# AYDS diet caramels -- revisited **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 25, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760 "2004-07-25T03:13:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/1 "2004-07-25T03:13:39Z")
Awhile ago, someone asked [whatever happed to the diet caramels](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=151950) called AYDS. They had a rocky period during the 80s 'cause of the media frenzy over the AIDS epidemic, but I was at my mom’s today and – well I’ll be! – she had a box of the AYDS caramels. They _do_ still exist, although the packaging is no longer a red AYDS on a white backgroud – it’s all blue and they kind squished in the word “diet” so it kind looks more like DietAYDS, though they’ve still maintained the look of the original trademark. Anyway, new question: The caramels are an appetite suppressant. The active ingredient is benzocaine, a topical anaesthetic. You’d find it in OTC sunburn relief sprays or perhaps teething stuff (run it on the sore gums.) How does the benzocaine work as an appetite suppressant? Does it affect your sense of taste or something? Or once it’s in your belly does in numb the hunger pangs, so to speak? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/2 "2004-07-25T03:36:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Does it affect your sense of taste or something? That’s [the theory](http://www.eamg-med.com/arabic/fittness/drugs.shtml): > [@](#): > > Topical anesthetics – namely benzocaine – have an unclear mechanism of action when used as diet aids. They may work by decreasing the ability to detect degrees of sweetness by taste perception. However, since there are no well-designed studies showing benzocaine’s efficacy, the FDA has prompted many manufacturers to withdraw benzocaine from their weight-loss products. > > Mechanism of action: > > Thought to work by deadening taste buds and thereby suppressing appetite. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/3 "2004-07-25T03:39:40Z")
Did she say where she bought it? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/4 "2004-07-25T03:44:38Z")
**Duck** We’re in Canada, I suspect she just got it at the pharmacy over at the mall. **Larry** so according to the theory, is your appetite _actually_ affected so you’re really not hungry, or does it just ruin the experience of eating to “kill the mood”? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/5 "2004-07-25T04:58:15Z")
Awful and inappropriate story: In the eighties, when AIDS was a term that was beginning to be a household word (at least in the gay culture I was immersed in), AYDS was still advertising on the radio. Friends of mine still use a catchphrase from one of those ads, which ended with the exchange: “Cheesecake, Mary?”–“No thanks! I have _AIDS_!” Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/6 "2004-07-25T15:19:05Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > In the eighties, when AIDS was a term that was beginning to be a household word (at least in the gay culture I was immersed in), AYDS was still advertising on the radio. Friends of mine still use a catchphrase from one of those ads, which ended with the exchange: “Cheesecake, Mary?”–“No thanks! I have _AIDS_!” That’s the marketing disaster they were facing. I remember the original packaging: Blood-red word “AYDS” on a pure white background with smaller black text – very plain and clinical looking. Looked like some kind of AIDS information packet. My mom still bought them, brand loyalty still worked I guess, but they certainly weren’y winning over new customers. The new packaging is all-blue with thin people frolicking on a beach. Anyway, Im still curious about how numbing the taste buds affects appetite. It would totally suck to be hungry, but not want to eat anything because it would all taste funny. Sounds like torture. ---
**Author:** ![scott\_evil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@scott\_evil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scott_evil)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/7 "2004-07-25T18:40:55Z")
I was a young lad when AIDS surfaced as a mystery disease, and when they finally settled on that name (as opposed to GRID), I thought that people were getting sick and dying from having used AYDS diet candies. (My mother had a couple of really old boxes way back in the cupboard.) ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/8 "2004-07-25T22:08:28Z")
