The TRUTH About Artificial Sweeteners

Originally Posted By Joel Marion

Originally Posted By NancyNot only are artificial sweeteners neurotoxins, they are also linked to weight gain. Try reading “Sweet Deception” by Dr. JosephMercola. Check these web sites and search for “artificial sweeteners”:

http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.mercola.com

In my opinion, you can’t be “fit” if you are putting poison into your body. Here’s one article about their dangers, I could send many:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/02/26/artificial-sweeteners-once-again-linked-to-weight-gain.aspx

A study that showed rats (who have no willpower of any sort or do not understand the concept of being on a “diet”) tended to eat more calories if their food was exclusively sweetened with an artificial sweetener.

A whole different ball game with humans in this situation, and further, I don’t recommend people sweeten their food exclusively with an artificial sweetener.

The other food that is eaten throughout the day counteracts the whole “craving control” mechanism.

Having a couple Equal in your coffee is simply not even close to the scenario presented in this study.

When people in the health field take this kind of research and then make recommendations to back up their “stance” on certain issues, it’s just flat out irresponsible.

Joel,

Clearly you are in favour of using artifical sweeteners. I’m not sure why.

It seems logical and simple to me that if we eat whole fresh foods, in moderation (and I’m becoming a follower of your “Cheat” system), with a good exercise program and good sleep habits we will be as healthy as we can be.

WHY would/should we introduce these chemicals into our body?

Our current science is clearly not advanced enough to conclusively say whether they are safe or not. We still do not understand all of the complex interactions that occur. Why be a living guinea pig?

On a side note, I quote your resonse because I noticed you discounting peoples references to “studies” or “research” and then you casually mention “a study that showed rats…” Really? What study?

Bottom line: I would like to know, as a nutritionist and health expert, how you can possible condone the intake of these chemicals?

Sincerely,

John Kellner
Saskatoon, SK CANADA

@Joel Marion –

Joel,

Am I correct that you are in favour of using artifical sweeteners? I like that you are being open-minded and diplomatic. If you are in favour of using them, I’m not sure why.

It seems logical and simple to me that if we eat whole fresh foods, in moderation (and I’m becoming a follower of your “Cheat” system), with a good exercise program and good sleep habits we will be as healthy as we can be.

WHY would/should we introduce these chemicals into our body?

Our current science is clearly not advanced enough to conclusively say whether they are safe or not. We still do not understand all of the complex interactions that occur. Why be a living guinea pig?

On a side note, I quote your resonse because I noticed you discounting peoples references to “studies” or “research” and then you casually mention “a study that showed rats…” Really? What study? Did it have a large sample or a long period of time?

Bottom line: I would like to know, as a nutritionist and health expert, how you can possible condone the intake of these chemicals? (if, in fact you do).

Sincerely,

John Kellner
Saskatoon, SK CANADA

I refuse to consume toxic substances whenever possible:

http://myaspartameexperiment.com/index.php?page=1

Read Dr. Mercola’s SWEET DECEPTION

If you are choosing to use artificial sweetners to cut calories – IT’S A BIG FAT LIE!!!
over 90% of what’s in the little packet is – SUGAR. If it were pure artificial sweetner it would be overwhelmingly too sweet. So they use a filler to thin it. Guess what that is? SUGAR. Because the packets contain less than one gram, they can claim, ZERO calories. It’s a LIE!!!

IT’S A BIG LIE THAT ADDS ZERO VALUE AND SOMETHING THAT CAN POTENTIALLY CAUSE HARM.
those of you who use the, “but it hasn’t caused any problems with me.” argument are just like the smokers DYING of cancer after consuming enough of it years later.

There has also been some recent research posted to PubMed reporting negative impact of sucralose (Splenda).
Two things: It messes up your intestinal flora and prevents absorption of other substances (including medicines).

Think of how much we all pay for our good health? IT’S NOT WORTH IT, FOLKS!!! especially when there are healthy options.

