Trying to stay off the Splenda and Aspartame!

Deipneus

"Considering results from the large number of studies on aspartame's safety, including five previously conducted negative chronic carcinogenicity studies, a recently reported large epidemiology study with negative associations between the use of aspartame and the occurrence of tumors, and negative findings from a series of three transgenic mouse assays, FDA finds no reason to alter its previous conclusion that aspartame is safe as a general purpose sweetener in food."

Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodingredientsPackaging/FoodAdditives/ucm208580.htm

christypaxson

"Considering results from the large number of studies on aspartame's safety, including five previously conducted negative chronic carcinogenicity studies, a recently reported large epidemiology study with negative associations between the use of aspartame and the occurrence of tumors, and negative findings from a series of three transgenic mouse assays, FDA finds no reason to alter its previous conclusion that aspartame is safe as a general purpose sweetener in food."

Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodingredientsPackaging/FoodAdditives/ucm208580.htm

Good to know... and it goes with don't believe everything you read on the internet!

AnninStPaul

I gave up all artificial sweeteners - including HFCS - over five years ago. Since then I have had two Pepsis and a Diet Coke, and realized...I really don't like the stuff. It doesn't taste good to me.

I do occasionally (monthly or less often) have a soda made with actual sugar, and I find them much more filling now.

Water, flavored water, coffee, herbal infusions, iced tea are my go to's. No (or very few) calories, drunk by humans for centuries, inexpensive, what more can I ask?

ksuh999

Read a few articles about how terrible the stuff is. I have been trying to stay off of it but man I miss my Diet Coke! I have kicked it out of my coffee and I miss that a bunch too. Is adding some sugar in the raw so bad?

If you have to have a sweetener, glucose (the industry name is "dextrose") is the safest. You can get it at your local bulk foods store. I wouldn't eat a lot of any kind of sweetener, but when you have to have one, glucose is the one. It is sometimes called "corn sugar" but you shouldn't confuse it with high fructose corn syrup solids. The hfcs industry people recently asked the FDA for permission to call their stuff "corn sugar" but thankfully, the FDA turned them down so as to not confuse people. Dextrose/glucose and hfcs are totally different substances. There should be NO fructose.

p.s. Table sugar (i.e. sucrose) is 50% fructose--not a whole lot less fructose than hfcs and we know how bad hfcs is for us.

Fructose is fruit sugar. Sugar = sugar = sugar by any name.

No, I don't think you quite understand what I posted. I KNOW that fructose is fruit sugar---but sucrose (table sugar) is 50% fructose. Too much fructose is bad for us for a lot of metabolic reasons. Glucose, on the other hand, while we shouldn't "go hog wild" with it, does not have the same metabolic consequences as does fructose. Glucose and fructose (sucrose is also 50% glucose) are metabolized in different ways. Glucose is taken directly into the blood stream from the intestines; fructose is sent to the liver to be metabolized before it can be utilized. People who lack the enzyme fructokinase, cannot metabolize fructose and suffer miserable intestinal distress when they eat fructose in any form.

Researchers believe that eating a lot of fructose (and most of our exposure comes through eating sugar--not fruit) acts as a type of "fat switch"---telling our bodies to store fat. A couple of pieces of fruit are fine but regular table sugar (sucrose) is a no-no if you are very sensitive to the "obesigen" that fructose is believed to be. Researchers feel that obese individuals should limit their intake of fructose to 15 grams or less per day and that normal individuals should limit their fructose intake to 25 grams or less per day. That is about what you would get in a couple of fructose-laden vegetables like tomatoes (which are, technically fruit) and carrots, and then a couple of servings of low-fructose fruit like berries or citrus.

This is utterly wrong I don't even know where to start.

Tomatoes hardly have any sugar in them. A 100 gram tomato has around 22 calories. That's around 3 grams of sugar with the rest being fiber. Carrots don't have much more.

If you lack the ability to produce the fructokinase enzyme (a VERY RARE condition, BTW), you're totally screwed. It's vital for ATP production.