From a strictly anecdotal viewpoint, I could see how numbing the taste buds could work. Occasionally, I use a topical numbing spray for a really sore throat (Chloraseptic, it’s called), and some _always_ lands on my tongue, and kills my enjoyment of food for a couple of hours afterwards. So, if anyone’s thinking about trying this, don’t bother looking for the dietAYDS. Just get yourself some Chloraseptic, spray it on your tongue several times a day, and, poof! Instant appetite suppressant (well, maybe). ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/9 "2004-07-25T22:32:24Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > From a strictly anecdotal viewpoint, I could see how numbing the taste buds could work. Occasionally, I use a topical numbing spray for a really sore throat (Chloraseptic, it’s called), and some _always_ lands on my tongue, and kills my enjoyment of food for a couple of hours afterwards. So, if anyone’s thinking about trying this, don’t bother looking for the dietAYDS. Just get yourself some Chloraseptic, spray it on your tongue several times a day, and, poof! Instant appetite suppressant (well, maybe). I remember being little 6 or 7 maybe and chowing down on my older sisters Ayds on more than one occasion. . I’m talking half a box. It was just candy to me and didn’t seem to do anything to my appetite. I used to sit around spraying Chloaseptic in my throat to get that cool numb feeling around that same time. I was a weird kid 😛 ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/10 "2004-07-26T00:10:53Z")
> [@nitroglycerine](#): > > I used to sit around spraying Chloaseptic in my throat to get that cool numb feeling around that same time. I was a weird kid 😛 Yes, but were you a _fat_ weird kid? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/11 "2004-07-26T00:28:42Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > From a strictly anecdotal viewpoint, I could see how numbing the taste buds could work. Occasionally, I use a topical numbing spray for a really sore throat (Chloraseptic, it’s called), and some _always_ lands on my tongue, and kills my enjoyment of food for a couple of hours afterwards. So it _is_ the ruining of the culinary experience. Were you hungry at all? (If you remember.) (Oh, and no, I’m not interested in any of that as a diet thing. I’m one of those “eat sensibly and exercise regularly” kind of folks. I was just wondering, since I found that box.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/12 "2004-07-26T03:19:53Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > It would totally suck to be hungry, but not want to eat anything because it would all taste funny. Not really taste _funny_. Mostly just not taste at all. The idea is that if it all tastes like eating cardboard or something tasteless, you won’t have the desire to keep eating more\*. Rather like when you have a cold – food doesn’t have much taste then, either. (But that’s mostly because your sense of smell is diminished by the cold.) - But this may not allpy everywhere. I’m from Minnesota, where people keep eating lefse despite the absolute lack of taste. And many people, of their own free will, eat lutefisk! ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/13 "2004-07-26T03:31:42Z")
I remember those ads. A case of a bad name choice that no one could have foreseen. ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/14 "2004-07-26T04:21:49Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > Yes, but were you a _fat_ weird kid? 😃 Haha…no oddly enough. I was a skinny kid. I’m still a little skinny, and I eat all the time. I’m one of those people that can eat a whole pizza at one sitting and still have the munchies an hour later. My weight never goes above 165-170 lbs. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/15 "2004-07-26T13:20:44Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > So it _is_ the ruining of the culinary experience. Were you hungry at all? (If you remember.) > > (Oh, and no, I’m not interested in any of that as a diet thing. I’m one of those “eat sensibly and exercise regularly” kind of folks. I was just wondering, since I found that box.) Well, the issue isn’t really hunger, y’know; it’s appetite. I’d imagine that if you get hungry enough, you’ll eat something whether it tastes good or not (this is why people trapped in the jungle will eat insects and stuff, no?). But you know how it is: you don’t want to eat stuff that doesn’t taste good; you don’t have an appetite for it. So, numbing the taste buds doesn’t kill hunger, exactly, but it _will_ suppress the appetite. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ayds-diet-caramels-revisited/256760/16 "2004-07-26T17:41:44Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > So, numbing the taste buds doesn’t kill hunger, exactly, but it _will_ suppress the appetite. Sounds annoying. When sick I’ve been in the “I’m hungry, but I don’t wanna eat anything” state, and I’ve always found it annoying. Like when you stare at a fridge full of food and thinkg “Bah, nothing to eat in _here_…” Answered my question though. I was worried it did something like numb your tummy lining so that you actually didn’t feel the hunger pangs, and that idea seemed really freaky to me.