"light" Grape juice? Acesulfame Potassium?

amother

Thu, Aug 21 2014, 11:49 pm

So DH did me a favor, noticed that we were low on grape juice, and bought more. Because he is too manly to read labels, he got a diet variety that contains "acesulfame potassium" instead of, I guess, the natural sugars that I have no idea how they removed from the juice.

Now, I try to be healthy in general but that doesn't mean I know all about the things to avoid out there, because generally my strategy is to just stick with the most natural stuff I can find so I don't NEED to know all the chemistry. Can someone please educate me - is this stuff safe to give my kids?

amother

Sat, Aug 23 2014, 11:01 pm

Thanks for posting this!
I'm trying to cut down the amount of sugars my family consumes and naively thought that it has only 1/3 of the sugar of regular grape juice because they water it down....
Will be more careful from now on.

Amelia Bedelia

Sat, Aug 23 2014, 11:46 pm

Thank you, op for enlightening me! I had no idea. DH buys this pretty often, and I had no idea it had artificial sweeteners. I think it should be required to say on product labels in clear lettering: contains artificial sweeteners.

joyful mom

Sun, Aug 24 2014, 12:46 am

We're buying the Kedem "Light" grape juice for years already without realizing what we were actually consuming. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

miami85

Sun, Aug 24 2014, 1:59 am

esheschayil wrote:

NO NO NO. Acesulfame K is one of the worst artificial sweeteners out there. At least as bad as aspartame. We don't touch it.

Where are you getting your source from? For a diabetic it is considered a safe alternative and that is what Kedem Light is marketed for (when otherwise grape juice is quite problematic). It is even OK'd in moderation for pregnant women with gestational diabetes--it's mostly found in drinks anyway, they don't really make "packets" of it.

Everything you needed to know about Acsculfame Potassium

Most of the studies that indicate a "danger" from synthetic sweetners were done on rats and mice where they were given the equivalent of 20 liters of soda a day. If you really want to scare me with research you need to provide much more practical evidence.

Cancer.gov--Artificial Sweetners

What I don't get is that if Kedem in general doesn't "add sugar" why are they adding a synthetic sweetner? Where is the "natural sweetness" going?

Amelia Bedelia

Sun, Aug 24 2014, 9:44 am

It doesn't say anywhere on the packaging that it's marketed for diabetics. We just assumed that the natural sugar was diluted with the addition of water. I once mentioned to my husband that instead of buying diluted grape juice, he can add water himself, but he explained to me that he has no idea how much water may halachically be added without altering the hagafen status, and still being permitted for kiddush. I consider this unfair and dishonest marketing.

Scrabble123

Sun, Aug 24 2014, 10:08 am

Amelia Bedelia wrote:

1. Check their website. It says that it is good to count you. "Calories, sugars, etc ." It's not dishonest marketing at all. Light automatically means possibility of less sugar and less calories in my book.

2. Why don't you buy the blush grape juice?

miami85

Sun, Aug 24 2014, 10:17 am

Amelia Bedelia wrote:

How many things marketed for diabetics are labeled as such--but that's often what "light" indicates. I learned about asculfame K in a GD nutrition class.

Amelia Bedelia

Sun, Aug 24 2014, 10:18 am

Scrabble123 wrote:

It's not dishonest marketing at all. Light automatically means possibility of less sugar and less calories in my book.

Right. If it's diluted, it has less sugar and calories.

Scrabble123

Sun, Aug 24 2014, 10:29 am

Amelia Bedelia wrote:

Right. If it's diluted, it has less sugar and calories.

The word light doesn't imply diluted, that's. Blush. Light implies that it's a diet drink. I never even read the ingredients and I was quite certain it contains artificial sweeteners because of the word light.

Amelia Bedelia

Sun, Aug 24 2014, 10:42 am

I never heard of that sweetener. I thought it was a preservative or something. I actually compared the ingredients of a regular grape juice and light, and the ingredients were basically the same, besides the addition of water, and the acesulfame potassium, which I did not think was an artificial sweetener. I am so glad it was brought to my attention.