Artificial Sweeteners - What do you all drink?
jonesybgonsy13
Posts: 6 Member
Hey guys honest question, I’ve heard mixed opinions about what your body does with the zero-calorie, zero sugar drinks. I really want to know what the body does with things like Aspartame? I’ve heard because it doesn’t know how to properly process and digest it it gets stored as body fat, is this true? I’m trying to decide if it’s better to take the carb hit and drink a regular soda occasionally or if the no-calorie, no-sugar is the best option. Thanks guys!
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I drink the diet 7-Up products (regular, cherry, and Sunkist orange) and Zevia, sweetened with stevia.
I love the Zevia drinks, especially grape, but they are twice the price compared to the others. (At least)
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Coke Zero FTW. I have no idea which sweetener it has in it. Sometimes instead Diet Dr. Pepper or Diet Mountain Dew. I'll have a Diet Pepsi sometimes with Chinese takeaway if that's all they have. They don't make me hungry or affect my rate of loss.
Artificial sweeteners are some of the most studied food additives in history. Check out the link @apullum supplied above as well. :drinker:10 -
Aspartame is a methyl dipeptide. That means it's two amino acids (protein) bound with a methyl connector (methanol).
Upon entering the digestive system, the aspartame separates into phenylalanine (amino acid/protein), aspartate (amino acid/protein) and methanol (a simple alcohol, naturally occuring in tomatoes).
This is a scientific fact that we know.
Now because aspartame has such a strong sweet taste, there is very little of it used to achieve the desired sweetness in things like diet soda. Thus, the amount of these two amino acids and the methanol is very little. In fact, a small cup of chili would contain many times more of all three components (both amino acids from the meat and methanol from the tomato sauce) than an entire 2 liter of Diet Coke.
That aside, even if aspartame occurred in higher quantities, there's no evidence to suggest that it's harmful.
Again, it quickly breaks down into the 3 components which are known to be perfectly safe and naturally occurring in a whole host of whole foods. Aspartame itself never makes it into your blood stream, just the component pieces.
Still yet, despite all the fear mongering you see online and in pseudo-scientific "health" blogs, etc., aspartame is perhaps the most well studied food item in the world, having been studied ad nauseam over the past 40 years and not one single study has shown that humans have any reason to fear consuming it, especially in the tiny doses found in zero sugar drinks.
Hope this helps.
FWIW, I'll be having a Powerade Zero after my workout this afternoon and a Coke Zero Sugar with my supper.30 -
Carlos_421 wrote: »Aspartame is a methyl dipeptide. That means it's two amino acids (protein) bound with a methyl connector (methanol).
Upon entering the digestive system, the aspartame separates into phenylalanine (amino acid/protein), aspartate (amino acid/protein) and methanol (a simple alcohol, naturally occuring in tomatoes).
This is a scientific fact that we know.
Now because aspartame has such a strong sweet taste, there is very little of it used to achieve the desired sweetness in things like diet soda. Thus, the amount of these two amino acids and the methanol is very little. In fact, a small cup of chili would contain many times more of all three components (both amino acids from the meat and methanol from the tomato sauce) than an entire 2 liter of Diet Coke.
That aside, even if aspartame occurred in higher quantities, there's no evidence to suggest that it's harmful.
Again, it quickly breaks down into the 3 components which are known to be perfectly safe and naturally occurring in a whole host of whole foods. Aspartame itself never makes it into your blood stream, just the component pieces.
Still yet, despite all the fear mongering you see online and in pseudo-scientific "health" blogs, etc., aspartame is perhaps the most well studied food item in the world, having been studied ad nauseam over the past 40 years and not one single study has shown that humans have any reason to fear consuming it, especially in the tiny doses found in zero sugar drinks.
Hope this helps.
FWIW, I'll be having a Powerade Zero after my workout this afternoon and a Coke Zero Sugar with my supper.
This was amazing. Perfect, nice explanation and simple for people to understand.14 -
jonesybgonsy13 wrote: »I’m trying to decide if it’s better to take the carb hit and drink a regular soda occasionally...
The calories aren't bad (139 cal for 12 oz Coke), but the sugar... 36 g!
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jonesybgonsy13 wrote: »Hey guys honest question, I’ve heard mixed opinions about what your body does with the zero-calorie, zero sugar drinks. I really want to know what the body does with things like Aspartame? I’ve heard because it doesn’t know how to properly process and digest it it gets stored as body fat, is this true? I’m trying to decide if it’s better to take the carb hit and drink a regular soda occasionally or if the no-calorie, no-sugar is the best option. Thanks guys!
I have a current BMI of 21.0 and I'm drinking flavored water right now that has aspartame in it. I've lose 50lbs and have been maintianing the weight loss for years, as well as fantastic health markers, and I use artificial sweeteners several times a day.
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They were on sale
but I can't get the picture to load: a backseat full of Diet Pepsi 2 -
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I don't drink them simply because I can't stand the taste. Even stevia, which I used to find okay, I can hardly stomach the flavor. I don't really drink much other than water, though, and occasionally iced coffee. In which case I'll just suck it up and use real sugar. I'm lucky though and have never had any problems with bloodsugar, and I don't eat a lot of sugar in a day as it is5
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I refuse to eat or drink anything with sweetners in, even the modern so call natural ones.
