Artificial Sweeteners?

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  • sheermomentum
    sheermomentum Posts: 827 Member
    If we accept that all artificial sweeteners have been tested extensively and found to be safe to consume, it seems to me the only thing left to ask with regards to anecdotes is which one people like best. I like splenda/sucralose. It tastes best to me and Aldi sells a generic brand of it for about 1/4 of the brand-name cost. Saccharine (SweetnLow) and stevia (Truvia) both have a bad aftertaste to me. (I'm always surprised that no one else seems to find stevia terribly bitter, but whatever.) I'll use aspartame/Equal if that's all that's around. Its in the middle taste-wise.

    "Science" is still learning all sorts of things, so if someone swears they have tummy trouble every time they eat something, I wouldn't necessarily pooh-pooh them. There could be a rare condition that makes people sensitive to a certain substance that we don't know about yet. But I wouldn't take it as meaningful for myself either, unless I had the same experience. If they claimed it caused cancer or serious damage, I'd take that with a very large grain of salt, cuz that's the sort of thing that gets studied. Which basically means that in the end. go ahead and try one in your coffee and see if you like it. Its not going to hurt you. But as somebody else kind of implied, take it for what its worth - it will save you enough calories to have an apple instead, but you probably don't want to build your diet around it.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    nicolepburgess91 wrote: »
    I like sugar in my coffee. I can barely stomach it plain. But it adds more calories than I'd like to see. I'm looking into artificial sweeteners and I'm finding very conflicting information about its benefits/harmful effects.
    I'm not looking for scientific data - but, rather personal experience stories.
    Have artificial sweeteners helped you, or hurt you?
    25+ year drinking at least 2 Diet Pepsi's a day. Hasn't hindered anything I've done.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • comeonnow142857
    comeonnow142857 Posts: 310 Member
    edited April 2017
    sheermomentum wrote: »
    If we accept that all artificial sweeteners have been tested extensively and found to be safe to consume, it seems to me the only thing left to ask with regards to anecdotes is which one people like best. I like splenda/sucralose. It tastes best to me and Aldi sells a generic brand of it for about 1/4 of the brand-name cost. Saccharine (SweetnLow) and stevia (Truvia) both have a bad aftertaste to me. (I'm always surprised that no one else seems to find stevia terribly bitter, but whatever.) I'll use aspartame/Equal if that's all that's around. Its in the middle taste-wise.

    "Science" is still learning all sorts of things, so if someone swears they have tummy trouble every time they eat something, I wouldn't necessarily pooh-pooh them. There could be a rare condition that makes people sensitive to a certain substance that we don't know about yet. But I wouldn't take it as meaningful for myself either, unless I had the same experience. If they claimed it caused cancer or serious damage, I'd take that with a very large grain of salt, cuz that's the sort of thing that gets studied. Which basically means that in the end. go ahead and try one in your coffee and see if you like it. Its not going to hurt you. But as somebody else kind of implied, take it for what its worth - it will save you enough calories to have an apple instead, but you probably don't want to build your diet around it.

    This is a good post.

    Issues are often attributed to one ingredient, when the consumer is missing out consideration of other ingredients in what they consumer. IE. Aspartame in Diet Coke causing stomach upset/gas & shakiness... It's filled with carbonation and caffeine!!! You also have a lot of issues attributed to gluten insensitivity which are really about other issues in foods that tend to be high in gluten, etc. But if something doesn't make you feel right, sure, put it down. It just may not be for the reason you think it is, no matter how convincing that latest fad doctor's book is at giving you a framework that seems to make all your problems fit in a "AHA!" puzzle.

    Correlation/causation is hard, and if you can't account for the distinction (like JstTheWaylam's argument above) you aren't in a position where you'll be able to figure it out.
  • JstTheWayIam
    JstTheWayIam Posts: 6,357 Member
    edited April 2017
    Simply saying that everyone's got a financial stake does not suddenly mean that soda manufacturers do not have a financial stake in convincing people that artificial sweeteners are not harmful... In fact to the contrary, in only helps to backup my argument...

    Also note that all the money Dr Greger makes from his book went to charity and he makes nothing on his website either...

    You say that I refused to put up any sort of factual argument, while I present you with a YouTube video that definitely has factual information...

    You then claim the data to be cherry picked (which your going to claim no matter what I present you with) and counter with absolutely nothing... Nothing at all...
  • geneticsteacher
    geneticsteacher Posts: 623 Member
    Perhaps if you linked to peer-reviewed scientific studies proving your point, you would get a better response. One youtube video with one man's opinion is not scientific evidence.

    There have been many, many scientific articles that disprove your position.

