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Artificial Sweetener

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MakingThisHappen
MakingThisHappen Posts: 32
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Do you use this?
How often?
Thoughts on how controversial it is?
Do you think it's doing harm to your body?

I have at least 2-3 packets of Equal/Stevia per day, in my Black coffee or Tea.
Is this a habit I need to break?

Also, with dinner I often have Coke Zero/Sprite Zero - is this another bad habit I need to get out of?

Replies

  • ponderosakaren
    ponderosakaren Posts: 60 Member
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    Hi Kat! Oh dear....is sweetener bad for us?! I use it sprinkled on cereal sometimes and also in cooking....tastes the same as sugar but a fraction of the calories....I am also somewhat of a Diet Coke addict I'm afraid to say!! I dont drink hot drinks at all...no tea, coffee etc...and started on Diet Cokes a few years ago and get through a fair few each day!! I open about 4 or 5 a day but only drink the top third at the most...(weird?) so guess I drink 2-3 cans max per day. I really should cut it out but my mother keeps leaving me a 30pack on my front doorstep every couple of weeks and so I just keep drinking them!!

    I'm thinking that we have too many bad habits to work on just now (food, exercise, alcohol etc) so think I'll have to hang on to this particular habit for a bit longer! I liken it to my husband who gave up smoking years and years ago, then ditched alcohol about 7 years ago and now eats quite a bit of chocolate or cake and reckons its the only fun left in his life and he's hanging onto it! As it happens he doesn't have a weight problem so I can see his logic....

    Might put this issue on my back burner to tackle once I've achieved my first weight loss goal (10kgs) and dropped a full dress size!
    Have a fun night....Karen
  • nakigirl79
    nakigirl79 Posts: 13
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    From a nursing perspective I try and stay away from artificial sweetener as much as possible. I see so many people with cancer and auto immune disorders that I think artificial sweeteners are another chemical we're inflicting on our bodies and our bodies aren't coping. Sugars not good for us but at least our bodies know how to deal with it.
    I've personally seen a lady who'd been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. When we looked at her diet she was drinking a fair amount of diet soda, she went cold turkey and literally within a month all her symptoms were gone! I've cut back on my sugar in hot drinks from 1 tsp sugar down to about 1/4 tsp - now I don't even mind coffee without sugar at all, I figure at the end of the day a 1/4tsp in 3-4 hot drinks isn't that many calories. Although these days there are some artificial sweeteners that are natural, it pays to check the labels and do some research.

    I guess this debate is similar to the butter vs margarine debate.
  • ponderosakaren
    ponderosakaren Posts: 60 Member
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    Well that's an interesting perspective on things and I think I'm going to have to think through my Diet Coke consumption for sure.... What to replace it with? Or maybe I don't need to replace it?! I don't drink tea or coffee so DC was my caffeine infusion! I'll think it through. Certainly makes you think though....Wondering how Kat's getting on with her sweetener free diet?
  • Annie_R
    Annie_R Posts: 18 Member
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    Mmmm, this topic is a 'Hot' one! :-)
    Everyone has their own opinions, and everyone is entitled to their own opinions :-)
    Speaking for myself, my focus is on becoming healthier and as a 'side benefit' this results in feeling better within myself, being happier and shedding excess kilos!
    I'm not into 'diet products' eg: diet coke, slimmers yogurts, lean cuisine, etc. I do my best to eat real foods and whole foods that are as natural as possible with no additives or preservatives.
    My focus is more on the effects that foods [and liquids] have on my body once I've consumed them. Not on what they can do for my body. I'm wanting to be healthier and well; happy and have a zest for life. I don't want to be slim and trim yet be unwell from all the harmful ingredients I've consumed as a result of eating 'un' real food.

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