Credit: AP Photo / Lisa Rathke

A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down… but what about a spoonful of Splenda? And what if the medicine you were taking with that sugar was a little less private than you thought? This week on Innovation Hub, we’ve got stories about healthcare, artificial sweeteners, and the math behind our fears. 

First up, if you think that Sweet’N Low is healthier than sugar… you might want to reconsider. It turns out, the health benefits of sugar substitutes aren’t exactly clear-cut. We talk with University of Manitoba researcher Meghan Azad about how artificial sweeteners have proven unable to combat weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease. Then, a conversation with Carolyn Thomas about how sugar substitutes made their way into American households. 

Do you get scared when your plane takes off? It’s a common reaction, even though airline travel is one of the safest ways to travel. Eugenia Cheng, a mathematician at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, explains the math behind our fears… and how we might be able to overcome them. 

If you think Facebook has too much of your personal information, wait until you hear what the pharmaceutical industry knows about you. Adam Tanner, author of the book, “Our Bodies, Our Data: How Companies Make Billions Selling Our Medical Records” tells us that your (anonymized) medical information might just be sold to drug companies. He dives into how this process happens, and why it remains legal.