Aspartame / Artificial Sweetner

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Dragonfly11
Dragonfly11 Posts: 672 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi Winners,
I have a question that hopefully someone can answer for me. It aspartame bad for your weight loss goals? If it is, can anyone recommend an alternative sweetner that isn't bad for your body or that would be counter productive to weightloss. I use quite a bit of equal in my travel mug of coffee and drink drink add ins to my water throughout the day.
I don't use sugar.

Thanks for the help,
Janet:heart:

Replies

  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    I prefer splenda because it doesn't have aspartame or saccharine, it's made from sugar, but is still considered artificial sweetener so I don't know if it's THAT much better, but at least it's not chemicals.
    All total I probably go through a dozen packets of splenda a day. I like my coffee...
  • aylin
    aylin Posts: 6
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    Actually Splenda is almost exactly the same as aspertame. It still tricks your body into thinking it's getting calories, and when your body doesn't get the calories it's expecting, it results in more cravings and consumption after you eat or drink it. which doesn't help weightloss. A natural plant extract that sweetens is called Stevia, and can be purchased in either liquid or powder forms, it takes a bit to get use to, as it has a bit of a differentn taste, but once you fool around with it, and find how much of it works for you, it will be much better for your body. Some people just cannot get use to the taste, and that is understandable. I use Stevia in my herbal tea's but still use splenda in my coffee that I have once or so a week. Stevia just tastes weird with my coffee, so I choose to reduce the amount of artifical sweeteners I put in my system. I like the old saying, everything in modoration :) Good luck.
  • kellycrow
    kellycrow Posts: 140
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    biting my tongue... the last time i told people to avoid all artificial sweeteners, i got 'yelled' at... but that's how i feel.

    to reitterate what the previous poster said: stevia - 100% pure stevia - not truvia which is chemically made - is not artificial - it is a plant. true, you have to get used to the flavor, but you just need a tiny bit to get sweetness and it is natural.

    i strongly believe that artifical sweeteners contributed to the cancer of the digestive tract that killed my mother. no amount of arguing can tell me otherwise.

    that, and if artifical sweeteners can give so many people terrible headaches, how can people think it isn't harmful?

    best bet: minimize artifical sweeteners. try 100% pure stevia or agave nectar (agave nectar is NOT calorie free but it is a natural sugar easy for your body to process).

    good luck!
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    I agree that all artificial sweeteners are bad for your body & you shouldn't use them. There are plenty of articles from medical doctors who've proven their harmful effects. I use sugar but in moderation - it's natural just limit how much you use. Or as kellycrow said, stevia is your best "natural" alternative.
  • kellycrow
    kellycrow Posts: 140
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    here is a link to an article originally written in 2005 but updated in 2010... the effects and problems with artificial sweeteners are shocking.

    http://www.womentowomen.com/healthyweight/splenda.aspx

    kelly
  • barbiecat
    barbiecat Posts: 16,997 Member
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    :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:
    stevia is the only artificial sweetener that I've heard good things about.
  • jlgarcia85631
    jlgarcia85631 Posts: 57 Member
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    bump to reference later
  • loverrgirrl
    loverrgirrl Posts: 25
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    I was told about the Blue Aguave syrup by a girl i work with. When i found it i looked at the label 32 grams of sugar for 30ml! and over 100 calories. My mom told me about the stevia plant extract and i read that label, no trace of sugar or calories, needless to say thats the path i chose. It does have a little bit of an odd choice but given the choice i would take the slight taste over the chemically after-taste of aspertame.

    Jaki
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
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    :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:
    stevia is the only artificial sweetener that I've heard good things about.

