The TRUTH About Artificial Sweeteners

Hi Joel there is always stories about aspartame causing cancer. Even my kids are questioning me as I’ve cut sugar from my diet and now only use sweetner. Would love to know if all the stories I hear are true or not.

@ Rose:
Has noone in the US heard of Xylitol? Seriously guys, it’s the best- tastes delicious and is NATURAL. It even promotes healthy teeth and improves bone density to help prevent osteoporosis! Here’s a quote from the Wikipedia entry:

XYLITOL: is a sugar alcohol sweetener used as a naturally occurring sugar substitute. It is found in the fibers of many fruits and vegetables, including various berries, corn husks, oats, and mushrooms.[2] It can be extracted from corn fiber,[3] birch, raspberries, plums, and corn. Xylitol is roughly as sweet as sucrose with only two-thirds the food energy. It has no known toxicity in humans.

I’m also really disappointed to hear someone with so many other great ideas suggesting that people ingest artificial sweetener because there’s no PROOF that it’s deadly when there are other options that are PROVEN SAFE! Just because the little blue packets are widely available doesn’t make them the best option… until they can be proven safe, JUST SAY NO!

I try to avoid sugar/sweeteners in drinks alltogether (coffee/tea), and go for mineral water rather than pop/soda.

The few times I do drink something sweetened I go for stuff with real sugar. ( a regular coca cola or what have you ) While excessive amounts of sugar are bad, I don’t know exactly how artificial sweeteners work, their long term effects on the body, etc.

More info on the subject would be welcome of course!

@ Rose:
Also, if you use Xylitol you can GIVE the lecture instead of receiving it- Super smugness justified :)

Artificial sweeteners make me bloated and gassy, so I avoid them – or everyone else is avoiding me! Sugar alcohols and Splenda are the worst for me. I have used Stevia with no problem, although the taste is kind of funky. I’m learning to like my coffee black.

Basically, it’s the chemical issue. Artificial sweeteners are man-made or highly processed, not natural. Anything artificial or chemically based is going to put a strain on your body (liver, kidneys, bowels) to process. Even someone who is “healthy” is going to have an amount of ingested chemicals (pesticides on fruit and veges for example) for their body to deal with – why add to the toxicity? Why slow down your digestive system and waste unnecessary energy you could be putting to better use?

I use Splenda with my coffee and only have one mug a day – if that much. I’ve tried Stevia but it has such a bitter taste. I wonder if there are some brands that are better than others.

Hi Joel.

I used to drink regular soda; switched to diet soda many years back. Got to where I drank it every day. Then started hearing all the negative stuff about it. So, I’ve been cutting back on that, but some days, I just NEED it. Curious to hear your take on the artificial sweeteners.

The research i have seen is that artificial sweeteners cause detrimental affects in ANIMALS in ludacrisly HIGH doses of which human s would never be exposed to.

Those original studies which highly confused people and started the snti-sweetener revolution, were just not comparable to valid human studies of which none seem to have been done and certainly none with any similar results.

It is particularly confusing for obese, overweight, and type 2 diabetes patients, who hear such rumours and then feel that real sugar must be better. It is very undermining for health professionals to have such doubt and confusion induced in patients., when such mixed signals and messages are provided. Would be interested to hear more on your point of view.

I only use stevia and stay da f away from aspartame and such. But the sad thing is that the dude who made aspartame already made a new one that is like 10 times worse and they are working on making it happen that they don’t even have to state it on the label. I think I would make that guy eat poop for the rest of his life :p

You might be interested in mike geary’s research on this subject if you haven’t already read it.

i have heard that diet coke/pepsi ect. can make you hungry is this true

From the FDA –

“After reviewing scientific studies, FDA determined in 1981 that aspartame was safe for use in foods. In 1987, the General Accounting Office investigated the process surrounding FDA’s approval of aspartame and confirmed the agency had acted properly. However, FDA has continued to review complaints alleging adverse reactions to products containing aspartame. To date, FDA has not determined any consistent pattern of symptoms that can be attributed to the use of aspartame, nor is the agency aware of any recent studies that clearly show safety problems.

