Artificial Sweeteners

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MeganKSchultz
MeganKSchultz Posts: 73
in Food and Nutrition
Are artificial sweeteners a good thing or a bad thing? Are there some that are better than others? Are some outright dangerous? Do they make you crave more sugar?

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  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Are artificial sweeteners a good thing or a bad thing? Are there some that are better than others? Are some outright dangerous? Do they make you crave more sugar?

    The current body of evidence shows they aren't bad.
  • MeganKSchultz
    MeganKSchultz Posts: 73
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    Bump! Surely someone has insight on this!
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Bump! Surely someone has insight on this!
    Use the forum search function. There are scads of threads on this subject.

    The actual answer you have already been given above.
  • mdorsett221
    mdorsett221 Posts: 29 Member
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    There's studies that show both sides. Sweeteners are bad. Sweeteners are good. Eggs are bad, oh wait, eggs are good. Fat is bad, now fat is good. I don't have any proof, but I've been told that most artificial sweeteners are not easily processed by your body, thus causing water retention. Just to play it safe, I use Stevia, which is natural. I even bought a stevia plant and use the fresh leaves. There's a packaged one by NuNaturals that has no bitter after taste.
  • tekwriter
    tekwriter Posts: 923 Member
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    I am a diabetic and I was just reading about those. I quit using margarine because of the way it is made and now just use butter. I plan to drop splenda and other sweetners and try stevia and agave nectar. I have read some things about the agave nectar being high in fructose which is bad, but if it is as sweet as they say I may be able to limit the use enough to make it worthwhile.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
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    There's studies that show both sides. Sweeteners are bad. Sweeteners are good. Eggs are bad, oh wait, eggs are good. Fat is bad, now fat is good. I don't have any proof, but I've been told that most artificial sweeteners are not easily processed by your body, thus causing water retention. Just to play it safe, I use Stevia, which is natural. I even bought a stevia plant and use the fresh leaves. There's a packaged one by NuNaturals that has no bitter after taste.
    That's great until like many plants, stevia is shown to have bad side effects from over consumption.
    Try cane sugar. Proven effective.
  • MrsDrake678
    MrsDrake678 Posts: 90 Member
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    I am one of the lucky people whose heart palpitates. I have noticed that if I avoid certain artifical sweeteners it hardly ever happens. If I consume them, I'm guaranteed that my heart will wig all over the place. That can't be a good thing.
  • Richard269
    Richard269 Posts: 56
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    Yer it's fine !
  • Ronnigurl2
    Ronnigurl2 Posts: 10 Member
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    I think there is always a good report with a bad. Someone told me to drop the Splenda for raw sugar. She didn't tell me why or give me the report from the USDA (or something). So, I continue with my splenda. I feel a light headedness with straight sugar, but not with Splenda. (I don't like the taste of the others like Equal and the one in the pink pack.)

    I saw an infomercial about 7 Things to Give Up to Lose Weight. Those foods are gluten, eggs, corn, dairy, soy, peanuts and sugar/sweetners. The author of the book suggested the use of Xylitol. This suggested sweetner also has warnings associated with it. Each of the foods she suggested to give up has good and bad references. From previous eating habit changes, I gave up regular dairy for Soy products, only eat eggs on occasion choosing to use egg substitute, peanuts are loaded with fat so I eat them in very small amounts and only as between meal fillers, corn is so good but had already been identified as one of the sweeter vegetables, gluten release is difficult during a period of increasing fiber (although lower carbs is the way I'm going too), and then there are the sweetners. Good and bad... Weight gain and weight loss through the years is based on how much I allow myself to get away from these changes.

    So who do you listen to? I do not change my habits until I'm satisfied that it is valid. Every report is sometimes, just a report.
  • pghlulu
    pghlulu Posts: 42
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    They are fine in moderation.

    There is no real evidence that they will cause any ill effects. Unless, for example, you eat your bodyweight in pure aspartame every day for a year or something. But even that isn't proven. Because who is going to do that test?! If you consume that much of any substance, even water, you'll have big problems.
  • mdorsett221
    mdorsett221 Posts: 29 Member
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    [/quote]
    That's great until like many plants, stevia is shown to have bad side effects from over consumption.
    Try cane sugar. Proven effective.
    [/quote]

    Really? What are they? I use a lot of it...
  • mdorsett221
    mdorsett221 Posts: 29 Member
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    They are fine in moderation.

    There is no real evidence that they will cause any ill effects. Unless, for example, you eat your bodyweight in pure aspartame every day for a year or something. But even that isn't proven. Because who is going to do that test?! If you consume that much of any substance, even water, you'll have big problems.

    Good point...
  • projectbam
    projectbam Posts: 55
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    Anyone tried Xylitol ?? .. looks like sugar tastes like sugar .. can apparently help protect teeth from cavities !!!! .. a sweetener that is GOOD FOR YOU ?!?!? :)

    http://www.xylitol.org/questions-about-xylitol

    A
  • iuew
    iuew Posts: 624 Member
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    about time somebody asked this question, lol.

    i'll post the same thing i posted on the other 1,872,956,345,701 threads on this topic :

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

    this is pubmed. pubmed compiles every real, peer-reviewed scientific study done on everything. the sweeteners have been tested many times, and the papers are there. they have been found to be safe.

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