For one, I dont have a sweet tooth and sometimes would like something that isnt savoury but also isnt some god awful face gurning sweet thing. So for instance there is no need to put sweetners or sugar in pasta sauces. Im currently trying to find a hot chocolate drink that doesnt have sweetners in it but equally has minimal sugar, just a bit for taste but not to make it 'sweet'.
Secondly all of them have this awful sickly sweetness to them, then some bitterness, just horrible
Thirdly I think if you are going to have something sweet, then have something sweet. I probably have a can of coke about 4 or 5 times a year, usually in the summer.
We do our own little flavoured drink here at home which is mineral water with a squeeze of lime in it and ice cubes. On occasion gin might be added too!11 -
jonesybgonsy13 wrote: »I’m trying to decide if it’s better to take the carb hit and drink a regular soda occasionally...
The calories aren't bad (139 cal for 12 oz Coke), but the sugar... 36 g!
Unless you have a medical condition (ex. diabetes), there's no reason to fear the sugar in regular soda either. Carbs and sugar only contribute to weight gain by adding calories to your diet IF you're in a caloric surplus. Sugar doesn't cause weight gain in a calorie deficit nor does it cause diabetes (issues with sugar are a symptom of diabetes, not a cause).8 -
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H2O with lemon all day every day. No softs drinks or juices. Of course a few light beers 2 weekly.0
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Oh...didn't mean to post that.
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With absolutely no scientific data to back my claim, I prefer drinking things sweetened with natural sweeteners (when I drink them), because I tend to think that our gut microbiome is better equipped to handle things like that (it's what they've evolved to process!).
Every time we eat and drink, we're feeding our gut bacteria, and it is becoming increasingly apparently that gut microflora play a critical role in our mental and physical health. Bacterial cells outnumber human cells in any individual, and I am very much of the camp that their role in our health cannot be overstated. =]
BUT that is just me, and I am very likely overthinking things! There is virtually no convincing evidence in the literature to suggest aspartame is detrimental to human beings, which means it probably isn't screwing up our microbiome too much, either.21 -
jonesybgonsy13 wrote: »I’ve heard because it doesn’t know how to properly process and digest it it gets stored as body fat, is this true?
Not picking on you, OP, as I've heard this statement before. But it just baffles me. If your body doesn't "know what to do" with something, it doesn't default to digesting it and storing it as fat! If I eat something that my body truly can't process, like a piece of teflon, it just...doesn't get digested, and passes through more or less unchanged.
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jonesybgonsy13 wrote: »I’ve heard because it doesn’t know how to properly process and digest it it gets stored as body fat, is this true?
Not picking on you, OP, as I've heard this statement before. But it just baffles me. If your body doesn't "know what to do" with something, it doesn't default to digesting it and storing it as fat! If I eat something that my body truly can't process, like a piece of teflon, it just...doesn't get digested, and passes through more or less unchanged.
Like gum! And corn that wasn't thoroughly chewed!11 -
I've got some lingering health issues, namely my GI system, that I'm trying to work out and have played around with eliminating various things from my diet over the last couple of years. I had previously eliminated artifical sweeteners, but they eventually crept back in. They aren't something that I personally prefer to consume on a regular basis, but it happens. I've decided to cut them back out as part of trying to finally get my gut issues resolved. I started on May 1st, and as of that date, actually eliminated all sweeteners, both artificial and not, and plan on doing that for at least 30 days. I follow a Keto diet, so cutting the regular sweeteners is easy, but cutting the convenience of prepared sweet, but no sugar iced tea, is harder. After the 30 days, I'll probably bring back my Stevia because I do enjoy a sweetened beverage, but for my own personal reasons, will hopefully be able to avoid things like Aspartame for the long haul. And if I ever want a fully sweetened sugary coke, then I will let myself have one.
To answer the original question: right now I am limiting myself to water, coffee with cream, and unsweetened tea. Once the 30 days is up, I will likely allow myself the occasional diet pop again, but it's just not something that I personally want as a part of my every day diet. Personal choice people, no need to woo! LOL7 -
jonesybgonsy13 wrote: »I’ve heard because it doesn’t know how to properly process and digest it it gets stored as body fat, is this true?
Not picking on you, OP, as I've heard this statement before. But it just baffles me. If your body doesn't "know what to do" with something, it doesn't default to digesting it and storing it as fat! If I eat something that my body truly can't process, like a piece of teflon, it just...doesn't get digested, and passes through more or less unchanged.
This is the weak link in so many "alternative health" scare tactics. If your body doesn't know what to do with something, or is physically incapable of doing something with it, it just shoots it out of you. If it thinks it is truly poisonous, it might reject it out and up one way, otherwise it sends it through intact the other way. In order for something to be "stored in fat cells" it has to be digested down to its smallest components. Why would your body waste time digesting an unknown thing and storing it (risking the possibility that it is harmful and really shouldn't be shooting around your whole system), when it can just expel it along with all your other waste?16 -
sheloves89 wrote: »With absolutely no scientific data to back my claim, I prefer drinking things sweetened with natural sweeteners (when I drink them), because I tend to think that our gut microbiome is better equipped to handle things like that (it's what they've evolved to process!).