I will say Joel, for your defense, that artificial sweeteners in moderation are probably not going to have much of a negative effect. Now some people have trouble with “in moderation”, so it may be best to just cut out artificial sweeteners for them, ahem, for me. Which is why I did. Not everyone has to agree about everything, and everyone has a right to their own opinion, as long as they respect others.

I partially agree. Everything in moderation is the key; a little bit of splenda isn’t a mortal sin, but considering it is made with chemicals and is artificial, I would stick with stevia. Personally, I put stevia in all things I want sweetened, so that the only thing I have made with artifical sugar is gum. I have found the reduction of aspartame and splenda makes you feel less sluggish and bloated. That’s my opinion.

Thank you Joel for your research-based responses and investigations. I’m curious…have you been able to find out whether or not the research you are basing your decisions on were funded directly or indirectly by Monsanto or JW Childs (depending on the year)?

I have been so confused about this topic, and I’m getting very tired (just as with dieting) of the amount of misinformation that is out there, especially on the internet. You’ve already helped me clear up some misconceptions and put things into perspective with your comments to people today.

I quit using artificial sweetner a long time ago – even when I wasn’t being “healthy”. First of all, I didn’t like the after-taste. Then when I got thinking about it being made out of chemicals, that was that. I know there’s some natural stuff now; but it usually costs a whole lot more. I just use a little sugar when needed. Yes, I know it’s not completely natural; but it’s not a chemical.

@Ramondo – Splenda doesn’t contain aspartame, it contains sucralose.

Joel,
great to meet you this weekend. I too believe the jury is out on this topic so show me what you got.

thansk

bobby
http://www.resultsonly.com

Link to a Washington Post Article comparing most of the sweetners. CSPI weighed in on the article.

I personally choose Splenda, but only in my coffee which I have once a day. The rest of the day is H2O only and if I want sweet I grab some fruit.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/16/AR2009021601026.html?sid=ST2009021700962

I just drank a Diet Cherry Pepsi. Oh man my tounge is turning green & my hair is falling out! I’m with you Joel! Lets get more research in before we look down our noses at people who use splenda & the like. I myslf have never felt any ill effects from using these products. Let’s face it, “THE MAN” (Health Dept etc) tells us one day that a particular food or additive is good for us, 2 years later the same “MAN” tells us to stop using those same food items or additives because they are DANGEROUS! Mind you, both advisories, good or bad are based on research. So basically “THE MAN” does’nt even know what’s good for us at times. Knowledge is a wonderful thing, but we have to remember to pass that knowledge on based on what we personally know & not what we hear! It’s a wrap, I’m done! :-) Thanks J!

Searching on some of the artificial sweeteners on Google gave me the impression that they pose hazards. It will be refreshing if you can show good (but not financed by the sweetener company) studies to the contrary. Sugar has a bad rap, too. I don’t know which is worse. The only one that gets good marks, Stevia, does not taste appealing to me in my coffee. I’m ready to try something new, so let’s hear about it.

Joel – hope you research thoroughly – you will find many experts do not advise using artificial sweeteners, except Stevia (which is all natural and sold as a supplement only – the FDA blocked it for a long time – so that the makers of the other sugar substitutes could “cash in”). Also, there are books written on the subjet: Excitotoxins – The Taste That Kills by R.L. Blaylock (explains why people have the reactions to these substitutes – a real eye opener) and also Sweet Deception by Joseph Mercola (mercola.com). Research also shows that they have sugar in these sugar substitutes, and believe it or not most of them cause hunger along with all the other side effects some report. I prefer to stay with small quanities of sugar – for my coffee/tea. And prepare most all my food myself – as some processed and pre-prepared food also contain excitotoxins. Kudos to you and your quest to help others. Looking forward to your next post.

your rationale for using artificial sweeteners is that there’s not enough research to prove it’s not safe. ok. however, for me, anytime an unnatural man-made chemical is brought to market, it’s the burden of that company to prove to me beyond a reasonable doubt that it IS safe. not the other way around. there simply has not been enough research done to prove to me that it’s safe or not. i still consume foods with artificial sweeteners in them from time to time, as i see no reason to be hysterical about it and avoid it completely, but telling people it’s safe causes them to use it in excess, which hasn’t been PROVEN to be safe.

thanks for the post, Joel. The comments i’ve been reading remind me of the old debates on the WeightsNet and Supertraining forums over the past 11 years. People tend to summarize “other people’s” beliefs and make them their own without truly looking at the research. I’m thankful for science but i’m also thankful for contextual accuracy.

