Artificial sweeteners

chapiano

Do many people use artificial sweeteners in there diet such as diet soft drinks, splenda, canderel, sweetex, Nutrasweet etc etc

Is replacing sugar with chemicals really better for you?

AnvilHead

Before the inevitable 20 page firestorm of misinformation, hysteria and junk science begins, I'll refer you to a thread here in which the OP was written by a molecular biologist with decades of experience in the field: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary/p1

Chef_Barbell

*munches her chemically laden popcorn*

Unknown

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lemurcat12

Yeah, that's a really good thread and Aaron's posts are really informative.

Personally, it's not about dieting for me. I drank diet soda on occasion before dieting, while dieting, and since dieting. Gave up sugary soda years ago and now prefer diet. Going back to regular wouldn't even be possible, as it tastes disgusting to me now. Diet soda, on the other hand, isn't my main drink, but I do enjoy it on occasion. I also believe there's stevia in my protein powder -- again, not a diet-related product, but something I consume.

I don't think there's anything else I consume with artificial sweetener (well, an occasion protein bar, probably), but that's more because I prefer sugar for sweets and tend to prefer less of a really delicious and satisfying sweet than more of something less satisfying. I've never added sugar to coffee, tea, or oatmeal, so that's not an issue.

rhtexasgal

I will fall into the minority here because I believe that those artificial sweeteners are bad for you. However, I only speak from personal experience and having adverse reactions from them. Some people handle them just fine and that is their business. There is plenty of scientific research for both sides of the issue. Me? I prefer to not use them at all. I do use organic monk fruit as a sweetener as well as SugaVida for coffee and tea. Of course, I use real sugar for baking.

Refer to the link that AnvilHead listed above as that will bring you a ton of perspective on sweeteners.

Dekayla13

I used to use a lot of sweeteners but out of nowhere they started giving me horrible headaches, only reason that I avoid them now.

ninerbuff

They are fine in moderation. By moderation, don't drink a case of diet soda a day. One or two should suffice. I defer to peer reviewed clinical studies and there's not any strong evidence out there showing that moderate intake will be problematic with the general population. Some will have adverse affects, but that's only a minority of people.
Myself, I've drank diet soda for over 25+ years with no issues that many sites claim will happen. Yep, I'm not full of formaldehyde yet.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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ouryve

chapiano wrote: »

Do many people use artificial sweeteners in there diet such as diet soft drinks, splenda, canderel, sweetex, Nutrasweet etc etc

Is replacing sugar with chemicals really better for you?

They mostly taste *kitten*. I don't bother.

CrabNebula

You can pry Truvia and liquid Splenda from my cold, dead hands. I think obesity is more of a serious threat to my health and longevity than artificial sweeteners.

ohsosweet26

The only artificial sweetener that I use is Truvia.

rankinsect

ouryve wrote: »

chapiano wrote: »

Do many people use artificial sweeteners in there diet such as diet soft drinks, splenda, canderel, sweetex, Nutrasweet etc etc

Is replacing sugar with chemicals really better for you?

They mostly taste *kitten*. I don't bother.

Well, you do get used to them.

Plus, some that use mixes of sweeteners are not bad at all. Saccharine and aspartame have noted aftertastes, but I find sucralose and acesulfame potassium to be pretty benign in that regard.

And as to "chemicals" - everything you eat has thousands upon thousands of chemicals in it, whether natural or artificial in origin. "Chemicals" are neither good nor bad - a specific chemical may be beneficial or harmful, but quite literally everything is made of chemicals.

Cahgetsfit

I'm also with the crazy hippie tin-foil hat wearing conspiracy theory believing minority. I know and understand science blah de dah chemical everything we eat is chemicals we are made from chemicals and studies show it's not carcinogenic blah blah blah. Yes. I have read and I understand.

HOWEVER, I choose not to believe.

a) artificial sweeteners taste like shite

b) don't believe they don't cause cancer. Insert Big Pharma conspiracy theory here.

c) I don't believe in the "sugar is a scary bad monster" hype either. Moderation is the key. I mean - people saying don't eat FRUIT because it has sugar in it? FFS. Better off eating a frikkin orange than drinking diet fanta IMHO for countless reasons.

