Crystal Light: Unveiling Potential Health Risks & Ingredients

Crystal Light is a popular diet drink mix created by Kraft Foods that comes in various flavors such as green tea, lemonade and raspberry ice. Crystal Light contains no calories and sugar and it is marketed as ideal for weight loss and diabetics, but there are concerns about the dangers of its ingredients.

Aspartame

• Crystal Light contains the artificial sweetener aspartame. Aspartame has been the subject of controversy as it is thought to be linked to brain tumors, birth defects and seizures. In 1985, Dr. Richard Wurtman studied the effects of aspartame, and in all three cases the patients developed seizures within several days of consuming beverages containing aspartame.

Sucralose

• In some Crystal Light variations, sucralose is used in place of aspartame. Sucralose has been shown to increase "glycosylated hemoglobin," which can cause inaccurate results for diabetic patients assessing their blood sugar.

Crystal Light Energy

• Some Crystal Light products are advertised as energy drink mixes which contain 120 mg of caffeine per 16-oz. bottle, which can be above the recommended amount for someone with a caffeine sensitivity.

Appetite Increase

• Studies have suggested that use of artificial sweeteners will affect a person's ability to judge the amount of calories they consume from taste alone.

Considerations

• Studies of the artificial sweeteners used in Crystal Light are sparse and most of the data isn't conclusive on whether or not they directly cause more serious health risks.