How bad are artificial sweeteners? Splenda?
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SallyLuvsFitness
Posts: 13,724 Member
Do you think zero calorie artificial sweeteners create havoc on your diet?
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Replies
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you will get people saying they're good and people saying they're bad. Scientifically they have been proven to not kill you (supposedly). Calorie-wise they're a good idea especially if you like soda - a zero sugar soda will be like hardly any calories if any (? I don't know, I don't drink the stuff) in comparison to full sugar Coke.
for me personally, I don't like them. Some of them make me bloat, they all taste like *kitten*, and I kind of tend to be a tin-foil-hat-wearing-weirdo when it comes to them and I still can't get my head around them not being bad for you. Totally illogical, I know.
I don't even like the natural ones like Stevia. Tastes as crap as Splenda. Might not give me as much cancer, but still make my food taste unpleasant.
All that aside tho - if you can't fit normal sugar or honey into your calories and you like sweet stuff and the taste of them don't bother you - go ahead and eat away!11 -
Nope. Dropped over 108lbs consuming Diet Pepsi on a near-daily basis.
Now, Sorbitol gives me certain digestive issues that create havoc on my intestines in large amounts, but since I've only come across it in sugarless gum and candies (which I generally don't eat much of anyhow), it's relatively easy for me to avoid.5 -
One of the most studied additives for food ever and STILL no evidence to show that they can actual kill you with moderate usage.
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Artificial sweeteners are not good they cause migraines and other issues..artificial sweeteners are a huge no no good alternatives are stevia, monk fruit and erithotyl.40
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People have been consuming artificial sweeteners for over 50 years, and people have been trying to prove they are doing something awful to us for just as long, but haven't managed to yet. Unless you are planning to marinate in them like all the rats in the studies, they're fine.
I can't link to it on the phone, but there's an old thread with lots of scientific info, called Why Aspartame isn't Scary or something like that, check it out when you get a chance.
I drink 4 or 5 diet sodas a week and sometimes put a packet of whichever sweetener is handy in my tea. No problems for me health wise and it helped me lose 20 lbs and keep it off. Sugar alcohols in excess do upset my stomach.11 -
Fitness327wk wrote: »Do you think zero calorie artificial sweeteners create havoc on your diet?
No.3 -
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Fitness327wk wrote: »Do you think zero calorie artificial sweeteners create havoc on your diet?
No.
I started using artificial sweetener when I started my active weight loss phase. I lost around 50lbs and improved all my health markers, including normalizing a pre-diabetic glucose number. During this time I drank 6 cans of diet soda every day.
Fast forward to today-I'm almost 6 years into maintaining the weight loss and better health markers. My fasting glucose number is consistently in the 80s. Blood pressure is good, triglycerides are in the 40s, current BMI is 22.3, I take no medications, have no health problems etc etc. I currently drink 2 cans of diet soda every day, 2 cups of coffee with 1 pkt of splenda in each, and then 1-2 pkts of splenda in my daily green smoothie.
I've talked to my doctor about artificial sweeteners. He's a DO, who's clinical interests are sports medicine and nutrition, and he has no issues with me using artificial sweeteners/splenda.6 -
Too much aspartame gives me headaches (more than one drink per day containing it), and I hate the taste of xylitol. Other than that, I haven't found any artificial sweeteners to be bad for me.1
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Artificial sweeteners are not good they cause migraines and other issues..artificial sweeteners are a huge no no good alternatives are stevia, monk fruit and erithotyl.
I use artificial sweeteners every day and I've never had a migraine. I don't know what you mean by 'other issues' but I'm in excellent health and have no medical problems, so what you're describing has not been my experience.
Some people are intolerant/sensitive to them and they should avoid using them. But, they don't have that affect on many people so there's no reason to avoid them unless you don't care for the taste.4 -
Gold within this here thread: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary/p1
If by wreaking havoc you mean able to drink a flavorful beverage without going over my caloric budget...
The testing that any drug or food additive has to go through is monumental and requires that no causative effects are associated within your subject population, but correlative effects as well.
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I love them. They help me meet my goals.5
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They don’t appear to hurt my diet nor do I get migraines. I love the fact zero calories!3
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I have read articles that artificial sweeteners can cause belly fat. It makes NO sense to me as it has zero calories!
However in this article it at least says the following:
When consumed in low quantities, artificial sweeteners have been shown to aid weight loss, improve metabolic conditions and even protect against injury during infection. However, this new study suggests that, rather than keeping us healthy, artificial sweeteners, especially when consumed in larger doses, could be contributing to the obesity epidemic.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/artificial-sweeteners-may-make-you-fat-180968552/#YM7fmIs8LzmPiLzq.99
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Tell that to the 108lbs I lost drinking over a litre of diet pop daily.
I think the "contribution" comes because some people rationalize that if they drink a large diet pop with a high-calorie meal, it somehow negates the calories from other sources. (I saved 300 calories by having a large Diet coke instead of a large regular. So super-size my fries and I'm having a large milkshake, too!)8 -
Fitness327wk wrote: »Do you think zero calorie artificial sweeteners create havoc on your diet?
They allow me to have sweet when I want it and still meet my weight loss goals without adverse affects. For me, the answer to your question is no. Everyone is different.3 -
Fitness327wk wrote: »
It's interesting that the article doesn't provide a link to the actual scientific study. My initial thoughts would be that people in the study who were using artificial sweeteners were not eating in a defecit which led to their weight gain.12 -
I think it all depends on how they make you feel. I have noticed that my body can handle small amounts of aspartame with no issues, but sorbitol is deadly to my digestive system. The flavored sparkling water I drink has sucralose (Splenda), and those are ok as long as I have no more than about 20 ounces a day. When I go above that, it can cause bloating, but I haven't noticed any other symptoms.2
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Artificial sweeteners are not good they cause migraines and other issues..artificial sweeteners are a huge no no good alternatives are stevia, monk fruit and erithotyl.
NOT for the general population. And not all artificial sweeteners have the same chemical structure, so even if one does cause someone to have migraines, that's no guarantee that another type will also. And just because Stevia comes from a leaf doesn't mean it's not incredibly processed, refined, chemicals added (for example, rebaudioside A) etc etc...so it's not exactly "natural" either, now is it?
OP - artificial sweeteners are not gonna mess up your diet. They are not the boogeymen some people want to claim they are. If you try them and have no side effects, feel free to use them, especially if you're substituting for caloric beverages.5 -
Fitness327wk wrote: »I have read articles that artificial sweeteners can cause belly fat. It makes NO sense to me as it has zero calories!
However in this article it at least says the following:
When consumed in low quantities, artificial sweeteners have been shown to aid weight loss, improve metabolic conditions and even protect against injury during infection. However, this new study suggests that, rather than keeping us healthy, artificial sweeteners, especially when consumed in larger doses, could be contributing to the obesity epidemic.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/artificial-sweeteners-may-make-you-fat-180968552/#YM7fmIs8LzmPiLzq.99
I'm not finding any links to the actual studies. You have to be careful with articles...they often misinterpret studies...sometimes on purpose to further an agenda and sometimes they just don't understand the actual study.
My guess would be that the studies conducted did not keep calories constant. Many of these studies are also correlation studies. In many cases, people gaining weight and drinking diet sodas in these studies aren't managing their calories. Many people feel that drinking a diet soda gives them license to just do whatever after that because they're being good in choosing the diet beverage...how many times have you seen someone get a diet soda only to then eat an entire pizza or down a triple bacon double cheeseburger and large fry?8
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