    One of the best sources is here:

    https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
  • JstTheWayIam
    JstTheWayIam Posts: 6,357 Member
    https://youtu.be/0smauGspMm4
    Pay close attention for at least the first few minutes of the video...
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
    Stevia makes me sneeze and tired but its a member of the ragweed family so I figure that's why
    Sucralose puts me in a bad mood about 30 minutes after,dunno why
    Aspartame I can handle.surprisingly cuz it seems to get the worst press,we're all different in the way things effect us,I can't drink regular soda cuz I makes my stomach burn so I have diet coke as a here and there treat
  • JstTheWayIam
    JstTheWayIam Posts: 6,357 Member
    edited April 2017
    To the original poster...

    Learn to live without the sweeteners, you don't need them. They're just a crutch, soda and refined sugars are terrible for you whether artificial or not...

    Do you really think companies like Coca-Cola give a damn about you... No they don't, diet soda is just a scam to take more of your money as cheaply as they can...
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    I use a half teaspoon of Truvia in each of my two coffees in the morning, it does the job of taking the edge of the plain coffee. A little FF milk and my coffee barely impacts my day. You'll have to make your own mind up about adding more artificial sweeteners in to your diet but they are already in so many things we consume you'd have to make a project out of it to get rid of them anyway.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    edited April 2017
    Posters,

    This thread has been reopened as we try to promote RESPECTFUL DEBATE. Please carry on in accordance with the MFP guidelines, specifically:

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  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    Truvia is the absolute best tasting but it's pretty expensive. I use way too much of it lol
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Some artificial sweeteners are better in liquids, others bake better. Aspartame hands down is best for cold beverages.

    I find that Stevia tingles very much like cinnamon so if I am using Stevia I'll often use cinnamon too.

    Try a hot Chai tea with a little Stevia and cocoa.
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 994 Member
    I like fake sugars. Try different things and eat the ones that taste good to you. Personally, I like Coke Zero, Diet Dr Pepper, and use stevia in my overnight oats and in some other things. Sometimes I'll just cut the sugar in half and replace half, to get a better flavour with less aftertastes.
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  • JstTheWayIam
    JstTheWayIam Posts: 6,357 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    JstTheWayIam wrote: »
    Simply saying that everyone's got a financial stake does not suddenly mean that soda manufacturers do not have a financial stake in convincing people that artificial sweeteners are not harmful... In fact to the contrary, in only helps to backup my argument...

    Also note that all the money Dr Greger makes from his book went to charity and he makes nothing on his website either...

    You say that I refused to put up any sort of factual argument, while I present you with a YouTube video that definitely has factual information...

    You then claim the data to be cherry picked (which your going to claim no matter what I present you with) and counter with absolutely nothing... Nothing at all...

    Then please allow me to counter that non-factual, fearmongering YouTube video with a 93-page PDF summation of actual scientific studies regarding the safety of aspartame: http://seriecientifica.org/sites/default/files/scl_enc_butchko.pdf

    In addition, a thread which was started by a biochemist, with evidence-based information included, was linked earlier in the thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary/p1

    You do realize that serie cientifica is sponsored by the Coca-Cola company right?

    But if you want to take their word for it, be my guest...
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    OP I'm not really a fan of any of the artificial sweeteners in my coffee. I think Stevia is probably the best tasting, has a sort of caramel flavour. I just use half to a whole teaspoon of regular old sugar in my coffee which I find plenty sweet enough for me and not too calorific.

    I will drink Diet Coke and other cold drinks though now and again.
  • flrancho
    flrancho Posts: 271 Member
    I used to use Splenda. It was ok. Used Sugar In The Raw a few times too.

    Anymore I use real sugar. I really just don't like the vibe from artificial sugars..... and I'm not just attacking artificial sugars here. I really don't like eating anything that's an artificial substitute, or made fat-free, pre-packaged, etc.

    I always try to eat as "whole" as possible, using foods as close to their whole, natural state as possible. 80% of my diet is homemade from scratch - the rest is generally because I'm eating out or had to make financial sacrifices in the food department.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,647 Member
    flrancho wrote: »
    I used to use Splenda. It was ok. Used Sugar In The Raw a few times too.

    Anymore I use real sugar. I really just don't like the vibe from artificial sugars..... and I'm not just attacking artificial sugars here. I really don't like eating anything that's an artificial substitute, or made fat-free, pre-packaged, etc.

    I always try to eat as "whole" as possible, using foods as close to their whole, natural state as possible. 80% of my diet is homemade from scratch - the rest is generally because I'm eating out or had to make financial sacrifices in the food department.

    I heard that. Maruchan ftw.
  • sheermomentum
    sheermomentum Posts: 827 Member
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    Truvia is the absolute best tasting but it's pretty expensive. I use way too much of it lol

    If you have an Aldi available, they also sell a generic version of this for a lot less.

  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    I use sucralose in cooking if I'm not cooking with yeast. If I'm cooking with yeast, I do feed them sugar.
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