The TRUTH About Artificial Sweeteners

I drink tea with it on a daily bases. I really try to stay away from soda, but for all the other crap in it.

I use Stevia only as a sweetener. Occasionally I will drink a diet coke. It is part of my lifestyle and belief that the fewer processed or artificial things you put in your body the healthier you will be. But when I am dieting it keeps me sane. I have to weigh out the cost vs. my sanity or adherence to the program.

Then I suppose you don’t eat a very big variety of things. And, it must be hard to find dinosaur meat these days.@ Bananna:

Joel… Coke has always been my addiction ( i don’t drink coffee or tea). In order to loose weight I always have to cut out Coke.

I have tried many diet substitutes but the best I found for my tastes was Diet Doctor Pepper (did best job of killing aspartame taste ). After consuming this for several months I started to have really bad headaches. I stopped drinking the Diet Dr Pepper and they went away within a week. Not scientific but my personal experience. Now I try to drink mostly water or if I need something a little sweeter I will drink some of the lower calorie versions of ice tea.

I use splenda all the time. Even while pregnant. I have not found any peer-reviwed research documenting harmful effects of its use, only alarmist websites from unreliable sources. There is so much junk research out there. Anybobdy can put up a website and push their belief of concept and get a whole following of people based on so called research they did from other deceived people. I know of a lot of people who have fallen into this trap. That is what I like about you, you use real peer reviewed research and weigh the resuts. Thanks

I AVOID THIS WHOLE ISSUE BY USING HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP ALL THE TIME! I am so just kidding….hahaha. I was drinking C2 Coke, the one with aspartame, and I’d get headaches when I stopped drinking it, like withdrawal symptoms…granted I was drinking a lot of it though. I figured that was the cause of my headaches, so I got through it and never drank that one again. I use either regular sugar, or truvia, which is like stevia. I am picky about the taste of the sweetener, and those are the best IMO.

I’m with you Joel, but like everything in life: always in moderation. Clearly, if you’re guzzling diet soda like it’s water is bad news.

I avoid aspartame for a variety of reasons but, since my husband is diabetic, I use plenty of sucralose to prepare sweet foods for him and my big fat sweet tooth likes them too. You’d be suprised how good a low fat, sucralose-sweetened cheese cake tastes. I’m wondering what negative information will come out about sucralose years down the road. After all it is a chlorinated hydrocarbon.

When I was younger, calcium cyclamate was pulled from the market since scientists were able to feed mice enough to kill them. (I suspect a comparable amount of sugar would have killed them much quicker.) I was alert to this development because my grandma was diabetic and used saccharin despite it’s bitter after taste until the calcium cyclamate came out. It was not bitter.

Bananna wrote:

i woudl never touch that stuff.
it is made my man and not nature (like honey) and thats why i dont trust it.
how do i know how the chemicals in that white calorieless powder is not going to show its side effects when i’m 80 and finaly rid of my belly flab?

after all, if a caveman could not have found and eaten why should i?

I know, you’re trying to be reasonable, but…

Are you going to finally get rid of your belly flab when you turn 80? Pacing yourself?

Also cavemen (and cavewomen), got by without toothpaste and soap. Are you going to stop using those things too?

I know I’m being a bit of a jerk, but it makes me laugh out loud when people use weak reasons and examples.

Yes, I’d like to see some real research on the subject of artificial sweeteners. I actually prefer the taste of most “Diet” Coke products over the regular versions – they’re lighter – not as sweet. What I’ve heard is that artificial sweeteners turn off the hormone that tells you you’re full (doesn’t high fructose corn syrup do the same thing?).

I have atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) and, since I had used diet sodas regularly for a good many years, I wondered what would happen if I stopped. I did–cold turkey–and stayed off the stuff for a long time to see what would happen. (I also went off caffeine.) Unfortunately, nothing changed. That includes pulse rate/fluctuations, blood pressure, and energy levels. (Sorry…I wish I could have reported a miraculous turnaround, but it didn’t happen.) And when I started drinking diet sodas (and lots of coffee) again, I experienced no detectable changes in existing symptoms and no appearance of new symptoms. I also have some other, relatively minor, health issues, but bouts of going off and back on artificial sweeteners have had no observable effects on any of them. As for digestive disturbances–heartburn in particular–sugary drinks are FAR worse on me than diet sodas. I could be wrong, but I suspect that some people, due to their biochemical individuality, cannot handle artificial sweeteners, while others (the majority, perhaps) can. I seriously doubt that, for most of us, they cause or even contribute to the long list of disorders one can easily find on scores of websites. The official sites of long-established medical associations, however, report that exhaustive studies have not, thus far, shown any definite link between artificial sweeteners and serious diseases and disorders. Nevertheless, I’m using more Stevia and less of the other stuff now…just in case.

i use slendar sugar and tablets have done for years no problems.