Keep up the good work and look forward to sharing with you once i’ve finished my new book.

Originally Posted By Greg@Peter – Check out Sun Warrior Protein if you want to try something without artificial sweeteners that is still pretty low cal. 70 cal per scoop (15 g of protein). Kind of expsensive but well worth it.

Also consider trying products put out by Ori Hofmekler. I believe the products can be found at DefenseNutrition.com. Nothing but organic, natural products. I haven’t yet found anything that tastes as good as their products do.

I’ve heard several nutritionists compare the chemical structure of Splenda to that of DDT, is this even remotely true?

Hey Joel,

I use splenda and stevia, and drink diet soda on occasion. Is it ok? Tell us what you know!

I drink diet sodas on cheat days, thats about all. Knowing that i can drink them during the week as well would be nice though…

Originally Posted By GregI’ve heard several nutritionists compare the chemical structure of Splenda to that of DDT, is this even remotely true?

I think there’s a basic misunderstanding when people compare chemical compositions and when they’re similar, try to infer some sort of danger.

Let’s take salt for example: NaCl.

Salt (NaCl) is very similar to the element sodium: Na
It’s also very similar to chlorine: Cl

Sodium explodes in water, and Chlorine can kill when ingested! In addition, one could even say that NaCl is similar to hydrochloric acid (2HCl), which can burn your skin off!

As you can see, it’s erroneous to compare things like this. Salt would never explode in your body or act as an acid by burning your skin. So even if it were tru taht the chemical structure were similar to DDT (which I haven’t investigated so I could not either accept as true nor refute), it wouldn’t even make sense to compare chemical structures. It would only make sense to understand how Splenda interacts with the body once digested. (which, by the way, goes through your intestines undigested, or if it is absorbed through the intestines it comes out through urination. They’ve done research studies on the percentage of absorption and how much comes out “both ends”.)

@Tom – thats excesive

Why put chemicals in your body if you don’t have to. I used to be Diet Coke fiend and I will still have one now and again. I use Stevia for my occasional Green Tea but otherwise it’s just good old water for me thanks!
@Richy –

I’ve been reading about the horrors of aspartame for over 10 years. I have always drunk diet soda regardless (because as I said, I’m addicted). I do drink what would be considered an excessive amount by anyone’s standards as well—about 7 cans a day. I’ve been drinking diet pop exclusively for 38 years. So far as I can tell I don’t have any adverse symptoms that wouldn’t be cleared up with a healthier diet and more regular exercise whether consuming diet soda or not. In other words, 38 years is a long time to be drinking this stuff. You’d think if I was going to have major trauma I’d have it by now.

I gave up the diet pop for six months once and I didn’t feel any different, no better, no worse (except for less bloating). However, there is ‘something’ addictive about it to be sure. I don’t know what that ‘something’ is, but once I started having an occasional one again, it was as someone else mentioned—1 one day, then it became two, then three, until I was back to the full-blown addiction.

Like I said, I’m 58 and I’ve been drinking it all my adult life and I’m still here. According to a lot of those reports I should be have seizures or some kind of brain trauma or something by now. :)

Why take a chance on processed artificial sweetener when you can easily use stevia without any side effects and it is natural? Not only that but the aftertaste of aspertame is just yucky!

Originally Posted By Claire ShouseIf it was created in a laboratory, I will make every effort possible to avoid it. Just because it tastes sweet, if it does not come from nature, I am not convinced that my body really knows what it is and what to do with it. That is enough reason for me to avoid it.

Carry Stevia with you, it is 100% natural, has 0 calories and 0 glycemic index. You can get it in packets that you can keep in your wallet or put in your pockets when you are away from home.

Yep, I always carry it in my purse!