06/10/2015-How do artificial Sweetners

carimiller7391

Affect you????

Good morning ladies and gents. I have been drinking massive quantities of water with mix-ins. I have found that certain flavors are triggering cravings- Crush strawberry seems to squash the cravings, but Hawaiian Lemonberry triggers cravings. I'm sharing this, as this really has hit home. I was wondering why every single time I had lemonberry water I got the munchies for sugar. Holy cow do I get the munchies. This is very critical info for me as according to my nutritionist, artificial sweetners can cause the same reaction as sugar in your body, causing insulin to be released. I do not know the science behind it, but supposedly this happens.

So with this said, wondering how artificial sweetners affect you?? Do you seem hungrier after eating something with them? Does one make you crave more while another doesn't? I've used splenda and truvia without having this issue. Have you even noticed a difference??

KnitOrMiss

carimiller7391 wrote: »

Affect you????

Good morning ladies and gents. I have been drinking massive quantities of water with mix-ins. I have found that certain flavors are triggering cravings- Crush strawberry seems to squash the cravings, but Hawaiian Lemonberry triggers cravings. I'm sharing this, as this really has hit home. I was wondering why every single time I had lemonberry water I got the munchies for sugar. Holy cow do I get the munchies. This is very critical info for me as according to my nutritionist, artificial sweetners can cause the same reaction as sugar in your body, causing insulin to be released. I do not know the science behind it, but supposedly this happens.

So with this said, wondering how artificial sweetners affect you?? Do you seem hungrier after eating something with them? Does one make you crave more while another doesn't? I've used splenda and truvia without having this issue. Have you even noticed a difference??

The reason this triggers is because the insulin response in some of us is triggered first and foremost by our taste buds. Therefore, if it tastes sweet, the body attempts to process it as sugar.

That being said, different sweeteners affect me differently. Most sugar alcohols might as well be the devil to me. They cause severe gastro distress. (Google "sugar free gummy bear amazon reviews" for some stories as to what I mean - they really are not exaggerated.) Xylitol does not do that, but Maltitol and a few others are pure evil. I even have to limit sugarless gum for this reason.

I can have aspartame aka sweet n low, but it burns my throat and makes me feel terrible. If it is in sugar free jello or a 5-hour energy shot type thing, the effects are minimized for whatever reason.

Splenda is tolerable. (I use the name brand packets at work because they are provided for free and sometimes the liquid - generic is fine for me here - at home. I just used it up last night though and don't know if I'll buy any more).

I prever stevia, but I cannot use the liquid stuff. Some "natural" ingredient they add in it causes me massive instant headaches. All Stevia is NOT created equal!! My preferred brand us PureVia Organic Non-GMO Stevia packets, 40 packets is $1.99 at Walmart. I have a friend who prefers another Organic Stevia on the shelf next to it, but it is about $2.48 I think for the same number of packets. But I've been told that Truvia brand is half sugar!!!! And my preferred brand does have 1 gram of sugar listed per packet, so I might be on a search for another one. I've heard Stevia in the Raw and MonkFruit in the Raw mentioned recently.

I have found out (this week mind you!) that if you use splenda and stevia together, the stevia amplifies the sweetness of the splenda, so my 3-4 packets now needs to be 1-2.... (that's per about 20 oz of tea)...


All of that being said, I avoid sweeteners wherever possible. It becomes a very slipperly slope for me. With the drink add-ins, you really need to read the label because some of them even have sugar with the other "natural" stuff. It is ridiculous. And remember, food labels can always round down. There is a 25% margin of error allowed within the FDA. It's ridiculous.

So what I do is I don't buy the gum I LOVE the flavor of...I buy the gum I can barely tolerate. That way I don't want more. Same with drinks/add-ins. I don't want to Love it... I want it to be tolerable, but barely. That keeps me out of the binge mindset. I also only sweeten my tea to the point where it is tolerable (I have to use something to cut the tannins or it affects my mouth in a really odd way). I have found that if I keep it just one step above undrinkable, it makes it tolerable, but my brain doesn't register SWEETS!!!!

Also, if I have desserts - even the on plan tolerable ones, it's far easier to slip up. After the first 6 weeks of low carbing it, I didn't even want them much - then a few berry cheesecake fat bomb recipes later, and I was toast. Berries are banned from my house for the time being. (And it's hilarious because I hated cheesecake before changing my eating plan...). Berries and their sugars are too much for me...

wennim

I have been a diet pepsi drinker since I was about 16 and I don't think I have any effects from the artificial sweetener in that. I know there are a lot of people that will say the soda is bad for weightloss but I think since I have lost this much weight while still enjoying it I am just going to keep with it. I think it depends on the sweetener though like you were saying. There are certain kinds of gum that I have tried that after chewing them I could just eat anything and everything in sight. Xylitol is the one that seems to be worst for me. I use splenda and truvia too but lately I have found that I don't use much unless for baking or something for the family and then I will just use the real thing and I am ok with having a smaller portion.

KarenZen

Like the others have written, different types of sweeteners affect me in different ways. Stevia in the Raw is my sweetener of choice for coffee, but mostly I just avoid the stuff. For water, I think plain is best, and I don't mind spending the 99 cents for a gallon of Poland Spring. If I want pizazz, I'll add some lemon. I definitely avoid the water flavorings because the trigger sweet cravings like crazy. And like Carly, sugar alcohols mess me up gastrointestinally, big time!!!

Cari, I'll be blunt here--you and I have similar food addictions, I think, and we both take medications that make weight loss more difficult, and we've both had bariatric surgery--I think you'll find that the closer you can get to "clean" eating, the better you'll feel and the more weight you'll lose. My definition of "clean" is to just severely limit anything with additives. Try a week or two of just basic, real meats, veggies, fruits, and whole grains. See how you feel and see how much you lose. Like so many other crap products on the market, I think those water flavor additives are just poisoning our already overburdened bodies!
My fifty cents.
K.

carimiller7391

Thanks Karen, I'll give it a try.

maoribadger

I do get dodgy guts from excess sweeteners