I don't use much refined sugar (unless you know - baking a birthday cake for normal people). I use brown sugar and honey mostly for sweet stuff.

Shadowmf023

I use Stevia and Erythritol which are derived from plants/fruits. That said, my dad is diabetic and has used aspartame for the last 40 years, daily, without a single side effect. He's just recently changed to Sucralose.

There are some people that get headaches from aspartame. I'd obviously encourage them to stay away from it. But otherwise it's fine in moderation.

olymp1a

I avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners as much as possible but if I have a craving for a Cola then I get a diet one with Stevia / Erythritol blend and don't stress about it. It's once every 2-3 weeks anyway.

stevencloser

Cahgetsfit wrote: »

I'm also with the crazy hippie tin-foil hat wearing conspiracy theory believing minority. I know and understand science blah de dah chemical everything we eat is chemicals we are made from chemicals and studies show it's not carcinogenic blah blah blah. Yes. I have read and I understand.

HOWEVER, I choose not to believe.

a) artificial sweeteners taste like shite

b) don't believe they don't cause cancer. Insert Big Pharma conspiracy theory here.

c) I don't believe in the "sugar is a scary bad monster" hype either. Moderation is the key. I mean - people saying don't eat FRUIT because it has sugar in it? FFS. Better off eating a frikkin orange than drinking diet fanta IMHO for countless reasons.

I don't use much refined sugar (unless you know - baking a birthday cake for normal people). I use brown sugar and honey mostly for sweet stuff.

You're free to believe whatever you want. But science says no to your second point. Unless you purposely made a triple negative there, in which case well played.

psuLemon

I drink diet soda daily. Even in the extremely remote chance it would increase the chances of whatever happening, I will still take that over obesity, which has a very high correlation to many diseases and illness. Diet has allowed me to cut 600 calories or more out of my diet and allowed me to focus on a lot more nutrient dense foods and allowed me to lose 50 lbs. Also, if you look at most diseases/illness, the are generally determined by body composition (overfat/obese especially), inactivity and genetics.

But if one thing is certain, diets are about the whole. I have a diet high in fruits, veggies, a variety of meats, dairy and whole grains. All my blood work has improved and I am down to 16% body fat.

CooCooPuff

At this point, i prefer diet sodas to regular.

bagge72

Cahgetsfit wrote: »

I'm also with the crazy hippie tin-foil hat wearing conspiracy theory believing minority. I know and understand science blah de dah chemical everything we eat is chemicals we are made from chemicals and studies show it's not carcinogenic blah blah blah. Yes. I have read and I understand.

HOWEVER, I choose not to believe.

a) artificial sweeteners taste like shite

b) don't believe they don't cause cancer. Insert Big Pharma conspiracy theory here.

c) I don't believe in the "sugar is a scary bad monster" hype either. Moderation is the key. I mean - people saying don't eat FRUIT because it has sugar in it? FFS. Better off eating a frikkin orange than drinking diet fanta IMHO for countless reasons.

I don't use much refined sugar (unless you know - baking a birthday cake for normal people). I use brown sugar and honey mostly for sweet stuff.

I love the whole, I know science, but disregard it when it doesn't work for me thing going on here. Artificial sweeteners have been around for what 120 years now, and can you tell me how many case of cancer in humans they have been attributed too?

sfcrocker

I couldn't lose weight without my five calorie Minute Maid Lemonade. Now if they could just invent a calorie free stout beer that didn't taste like s***.

cross2bear

They dont cause me any physical problems, they fit into my calorie allowance, I like the foods I find them in - so i am a chemical supporter!!

DanerTee

I'm no scientist, so I won't speak to the health risks etc. but I know from my own experience, that when I drink something that is artificially sweetened, I want sweet things more. I notice this because I don't naturally have a sweet tooth, I'm more into salty snacks type stuff, but when I have a diet bevvy of some kind, I go searching for sugar. Weird.