    It's a plant...so not artificial. You can grow it yourself :).
  • vitabella
    vitabella Posts: 34 Member
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    from what i have read, when an artificial sweetener enters your body is acts as a form of formaldehyde and can actually preserve your fat cells. google artificial sweetner side effects. its pretty scary. it also depends on your body. my brother uses a lot of splenda and he is fine with it, when i use any fake sugar i get severe migraines, mood swings, and eye twitches. so its up to you and how ur body reacts to it, i wouldnt use it. i like truvia, or stevia. but i quit using sugar and sugar substitutes all together and your taste buds do adjust, now i couldnt imagine drinking sweet coffee. good luck.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    I like the idea/taste of Stevia but it gives me terrible gastrointestinal issues --- Splenda isn't much better but you can use a lot less for equal sweetening. I think anything in moderation is fine.
  • themethod
    themethod Posts: 257
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    from what i have read, when an artificial sweetener enters your body is acts as a form of formaldehyde and can actually preserve your fat cells. google artificial sweetner side effects. its pretty scary. it also depends on your body. my brother uses a lot of splenda and he is fine with it, when i use any fake sugar i get severe migraines, mood swings, and eye twitches. so its up to you and how ur body reacts to it, i wouldnt use it. i like truvia, or stevia. but i quit using sugar and sugar substitutes all together and your taste buds do adjust, now i couldnt imagine drinking sweet coffee. good luck.

    Aspartame (or other artificial sweeteners) turning to formaldehyde when they enter your body is completely untrue. Look it up on snopes.com. This is an urban legend.
  • perrim
    perrim Posts: 117
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    Personally, I don't like the taste of stevia. I think it has a horrible aftertaste. There are other natural no calorie sweetners out there that you can find at a health food store or whole foods like xylitol and erythritol. I think both of these taste good with no after taste.

    Also, in re: agave nectar, it's not really a sugar substitute. It's an alternative to honey for those who are concerned about the high sugar content in honey. Agave does have a decent amount of sugar, but it's been proven to be lower glycemic and therefore more suitable for diabetics, or people with blood sugar issues.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    here is a link to an article originally written in 2005 but updated in 2010... the effects and problems with artificial sweeteners are shocking.

    http://www.womentowomen.com/healthyweight/splenda.aspx

    kelly

    Thank you for this link.

    I use about 12 packs of splenda a day, sometimes more, and drink TONS of diet pepsi (aspartame), like a 2 liter a day, and I get a LOT of headaches and migraines.
    I never knew they were a possible side effect of artificial sweeteners.
    I have already spoken to my gyno and my eye doctor, and neither my birth control or my contact lens prescription are the cause of my headaches so I was at a loss.
    I take an excedrin migraine every morning when I wake up just to prevent the headache that is bound to strike halfway through the morning...

    I will wean myself off the sweeteners (not sure if cold turkey could cause problems?)
    and hopefully the headaches will go away in time.
  • TheMaidOfAstolat
    TheMaidOfAstolat Posts: 3,222 Member
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    here is a link to an article originally written in 2005 but updated in 2010... the effects and problems with artificial sweeteners are shocking.

    http://www.womentowomen.com/healthyweight/splenda.aspx

    kelly

    Thank you for this link.

    I use about 12 packs of splenda a day, sometimes more, and drink TONS of diet pepsi (aspartame), like a 2 liter a day, and I get a LOT of headaches and migraines.
    I never knew they were a possible side effect of artificial sweeteners.
    I have already spoken to my gyno and my eye doctor, and neither my birth control or my contact lens prescription are the cause of my headaches so I was at a loss.
    I take an excedrin migraine every morning when I wake up just to prevent the headache that is bound to strike halfway through the morning...

    I will wean myself off the sweeteners (not sure if cold turkey could cause problems?)
    and hopefully the headaches will go away in time.

    It's possibly more than the sweeteners that are doing this to you...the 2 liter of diet pepsi has about 200mg of caffeine. Also, the packets I assume are for coffee or tea (coffee per serving has about 115mg of caffeine per 8 ounces)...which means you're probably consuming about 800-1000mg of caffeine a day-this will bring on migranes like nothing else.

    As for the sweeteners...I agree, cut the artificial crud and you'll be better off. If I need sugar...I use the real stuff. I also use honey, agave, and stevia.
  • Steph_135
    Steph_135 Posts: 3,280 Member
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    Stevia is best. Completely natural. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you can buy Splenda, and such, at organic food stores. I try to shop at organic places as often as finances allow.)

    I also like to use raw honey, but that might be too close to sugar for you... I don't know. I can't live without my honey. :love:

    Oh! I just read TheMaid's post. Agave is delicious too!

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