Every time we eat and drink, we're feeding our gut bacteria, and it is becoming increasingly apparently that gut microflora play a critical role in our mental and physical health. Bacterial cells outnumber human cells in any individual, and I am very much of the camp that their role in our health cannot be overstated. =]
BUT that is just me, and I am very likely overthinking things! There is virtually no convincing evidence in the literature to suggest aspartame is detrimental to human beings, which means it probably isn't screwing up our microbiome too much, either.
In fairness, if vegetable soup or chicken parmesan aren't hurting your gut microbiome, neither is aspartame, as they contain far more of the same components.11 -
interesting reading through these comments. I have a horrid sweet tooth, but I try to stick with fruit to satisfy that anyways, but im not opposed to artificial sweeteners. Love my diet mt dew!
I use the Equal tablets in my coffee... I do agree with most, it can be extremely sweet, but then you just cut back on it. 5 -
jonesybgonsy13 wrote: »I’ve heard because it doesn’t know how to properly process and digest it it gets stored as body fat, is this true?
Not picking on you, OP, as I've heard this statement before. But it just baffles me. If your body doesn't "know what to do" with something, it doesn't default to digesting it and storing it as fat! If I eat something that my body truly can't process, like a piece of teflon, it just...doesn't get digested, and passes through more or less unchanged.
Correct. Anything your body "doesn't know what to do with" ends up in the toilet, unprocessed.4 -
jonesybgonsy13 wrote: »I’ve heard because it doesn’t know how to properly process and digest it it gets stored as body fat, is this true?
Not picking on you, OP, as I've heard this statement before. But it just baffles me. If your body doesn't "know what to do" with something, it doesn't default to digesting it and storing it as fat! If I eat something that my body truly can't process, like a piece of teflon, it just...doesn't get digested, and passes through more or less unchanged.
Yes, exactly what I was thinking. Not OP's fault, but there are so many weird weight loss myths.
OP, you've asked a number of questions about different foods/macros causing fat to form in a calorie deficit. If you think about it, your maintenance calories are the amount you need to maintain your weight with a particular amount of activity. Any movement above that (or calories consumed below that) require MORE energy, which can only come from your body (i.e., mostly fat). Given that, how is it possible that you could be adding net fat in a calorie deficit, or without eating more calories than you are burning? Energy=calories=what you will be burning or adding as fat. You can't just turn stuff into fat because your body doesn't know what it is.6 -
As for storing the aspartame as fat because your body doesn't know what to do with it, I will just say that I drink a diet dr pepper almost every single day and I've never had trouble managing my weight. I always lose, maintain or gain pretty much according to what I should based on the calories I'm eating/burning. If my body was taking my diet soda and storing it as fat, that wouldn't be the case.6
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As for storing the aspartame as fat because your body doesn't know what to do with it, I will just say that I drink a diet dr pepper almost every single day and I've never had trouble managing my weight. I always lose, maintain or gain pretty much according to what I should based on the calories I'm eating/burning. If my body was taking my diet soda and storing it as fat, that wouldn't be the case.
Fortunately, @Carlos_421 broke it down on the first page how our bodies DO know what to do with most artificial sweeteners. Most of them are amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein, so the digestive system just breaks them down into their component parts and uses them for that purpose. The thing that gets a lot of people is that it is such a tiny portion that it's basically zero calories, but in reality, it's just a tiny, tiny amount of amino acids involved in protein creation. They'll think it's some sort of magic material like it belongs in its own spot on the periodic table along with Thorium or something, but it's not.6 -
Carlos_421 wrote: »jonesybgonsy13 wrote: »I’ve heard because it doesn’t know how to properly process and digest it it gets stored as body fat, is this true?
Not picking on you, OP, as I've heard this statement before. But it just baffles me. If your body doesn't "know what to do" with something, it doesn't default to digesting it and storing it as fat! If I eat something that my body truly can't process, like a piece of teflon, it just...doesn't get digested, and passes through more or less unchanged.
Correct. Anything your body "doesn't know what to do with" ends up in the toilet, unprocessed.
Heavy metals being an exception. Same with collodial silver.1 -
MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »Carlos_421 wrote: »jonesybgonsy13 wrote: »I’ve heard because it doesn’t know how to properly process and digest it it gets stored as body fat, is this true?
Not picking on you, OP, as I've heard this statement before. But it just baffles me. If your body doesn't "know what to do" with something, it doesn't default to digesting it and storing it as fat! If I eat something that my body truly can't process, like a piece of teflon, it just...doesn't get digested, and passes through more or less unchanged.
Correct. Anything your body "doesn't know what to do with" ends up in the toilet, unprocessed.
Heavy metals being an exception. Same with collodial silver.
Yeah, didn't want to go in that direction. Your digestive system doesn't really "know" anything, and just applies a set of chemical and physical processes to whatever is introduced to it.3 -
Fresca.
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