Carefully controlled clinical studies show that aspartame is not an allergen. However, certain people with the genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU), and pregnant women with hyperphenylalanine (high levels of phenylalanine in blood) have a problem with aspartame because they do not effectively metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine, one of aspartame’s components. High levels of this amino acid in body fluids can cause brain damage. Therefore, FDA has ruled that all products containing aspartame must include a warning to phenylketonurics that the sweetener contains phenylalanine. ”

By the way, Splenda does not contain aspartame.

I concur with those who believe artificial sweeteners are dangerous. There are plenty of studies backing that up. Just because they are dangerous doesn’t mean they would be taken off the market. Just look how many harmful Rx drugs remain on the market, even when people die from them. There are a lot of politics involved, the lobbyists for big “pharma” and big food companies are able to keep some harmful things from being banned.

Many years ago I used Splenda in my tea and had a constant low-grade headache. After I learned that is a side effect, I stopped the Splenda cold turkey and the headaches stopped immediately.

Aspartame is addictive because the phenyalanine in it acts as a stimulant. Aspartame also promotes sugar cravings and disrupts hormones such as insulin that are involved in fat storage.

Even though fructose is natural it causes inflammation in the body and can even cause gout.

I personally use stevia on the rare occasions I need a sweetener. I also recommend stevia to my clients as well as eating a close to nature as possible. Our bodies aren’t made for or adapted to handling all the chemical toxins we’re exposed to these days.

Thanks, Joel, for starting this conversation. Our family has been through the gamut of sweeteners, and now uses mostly Splenda. I had some digestive problems, and tried going off of aspertame (in yogurts, etc.) for a period of time — no difference, so it may not be related — I do, however, have arthritis and Restless Leg Syndrome. A while back, I started using Truvia (Stevia), and like that a lot. I make my own iced tea (black and green), and use a combination of Splenda and Truvia to sweeten it, sometimes also using a little flavored syrup that is sweetened with Splenda. I try to eat plain yogurt, to avoid any articfical sweeteners added by companies, and usually add a scoop of protein (after reading the posts, I need to go back and read the protein label as well) — generally don’t feel the need for any additional sweetener in the yogurt — usually add some fruit, and maybe a little fat free whipped cream. We eat very healthy, but still wish I could find the root of the arthritis and RLS (only take a small med every night to be able to sleep) so that I could be Rx free. Look foward to your post tomorrow.

While I do not go overboard on artificial sweetners, I do occasionally have a diet coke. Because there is so much controversy out there I try to stay away from therm.

I’m definitely interested! And I use artificial sweeteners in my morning coffee, by the way.

I use splenda or stevia in my coffee etc. I occasionally drink diet soft drinks and eat yoghurt with sweetener in it.

@ Don Bell:
So what you’re saying, it’s not very good for you? Don’t know what spin Joel will have but I don’t like the stuff either.

I drink diet sodas and use sweetners and have not dropped dead yet!

I think it would be useful to point out why SUGAR is bad, and there IS lots of real research on this. Research I’ve read on artificial sweeteners is not worth wasting the space here – bottom line is you would have to ingest enormous amounts of the stuff to “maybe” get the side effects. And I’m not talking about being allergic to the stuff – if you are allergic, then avoid it.

yes i am interested in hearing the research on artifical sweeteners because there is a lot of conflicting ‘stories’ out there and people have strong opinions based on little fact. My husband worked for a company that first marketed aspartame and there were many years of research on it before is came to the market.
The idea that two protein components ( asparatame)creates the same response in your body as the sugar molecule ( ie makes you more hungry and crave carbs) has always baffled me. it doesn’t make sense- but that is what many people say.
i have been on diets that say stevia is the best because it is natural and on other diets that say stevia is no good because it is too much like sugar.
i am certainly confused on this topic but do like sweetener in my coffee.

I use Suganon, aspartame free, for the last 20 years and cannot say that I am less healthy because of it. I have tried Stevia but it is too sweet for me, I cannot get the perfect middleway. Suganon suited me to a tee.

I am a huge Splenda fan but have been using Stevia, which I find a bit bitter, in it’s place based on – well – now that you mention it – nothing but a bad rep! Please share your information. Thanks!

When I use artificial sweetners, I use only the ones that are NOT sucralose based. Sucralose aka Splenda gives me an instant HEADACHE that I cannot get rid of for hours. Other artificial sweeteners, aspartame, saccharine, stevia, etc do not have the same effect on me. I do find that it is hard to find the artificial stuff in bulk, other than Splenda.