Aspartame, Splenda, Stevia, to use or not to use artificial

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  • becabunny
    becabunny Posts: 22
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    I have read Jillian's book as well at it make SO much sense. Our bodies aren't meant to process the chemicals. She suggests the best way to eat healthy is to eat naturally and simple, food in it's most simple form. I love sugar in the raw and the one packet a day in my coffee hardly dents at my calories. I have also made the switch to organic dairy products and meats when I can. I suggest this book to everyone, not necessarily for her diet plan in the back of the book. It is a good honest look at what healthy means, and she has some honest opinions and stories to tell, including how much she screwed her body up with "diet foods", extreme working out and low calorie intake. I must admit I still love a twix every now an then but it was good to really think, what am I putting in my body?!?
  • Mamakatspokane
    Mamakatspokane Posts: 3,098 Member
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    Well I eat it.

    I picked between the lesser of two evils...The 100 extra pounds I carried around or eating (in moderation) artifical sweetners. It goes with everything else in life, dont over do it.
    Agreed!
  • kiffypooh
    kiffypooh Posts: 1,045 Member
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    I eat face sugar all the time, I LOVE me some diet coke. However, I do not give it to my daughter and don't ever plan to. I don't think kids need face anything and rarely need the nonfat or low fat alternatives while they are young and still growing. If I have a recipe calling for fake sugars I use vanilla or real sugar. I plan to stop using them myself once I go on maintenance, but until then I feel like they get me through.
  • 1204life
    1204life Posts: 12
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    no way!!! don't do it! My rule is, if I can't pronounce it, I don't eat it. Once you get used to eating real fruits and veggies, you will start to prefer them over all that processed fake crap!
  • 1204life
    1204life Posts: 12
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    Kiffypooh,
    So happy to hear that you don't feed that junk to your kids! Please, people! Do not let your children drink diet soda! Do the research.
  • Raphi
    Raphi Posts: 124 Member
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    I have read Jillian's book as well at it make SO much sense. Our bodies aren't meant to process the chemicals. She suggests the best way to eat healthy is to eat naturally and simple, food in it's most simple form. I love sugar in the raw and the one packet a day in my coffee hardly dents at my calories. I have also made the switch to organic dairy products and meats when I can. I suggest this book to everyone, not necessarily for her diet plan in the back of the book. It is a good honest look at what healthy means, and she has some honest opinions and stories to tell, including how much she screwed her body up with "diet foods", extreme working out and low calorie intake. I must admit I still love a twix every now an then but it was good to really think, what am I putting in my body?!?
    I have to get my hands on that book for inspiration :happy:
  • Raphi
    Raphi Posts: 124 Member
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    no way!!! don't do it! My rule is, if I can't pronounce it, I don't eat it. Once you get used to eating real fruits and veggies, you will start to prefer them over all that processed fake crap!
    I agree: this MFP program is so great :love: !! The more I log in my food, the more I'm conscious about what I put in my body. The other day, I ate a Flurry at McDonald's, and when I came home an had to ring in the 500 something calories, let me tell you that I got a MAJOR reality check :noway: !! And next time I get a craving, I'll think twice before stuffing my face with that...
    Since I got here, I make a lot of better choices and I enjoy cooking more! I'm renovating my recipes, cutting the sugar content in half, sometimes more than that, substituting it with honey or maple syrup (my fav), substituting fat with apple sauce,white flour with 100% whole grain, etc... But when I browse for low cal recipes, especially for desserts (my weakness), It's mostly all artificial, fat free, splenda, etc, etc... Hence this post :flowerforyou: Thanks for your input (continue to inform me), because there is so much publicity out there, that it makes the fake stuff appear normal...
    Have a nice day, everybody :bigsmile:
  • scarecrow41
    scarecrow41 Posts: 116
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    Sometimes I use artificial sweeteners in moderation. I agree that stevia is now said to be good, but so was every other sweetener that ever came out right? I still think it might mess with your metabolism, tricking your body into thinking it's getting energy when its really not. That being said I still use them in moderation. Although sometimes an extra 15 calories to sweeten my coffee with real sugar isn't that much of a stretch of my diet. Good luck in your choices, hope you choose something you are comfortable with!

