Sweeteners vs a bit of sugar!?

xDaynie

Hey all!

I have been replacing my sugars with sweeteners (at gas stations opting for a drink with sweetner and low cal vs come as such) and other alternatives.

It lead me to think, are they actually okay long term? Such as things like Coke zero. In no way do I think drinking Coke zero makes it okay to drink it all the time, but for a long term thing is it better to have that or to stick to less but with proper sugar?

I appreciate everyones opinions, but facts would be even better!

Thanks!

psuLemon

Most nutritional sweeteners have been shown to be safe. I personally think its better to get a zero calorie item over consuming calories. I drink diet dew daily and use stevia/erythritol daily.

ETA: IMO, of all the things to worry about, this is the last thing that should be of concern. A varied and nutrient dense diet should be at the top. And so should exercise

NovusDies

I am afraid this thread will soon turn into a debate. There is a good thread around here with some detailed information about why you should not worry about AS that I do not have bookmarked but hopefully someone will link it for you.

I don't have any facts for you but I do believe in common sense and moderation. There is nothing, including water, that in major excess will not be harmful or even fatal. If you want to use artificial sweeteners just use a reasonable amount and you will be fine. I would not suggest, for instance, that you drink a 12 pack of coke zero each day although the caffeine would cause a problem before the AS would.

LyndaBSS

I just use sugar. It’s such a rare occurrence for me to use sweeteners, I go for the real thing.

lilstry

I also have my doubts on this. A friend had told me that is best to use 0 calorie sweeteners but just a max of 2 packs per day

RelCanonical

I'll let you know if I die. I tend to use a decent amount of artificial sweeteners.

Chef_Barbell

RelCanonical wrote: »

I'll let you know if I die. I tend to use a decent amount of artificial sweeteners.

Me too :laugh:

Carlos_421

Aspartame (the sweetener used in Coke Zero and most other zero calorie drinks) is about the most studied food additive in existence and in 40 plus years of study, they've found no reasonable evidence that it is harmful to humans.

It's a dipeptide, meaning it is a compound molecule of two amino acids (proteins) bound by a methyl connector.
Within moments of entering the digestive tract, the aspartame is broken apart into its component parts, aspartic acid (one of the amino acids), phenylalanine (the other amino acid) and methanol (the methyl connector, an alcohol).

These amino acids (again, just proteins) are abundant in a host of natural foods and the same is true for methanol (tomatoes have a ton more than a Coke Zero).

The main reason aspartame is used as an artificial sweetener is because so little of it is needed to produce the same amount of sweetness as sugar (the diet drink becomes sweet before there are enough amino acids to rack up calories).

So take the fact that aspartame is just three natural substances found in common foods (albeit arranged differently but they digest the same) and combine that with the fact that you ingest such little amounts due to its relative sweetness and there is no logical reason at all to feel compelled to avoid it.

The internet is a dramatic place, however, and you'll find all kinds of wild claims about artificial sweeteners (I mean, they're artificial and artificial causes all the things).
For instance, there's a study out there where they took a breed of lab rat which had already had something like a 40% chance of getting cancer, fed them enough aspartame to sweeten something like a few dozen gallons of Coke Zero and around 40% of the rats got cancer.
And the headline, of course, reads RATS FED ASPARTAME GET CANCER AT A RATE OF 40% when the actual story was that's how many rats were going to get cancer anyway.

Never mind that there have been countless studies that show no known risk to humans, the clickbait articles and the chain emails that preceded them are determined to demonize aspartame.

So long story short, yeah, you're fine to drink Coke Zero for as long as you like.

SnifterPug

I always opt for diet drinks over full sugar drinks, but I drink max one can a day. I've weaned myself off using any kind of sweetener in tea and coffee. As my husband has to watch sugar like a hawk we have inevitably had less sugary foods in our house and now I find even ketchup a bit too sweet. I have found that curbing my sweet tooth has been the best help to me in keeping my sugar intake down.

COGypsy

Anecdotally speaking, I've been drinking diet soda for as long as I've been drinking soda--so probably 40 years now and I'm still kicking. My parents firmly believe to this day that sugar makes children hyper, so I was never allowed to have sugary drinks growing up. Sodas were usually just a treat we had at my grandmother's house or if we went out to eat, but I was only allowed to have them if they were diet. I'm pretty sure I've consumed all kinds - saccharine, aspartame, stevia, splenda....and I still have a functioning brain, stomach, kidneys. Even now, I have a can or two a day of Monster Ultra and maybe diet coke too depending on if I go out to eat. Or if I'm dragging and need more caffeine. Or it's hot and I want something cold to drink while I'm running errands.

So yeah, I'm probably just a medical miracle.