Let’s hear it. I’ve been using Stevia and have been avoiding foods sweetened with aspartame for so long… if it’s really not that bad it would be AWESOME to integrate some “diet” foods and drinks back into my diet without worrying about destroying my health. BTW I just bought Stevia sweetened root beer the other day! Not the best tasting, but it did the trick.

I must admit I am a victim of “that’s what I heard”. I have quit the artificial sweeteners because of that.

You all suit yourselves, but I would rather avoid all of it. Our society is addicted to sweetness. There is sugar or sweetener in virtually everything . . . to get us to eat it. An African student said once that he had a hard time getting used to food here because it all tastes so sweet. (that’s why all those pictures of African tribes show beautiful white teeth! They have no tooth decay) Sucralose is one thing I will never eat. It consists of a modified sucrose molecule. They added two chlorine atoms so your body won’t recognize it as sugar and it (hopefully) passes through unnoticed. Chlorine is a strong oxidant we don’t need any more of in our bodies. So, no thank you, to all of it!

Stevia sucks balls. I use the blue stuff and drink major amounts of diet soda. I’m 400lbs. I’m pretty sure it’s the eating after 6pm that makes all this so.

Looking at pics of my 80 year old grandfather made me stop with the diets. I can run circles around most thin men my age.

I’d love to know more about Sweet and Low. One of my loved ones using it all the time and I’ve been worried but not said anything because I don’t really know.

b>@ Wende Sharrock: Amen to the simple art of cooking! There are lots of goodies that can be made without using sugar or artificial sweeteners. I am dismayed by how prevalent high fructose corn syrup has become in the foods we eat. Almost all baked goods have it and many canned products contain it, too. To avoid it, I do all of my cooking from “scratch” with the exception of making my own pasta (and I may get to that, too). I bake using whole grains I grind at home, giving me all the essential oils, Omega-3 and Omega-6 enzymes that get processed out of all our grains. We use lots of beans (I make a 3-bean flour using navy beans, pinto beans, and black beans because it’s fast and easy to cook with). My husband used to eat “fast food” at work, but now he takes his lunch from home since he discovered he feels so much better eating our home made food. I am working on learning to garden (I have a “brown thumb”) because I believe that’s the best way to obtain the most healthful veggies.<

I eat the “0%” yogurt because I like it, I drink caffeine free diet pepsi because I like it, and use Stevia in my coffee.

What about all the chemicals in the artificial Sweeners. My husband is Diabetic and can’t use sugar, but I am worried about him using Equal as well. He has kidney problems and I’m afraid Equal and Tylenol is his undoing.

I have been going back and forth with the sweeteners. a lot of experts tell you they are so bad. Simply the fact that they are artificial and processed. I use Stevia mostly at home and the little pink and blue packages if I’m out. But I am trying to give up coffee so I won’t even need that any more. I’m told I need an alkaline diet for my arthritis symptoms.
Norma

I have given up on all artificial sweeteners, party due to Isabel. I just use Stivia
and it tastes great. I can’t wait for the day that restaurants put out packets of
Stivia along with the other sweeteners!

Great topic! I have looked for research that supports the claims that this stuff is deadly, but have not found anything other than opinion. I am looking forward to the studies that you have to share to the contrary. While on this topic would you consider discussing the relationship between artificial sweeteners and insulin release, and whether they still play a role in metabolic syndrome? I prefer stevia based products myself, but honestly, since completing the XFLD, my taste for sweet things has decreased significantly and I am finding that actually enjoy the taste of some things without added sweetener.

I have heard about the dangers of artificial sweeteners. However, I’ve also heard about the dangers of using regular sugar. So I am working hard to use both in moderation. I don’t know if that’s the answer or not, but all things in moderation is what I remember my dad telling me. I do drink diet sodas and love them, but again cut them down to a moderation – 1 a day – sometimes 2.

I can’t wait to read the information you provide tomorrow.

Where did the scare come from then? It makes it difficult who to believe anymore.