    You're making the (incorrect) assumption that stevia is new and man-made. It has been used as a sweetener in South America for countless CENTURIES. It as been used in Japan since the early 70's. Japan is a much healthier culture than ours and they've indicated no adverse effects from the product.
  • kiffypooh
    kiffypooh Posts: 1,045 Member
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    Kiffypooh,
    So happy to hear that you don't feed that junk to your kids! Please, people! Do not let your children drink diet soda! Do the research.

    One of my big aw moments was when I realized I was eating things I would NEVER even think about giving my daughter. Why is it good enough for me but a huge NO for her? That's when I stopped a lot of bad habits. Thank you!:flowerforyou:
  • kiffypooh
    kiffypooh Posts: 1,045 Member
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    I just reread my original post, FAKE not face!!! Wow, I'm losin' it.
  • yellowrose33
    yellowrose33 Posts: 4
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    I have been using Stevia for about a year now (I was gestational diabetic and wanted to find a way to still have the things I was craving). I love it and so does my husband! I have both the liquid (for drinks and sauce making) and the powder (for baking and other cooking) forms. I definitely recommend staying away from Truvia as it is a Stevia blend so it is still very processed. I have used both SweetLeaf and Stevita. Stevita is more reasonably priced but SweetLeaf is easier to find. I have found SweetLeaf at King Soopers (Kroger) in the organic section (green box or green labeled bottles) in the baking aisle and also Whole Foods.

    Stevita also has powdered drink mixes like crystal light but mad with Stevia instead. They have a chocolate mix too that is GREAT for hot chocolate.

    If you can't seem to give up soda but don't want to drink the diet stuff...there is a brand called Zevia that is made with Stevia and is 0 Calories. It comes in Cola, Orange, Lemon Lime, Ginger Ale, and Root Beer. They were nice to have when trying to cut back on our soda intake.

    I think Stevia is amazing. You can stevia cookbooks at Barnes and Noble. I have even experimented with my own recipes and have come up with a bbq sauce and ketchup and many more.
  • questionablemethods
    questionablemethods Posts: 2,174 Member
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    I've never tried stevia. Even a tiny bit of Splenda seems to give me "gastrointestinal distress" so I stay away. I just try not to add sweetener to things. If I do, I just use sugar. One of the things that I noticed when I started cutting down on and later cutting out processed foods, I stopped needing to sweeten things. I find everything perfectly sweet enough in its natural form now. You might find you end up not needing anything.
  • dogmeat
    dogmeat Posts: 83
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    Like it's been said above, whether something is "natural" or "artificial" is not an indicator of whether its good or bad for us. Plenty of naturally occurring substances are poisonous, toxic, carcinogenic and lethal to us, and plenty of "artificial" substances are perfectly healthy.

    I think plenty of people are blinded by buzzwords like natural/artificial, and forget that deep down it's all just chemistry and molecules.

    As for stevia/aspartame, BOTH have been indicated (and vindicated, rinse, repeat) in relation to adverse health effects, with roughly similar result ratios. If you think it's smart to avoid aspartame based on the research available, you should probably avoid stevia too.


    In my opinion, either is fine as long as it's used in moderation.
  • noseovertail
    noseovertail Posts: 99
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    We try to use raw honey as a sweetener instead of anything artificial. I used to like agave nectar but now they are saying it may not be as healthy as you think... though I would use raw agave nectar over aspartame or sugar any day.
  • lizbeth787
    lizbeth787 Posts: 101 Member
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    I say no to artificial sweeteners - I recently have discovered that my daily use of sucralose (splenda) has caused me many health problems.... and it's sad it took me almost 2 years to figure it out.

    I am very adamant about what goes into my body - whole foods, natural ingredients, yet I used Splenda every day in my coffee and oatmeal. I had horrible gas, bloating, constipation, migraines - you name it. I only days ago linked it to my used of Splenda. I cut it out and within two days I felt great.

    If you google "splenda side effects", there are forums with crazy comments about what splenda did to their bodies.

    On another note, everyone's insides are different - I suppose mine is more sensitive than most. I didn't enjoy being uncomfortable every day, but some people may not mind it.

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