Acesulfame k

Acesulfame k

Acesulfame K: the sweetener that's not so sweet

While talking endurance nutrition with wellbeing and performance coach George Anderson for a video we made exposing maltodextrin as the dodgy piece of work it is (you can see that one here), acesulfame K popped up.

It was in the ingredients list on the back of an SIS gel I was using as an example of a maltodextrin-based gel and it sparked a thought: we should investigate this.

Well, we did. 

And just as with maltodextrin, the results are deeply unpleasant. Bear in mind, this stuff is a very common sweetener in a broad range of traditional sports nutrition products - from gels and bars to protein shakes and sports drinks.

What is acesulfame K?

Also known as acesulfame potassium and E950 (the E at the beginning gives you the first hint this stuff isn't going to be good for you), acesulfame K was discovered in a lab by a German chemist in the ’60s so it's about as natural as plastic.

Research also suggests it may affect prenatal development and impair cognitive function.

And it gets better (or worse if you're eating the stuff) because there's a big cancer-causing questionmark hovering over acesulfame K's head despite it being approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other government bodies.

acesulfame k 33fuel natural sports nutrition

Acesulfame K: loved by the traditional sports supplement industry despite large cancer-causing questionmark and other major health issues

The report 'Testing Needed for Acesulfame Potassium, an artificial sweetener' explains how the FDA's approval of the ingredient was based on studies showing it did not cause cancer.

The same report then goes on to explain:

"The 1970s tests of acesulfame – two tests carried out in rats and one in mice – are inadequate to establish lack of potential carcinogenicity*" (*the ability or tendency to produce cancer) 

Not only were the test groups of rats in these trials not randomised correctly potentially skewing the results, the trials were also too short and poorly monitored. And just in case you thought this was all a bit flimsy, here's the killer blow.

Drum roll please...

"Even with the flaws in design and execution... results indicated an association between treatment with acesulfame and carcinogenesis*". (*the initiation of cancer formation)

Is acesulfame K safe?

Just to be clear then, even the crappy tests held up as examples of how acesulfame K does not cause cancer, suggest it might actually cause cancer. Great.

To sum up: it might cause cancer, needs further research to prove its safety for consumption and also has potential to harm prenatal development and impair cognitive function.

So what the bloody hell is it doing in mainstream sports nutrition?

Rather depressingly, and just as with maltodextrin, it's all about the price. 

Even as a private buyer, you can pick up a metric ton of acesulfame K for £3000, or £0.003/gram. And, being 200 times sweeter than sugar, you don't need much - way less than a gram is all you need per regular energy gel for example.

It's a bargain for the manufacturer, little short of awful for the consumer.

Quite how huge nutrition companies with their massed ranks of supposedly highly-educated sports scientists and nutritionists can put such potentially dangerous junk into any food, let alone food specifically designed for health-conscious individuals is beyond us.

Acesulfame K: never in 33Fuel products

All we know is we'll never do that, or anything like it.

We started 33Fuel because we wanted maximum performance with maximum longterm health and sustainability and we couldn't find that anywhere so we set about making it. 

We have only ever, and will only ever, use the absolute best ingredients we can lay our hands on, we will always use only 100% natural ingredients, and we'll never stick the cheap lure of making a fast buck in front of making truly excellent products that deliver serious results.

Call us old-fashioned, but we believe sports nutrition should actually be good for you.

More performance-boosting content

From the Vlog

Be your best on race day with Olympian Michelle Dillon

From the podcast

Creating a powerful identity with coach George Anderson

From the blog

Beginner's guide to intermittent fasting

Goal setting - 7 ways to achieve BIG

The sugar tax - how a great idea went pear-shaped

Sports nutrition's Toxic Twelve - ingredients to run a mile from, part 1

Sports nutrition's Toxic Twelve - ingredients to run a mile from, part 2