RelCanonical

COGypsy wrote: »

Anecdotally speaking, I've been drinking diet soda for as long as I've been drinking soda--so probably 40 years now and I'm still kicking. My parents firmly believe to this day that sugar makes children hyper, so I was never allowed to have sugary drinks growing up. Sodas were usually just a treat we had at my grandmother's house or if we went out to eat, but I was only allowed to have them if they were diet. I'm pretty sure I've consumed all kinds - saccharine, aspartame, stevia, splenda....and I still have a functioning brain, stomach, kidneys. Even now, I have a can or two a day of Monster Ultra and maybe diet coke too depending on if I go out to eat. Or if I'm dragging and need more caffeine. Or it's hot and I want something cold to drink while I'm running errands.

So yeah, I'm probably just a medical miracle.

I started drinking diet soda in middle school because I had braces and the doctor recommended not drinking regular soda to avoid decay under the brackets. Got used to the taste and now I prefer it.

ElizabethKalmbach

I *prefer* the taste of real sugar, and I usually have the calories for it, so I use it when I want it - EXCEPT in situations like road trips or super-long work days where it's not convenient to brush my teeth periodically. I don't like the sticky, sour sensation in my mouth of having had sugar and then not brushing my teeth.

So, it's just a tool that I use to make my food do what I want.

apullum

lilstry wrote: »

I also have my doubts on this. A friend had told me that is best to use 0 calorie sweeteners but just a max of 2 packs per day

Is your friend a food chemist, or do they have some other evidence or expertise that's directly relevant to the question?

hesn92

I haven't died yet. I only drink diet soda. I do however use regular sugar in my coffee...

lemurcat2

I prefer diet soda to non diet soda, so I drink diet soda when I want soda.

Otherwise I don't use non sugar sweeteners (I prefer coffee and tea and oats non sweetened and if I am making a dessert I am going to use real sugar).

nytrifisoul

I use the blue packet stuff daily in my black coffee. I just ignore people who say it will kill you. These same people smoke cigs among other things that are "proven" to kill you.

xDaynie

Thanks all. I usually have maybe one or so AS drink a day or 3, so I'll stick to that. I'm greatful for this community, it's good to hear real responses not nonsense the internet feeds us for 'views'

sarabushby

Personally my concern re artificial sweeteners is regarding their effect on the gut biome. If anyone has any research they want to flag up on this?

I know I watched a program once in which they said that Stevia was the only artificial sweetener not to have a bad effect on the gut (may not have been on the biome in this program - I don’t recall the exact details, just that they recommended if you’re going to use one, make it that).?

I do however have soda & cordial that’s artificially sweetened. Possibly 1 a day on average and I dont notice any ill effects.

Carlos_421

sarabushby wrote: »

Personally my concern re artificial sweeteners is regarding their effect on the gut biome. If anyone has any research they want to flag up on this?

I know I watched a program once in which they said that Stevia was the only artificial sweetener not to have a bad effect on the gut (may not have been on the biome in this program - I don’t recall the exact details, just that they recommended if you’re going to use one, make it that).?

I do however have soda & cordial that’s artificially sweetened. Possibly 1 a day on average and I dont notice any ill effects.

Any claims that anything is bad for the gut biome can be immediately discarded for one simple reason.
We do not know which changes are good, which changes are bad and which changes are neutral.
Yes, there's at least one study that shows sucralose affects the gut microbiome. However, we don't know whether it's a positive, negative or neutral change simply because it hasn't been established what a healthy vs unhealthy microbiome looks like.
We know that it's a thing and we can observe changes but we just haven't learned enough yet to say whether or not those changes are good or bad.

That said, not all artificial sweeteners affect the gut microbiome the same way. For instance, aspartame being just two amino acids bound by methanol, would have the same effect as a spoonful of chili (albeit to a much lesser degree due to the super low dosage) ignoring the added effect of fiber and other ingredients in the chili.

Gut microbiome is the latest hype but making dietary decisions based on claims of what is good or bad for it is misguided IMO.

Lattesweet

I’m going to go ahead and say it but artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, sweet/low and all those diet drinks with ingredients you can’t even pronounce are terrible for you. There’s nothing natural about them. You literally are better off having real sugar but obviously in moderation.

BarbaraHelen2013

miriamkotku wrote: »

I’m going to go ahead and say it but artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, sweet/low and all those diet drinks with ingredients you can’t even pronounce are terrible for you. There’s nothing natural about them. You literally are better off having real sugar but obviously in moderation.

Why?

Why are they bad for you? What harm do you feel they do? Pick up almost any packet of food and read the ingredients (or read your toothpaste box!) and you’ll find polysyllabic ingredients that are tricky to pronounce. Doesn’t mean they’re evil or bad for you! You do realise that there are laws in place to prevent manufacturers from poisoning the general population? 😂