Do you know why people get fat from eating sugar?? BECAUSE THEY EAT TOO MUCH SUGAR!!

wolfchild59

Some sugar in the raw isn't a bad thing at all, in fact, it's sugar, so it's actually pretty awesome.

But good on you for kicking the artificial sweetener habit! I can't handle aspartame in any amount. I almost instantly get horrible headaches and it can make me sick to my stomach, so it's something that I've just always shied away from.

If you really need a soda kick, you can always look into either Blue Sky or Zevia, they both use Stevia as their sweetening agent, so at least it's a bit of a step up from the aspartame or Splenda. They do tend to be more expensive than regular soda, but that will just help you make the six-pack last longer. heh

stephaniemejia1671

I put on my big girl pants and gave up added sugars. Most of what I drink now is unsweetened also. But I must admit I do have moments where I want a cup of juice.. or a cup of soda. But with how I feel since not drinking all that stuff I'll stick with my tea or water.

wolfchild59

20 coffees a day for 30 years with 2 sweeteners (mainly splenda or canderel) and I don't have headaches or joint pain or seizures.....

Reading this thread I should have twitched my way cramping into an early grave by now.

People react in different ways to things. I have two friends that have an entire shelf of their fridge stocked with Coke Zero at all times. It's pretty much all they drink and have no ill effects. Someone gave me one of that diet Pumpkin Pie yogurt last Fall and after eating only half of it (because it tasty too nasty to finish) I got a terrible headache and had to go lie down because the throbbing in my head was too bad to stay upright. Turns out there was aspartame in the yogurt. And that's pretty much the reaction my body has every time I end up consuming it.

So just because you're fine eating all of the artificial sweeteners you want, doesn't mean that holds true for everyone else.

carissawhitworth

Stevia in the Raw is my best friend!!! I dont drink any thing other than my one cup of coffee in the morning, water and use almond milk in recipes. Stay away from sodas, juices, or any processed drinks. I think that's your best bet to a healthier lifestyle. I add stevia to my greek ygurt, my smoothies, my coffee, and to anything else that needs to be sweetened. It is affordable, all natural, zero calories. I dont really agree with the corn sugar thing below, I try to stay away from corn producs/grains considering it is fed to our livestock to fatten them up for human consumption I would give raw honey, pure maple syrup or Stevia a try. I would deff stay away from the Diet sodas. Your body needs water. Keep an eye out on your packaging as well. Try to eat foods that have no sugar added at all in any form Read your labels. Even healthy greek yogurts, almond milks, and organic/all natural foods can trick you into having too much sugar. Good luck!

tisha_rae

Everyone has an opinion on this - I just believe that anything that isn’t natural – isn’t really all that good to ingest. ..

I switched from regular soda to diet and lost several pounds quickly but that was a few years ago…

Now I try to eat as little processed food as possible, if it won’t spoil in a few weeks I try not to eat it. (aside from whole grains, dry beans, etc)

That being said – if I want a soda, I have one, the real kind. I find that I drink less because it is so sweet. It seems to satisfy me more than a diet.

Good Luck to you!

mwepner

Studies have shown that there are not health risks if used in moderation just like everything else you do and eat.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/artificial-sweeteners/MY00073

mattagascar

One has to be very pertinacious to impoverish themselves with unexceptional food choices. You can kick the habit in the short term and yield long term health results. There is a world of flavor in various natural food that you can enjoy and you'll never want the substitutes again. Good luck to you.

SanteMulberry

Read a few articles about how terrible the stuff is. I have been trying to stay off of it but man I miss my Diet Coke! I have kicked it out of my coffee and I miss that a bunch too. Is adding some sugar in the raw so bad?

