. It's aspartame.

What is the difference between Coke Zero and Diet Coke?

About 10 calories and the taste.

Coke Zero uses a mix of aspartame and acesulfame-K, Diet Coke is just aspartame.

Diet Coke gets marketed more towards women and Coke Zero gets marketed more towards men.

https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/should-mens-products-fear-a-woman...

Hm. How could I possibly have missed all gendered marketing for either of these products? Coke Zero tastes much more like normal Coke, Diet Coke tastes like its own different thing. I drank both, and associated neither with men or women.

Diet Coke is modeled more after Pepsi in flavor than Coke. It’s basically New Coke but w/o the sugar.

Coke Zero is an actual Diet version of Coke.

> I just don't get how people are content to consume this stuff

A compromise between health and taste.

You make a different compromise.

I understand.

It's an acquired taste, I think. Grew up with it because of a diabetic relative, and now I prefer it to real sugar...

Different stroke for different folks. I drink Diet Coke, not because I'm on a diet, but because I grew to like the taste of it better. Regular sugar coke, and high fructose corn syrup coke, tastes cloyingly sweet to me.

   I just don't get how people are content to consume this stuff

Food is not just about taste, you know. Even if it's sweets. The whole point of sweeteners is that they provide a nutritional upside (fewer calories, don't spike blood sugar).

   and just consume waay less of it than I used to

I consume none of it - almost never. And the only way I will have sweets is with artificial sweeteners. I agree they don't taste as great, but they also don't have as many calories.

> Food is not just about taste, you know.

No, but diet soda is literally just about taste. There's no nutritional value versus water.

Isn't there some kind of genetic component to this? People with certain DNA find sweetner disgusting? [1]. I'm the same as you they taste awful, but to some it just tastes like sugar.

[1] https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/multiple-genes-manag...

We did a taste comparison of a few different brands of yogurt the other day. I could tell a difference between the brand with just sugar and the one with sugar and stevia, and the stevia was off putting. My wife couldn't tell a difference. Ultimately I liked the one that was sugar and maple syrup most, but it was a different type of yogurt entirely(cream top vs skyr).

I prefer coke zero to regular coke even. It's more refreshing.

This is an easy one. I love Coke. Love it. But, it makes me feel like shit, gives me heartburn, etc. Diet Coke has a distinct taste from Coke, but it’s not bad to me. It doesn’t make me feel bad like I do if I drink too much regular Coke

Try Coke Zero.

Yes I like it

Taste is learned and can be unlearned. I actually like diet coke/Dr. pepper. I don't have many vices, so I allow myself this one. These aspartame studies always have tons of flaws versus the decades of study done on it before that say it's fine in moderation. Sugar is a known carcinogen and toxin, and has been known to be that for decades. It has no real nutritional value besides calories and is a slow poison to several organs.

There are many food and taste related things that, if you stick with it for two or three days, end up tasting palatable.

Though I agree, aspartame, sucrose and stevia taste gross.

I will say, it's essential for gum that doesn't rot your teeth, but other than that I never want it in my mouth for all of the reasons you describe.

Xylitol gum is the best

As long as it's kept away from dogs. Xylitol is deadly poison to them, and one of mine seems to like the smell.

Absolutely, it's saved me a lot of pain at the dentist since I started on it; that and picking/flossing.

> they markedly changes the taste, indelibly affecting the thing it's sweetening. Heck, even stevia adds its own distinct nastiness to whatever it flavours.

This really depends on personal tastes and on which food is used.

I use aspartame-based sweeteners on milk products, and I can't distinguish it from sugar.

On the other hand, Stevia tastes terrible to me in any food/drink and quantity.

It's an aquired taste. I forced myself to stick with diet/zero beverages and the digust dispears pretty fast. I don't know why one would want to do this if they're fine with water.

The taste thing is a mild issue for me, but the real problem is that they (the artificial sweeteners I have tried to date) trigger my asthma.

Every sugar has its own flavor, just abouts, with different peaks and durations. All sorts of odd concoctions are out there.

For me, stevia is disgusting. Aspartame is OK.

> couldn't much care less about the supposed effects of one synthetic sweetener over another

From the article:

> (Incidentally, this same logic does not apply to other artificial sweeteners which mostly aren’t broken down at all.)

I would rather have something break down into fairly benign chemicals than have to deal with chemicals that don't break down and are not compatible with my body and are a borderline poison.

You can get used to anything if you taste it often enough.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com