If you have to have a sweetener, glucose (the industry name is "dextrose") is the safest. You can get it at your local bulk foods store. I wouldn't eat a lot of any kind of sweetener, but when you have to have one, glucose is the one. It is sometimes called "corn sugar" but you shouldn't confuse it with high fructose corn syrup solids. The hfcs industry people recently asked the FDA for permission to call their stuff "corn sugar" but thankfully, the FDA turned them down so as to not confuse people. Dextrose/glucose and hfcs are totally different substances. There should be NO fructose.

p.s. Table sugar (i.e. sucrose) is 50% fructose--not a whole lot less fructose than hfcs and we know how bad hfcs is for us.

Fructose is fruit sugar. Sugar = sugar = sugar by any name.

No, I don't think you quite understand what I posted. I KNOW that fructose is fruit sugar---but sucrose (table sugar) is 50% fructose. Too much fructose is bad for us for a lot of metabolic reasons. Glucose, on the other hand, while we shouldn't "go hog wild" with it, does not have the same metabolic consequences as does fructose. Glucose and fructose (sucrose is also 50% glucose) are metabolized in different ways. Glucose is taken directly into the blood stream from the intestines; fructose is sent to the liver to be metabolized before it can be utilized. People who lack the enzyme fructokinase, cannot metabolize fructose and suffer miserable intestinal distress when they eat fructose in any form.

Researchers believe that eating a lot of fructose (and most of our exposure comes through eating sugar--not fruit) acts as a type of "fat switch"---telling our bodies to store fat. A couple of pieces of fruit are fine but regular table sugar (sucrose) is a no-no if you are very sensitive to the "obesigen" that fructose is believed to be. Researchers feel that obese individuals should limit their intake of fructose to 15 grams or less per day and that normal individuals should limit their fructose intake to 25 grams or less per day. That is about what you would get in a couple of fructose-laden vegetables like tomatoes (which are, technically fruit) and carrots, and then a couple of servings of low-fructose fruit like berries or citrus.

This is utterly wrong I don't even know where to start.

Tomatoes hardly have any sugar in them. A 100 gram tomato has around 22 calories. That's around 3 grams of sugar with the rest being fiber. Carrots don't have much more.

If you lack the ability to produce the fructokinase enzyme (a VERY RARE condition, BTW), you're totally screwed. It's vital for ATP production.

Do you know why people get fat from eating sugar?? BECAUSE THEY EAT TOO MUCH SUGAR!!

I know what I'm talking about. Do you know what I'm talking about? Of course people don't get fat from eating vegetables and having a normal fruit intake. Actually, people who lack fructokinase just need to avoid fructose (or fructans the main sources of which are grain and onions---which are easily converted to fructose by intestinal bacteria). They are always naturally thin. From WebMD:

"Fructosuria is a rare but BENIGN [emphasis mine] inherited metabolic disorder. It is characterized by the excretion of fruit sugar (fructose) in the urine. Normally, no fructose is excreted in the urine. This condition is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme fructokinase in the liver. This enzyme is needed for the synthesis of glycogen (the body's form of stored energy) from fructose. The presence of fructose in the blood and urine may lead to an incorrect diagnosis of diabetes mellitus."

Not sure why you are taking this tone, but you are wrong.

chadpoelman

If you have to have sugar, have the real deal. They keep discovering bad news about substitutes.
Moderation in everything is key. Enjoy!

This. The fake stuff is not natural and we're not so great at making things that end up working well for us in the lab

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalistic_fallacy

chadpoelman

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/are-artificial-sweeteners-safe/

Ivey05131980

The only artificial sweetener I use is Splenda, and I've had no issues.

This. and the Splenda blend is SO GOOD when used in making a pitcher of sweet tea. Almost just as good. Almost.

chadpoelman

Several years ago, I began to have mini seizures. While researching anti seizure meds, I found a link about seizures and aspartame. I gave up the aspartame and never began the medicine and never had another seizure. I dont think that was coincidence.

https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/false-cause

Not saying that it for sure wasn't apartame, but scientific studies indicate that it most likely was not. It is incredibly possible that it was a coincidence. Someone having a short period of unexplained seizures, tho not incredibly common, is also not as rare as you might think.

KahalaGal

What about TRUVIA?