Anyone else concerned about artificial sweeteners and eat al

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  • angelascott919
    angelascott919 Posts: 178
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    I have found that many of the artificial sweeteners give me unbelievable indigestion, so I cut most of them out completely. Although I stopped drinking soda for several months I have taken to drinking 1/2 of a 12oz can with some of my dinners, usually Sprite Zero, I don't know if it is true but I feel better that it is a clear drink. I don't know if the stuff will really 'kill' you but I am sure it is not good for your system. Your body will naturally filter out some of the toxins like it does with alcohol and other things we take in that we don't even know about. Also when cooking if I find I need to sweeten something I just use sugar, it sweetens better and is natural, I just have to be ready to count the calories.

    As with so many things in our world today... it may not be good for you but it is a necessary thing sometimes just to make it through life. Like fast food, alcohol, chocolate, etc.... ALL THINGS IN MODERATION!!!!
  • sandytracy
    sandytracy Posts: 3
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    No I am not concerned. Here is what I learned recently in my diabetes education classes.

    Nutritive sweeteners (Sucrose, fructose, lactose, honey, corn syrup, molasses, fruit juice, concentrate) = They all have the same amount of carbs and calories per serving. Fructose & high fructose corn syrup may raise cholesterol & triglycerides.

    Sugar Alcohols (ends in 'tol' such as Sorbitol, Lactitol) = 1/2 the calories and carbohydrates of sugar. 70-90% as sweet as sugar, do not cause cavities, but because they are partially digested they may cause gas.

    Artificial Sweeteners such as Equal & Sweet 'N Low (Saccharin, Aspartame, Acesulfame-K, Sucralose) = Negligible calories & carbohydrates so count it as Zero Carb, Zero Calorie, Super sweet.

    Saccharin safety information: 30 human studies, removed from list of carcinogens in 2000, 300 times sweeter than sugar, bitter aftertaste, heat stable (you can cook with it and retain the sweetness). It's a chemical compound.

    Aspartame (Equal & Nutrasweet) safety information: FDA Reports: "Fewer compounds have withstood such detailed testing and repeated close scrutiny, and the process through which aspartame has gone should provide the public with additional confidence of its safety." Tested and approved in 100 countries, 1995-2001 Research Project by National Cancer Institute, National IInstitutes of Health & American Association of Retired Persons. 567,000 human subjects (read that again - 567.000 human subjects!!) were followed. No link was found between aspartame and cancer. 200 times sweeter than sugar, less bitter aftertaste. Not heat stable, so don't cook with it. It's an amino acid. It's naturally occurring.

    Acesulfame-K (Sweet One, Diabeta Sweet) safety information: 90 studies over 15 yrs, tested and approved in 90 countries, 200 times sweeter than sugar, less aftertaste, heat stable. It's modified potassium called potassium chloride. Just as table salt is called sodium chloride.

    I don't have the info on Truvia (Stevia) but it's a leaf. It tastes sweet but it's got no calories and no carbs. In a previous form it was more fiber supplement that happened to be sweet (it didn't dissolve in cold drinks well), I have no other info on it than that. It comes from the stevia plant.

    I have to say I like the Truvia but have not tried it in the newest form. I also use Splenda and the Splenda-blends to cook with and no one has noticed a taste difference. Of course using plan old granulated sugar works fine, I just use less if I really need to use it.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Artificial sweeteners have been demonized since they first started showing up. Yet rarely do the claims against them hold up scientifically.

    And this whole "natural" vs. "unnatural" distinction is often false as well. First of all, if "natural" means in it's natural state, no sugar or sugar substitute is natural because you can't go out and find crystals of sugar/sugar substitute growing in the earth. Cane is processed to extract what we think of as sugar, corn is processed to get corn syrup and stevia crystals are extracted from the stevia plant. So they all come from a plant, but they aren't what I think of as natural.

    Truvia, OTOH, has additional processing done to it and an additional ingredient (a sugar alcohol). Splenda and High Fructose Corn Syrup also have additional processing. I don't think any of those are truly natural in the way most people understand that word. They do "come from nature" in that they are made from plants. But more than extraction is done to produce them. To me, that makes them processed.

    IMO what you want to eat depends on your goals and your values and your individual body response to each choice. Sugar alcohols make me fart, for example, so I avoid them. Other "diet" foods often are full of artificial ingredients to make up for the lack of sugar. I'd rather eat one real homemade cookie than 5 diet cookies, for example, because the diet coookie has all sorts of crap in it like guar gum and preservatives.
  • iliketopaint
    iliketopaint Posts: 16
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    Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course, but I really encourage everyone to read this article, and watch this lecture, however long.

    http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=4271246&page=1

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
  • Allibaba
    Allibaba Posts: 457 Member
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    I try not to use artificial sweeteners, but there seems to be one thing I can't avoid it in.....chewing gum! Everywhere I look the gum is now sweetened with some type of artificial sweetener. Does anyone know any kind that is still sweetened with sugar or something natural?

    Glee gum is sold at whole foods and it is natural, it is expensive and the flavor doesn't last very long but it is tasty. I have given up gum for the most part because most of it seems to have aspartame in it.
  • sbilyeu75
    sbilyeu75 Posts: 567 Member
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    I've been having a terrible time finding protein powder that does not have artificial sweetners. I've tried a couple with stevia, but after some research, I don't want to do that either. (There's too many unknowns, and i feel not researched enough.)
  • live2dream
    live2dream Posts: 614 Member
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    This is my favorite stevia: http://www.vitacost.com/Wisdom-Natural-Sweet-Leaf-Clear-Liquid-Stevia

    Great for tea and lasts a long time!
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
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    bump
  • wildfiona
    wildfiona Posts: 13
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    another good lecture:

    http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/russell-blaylock-nutrition-and-behavior-aspartame/

    btw I think sweetners taste like poison - they leave a really bitter taste in my mouth.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
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    another good lecture:

    http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/russell-blaylock-nutrition-and-behavior-aspartame/

    btw I think sweetners taste like poison - they leave a really bitter taste in my mouth.
    Watched this one last night....very informative!! Amazing how we have power over what effects our brain simply by making healthier choices!

    I find this brain stuff absolutely fascinating!! I'll be checking out and catching up on the other links later on...thanks!!:drinker:
    I'd love any more links you happen to have and I do see some others on that site...so I'll be watching alot on there!:wink:
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
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    Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course, but I really encourage everyone to read this article, and watch this lecture, however long.

    http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=4271246&page=1

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
    Looking forward to it after seeing the one Fiona shared!
  • therobinator
    therobinator Posts: 832 Member
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    I personally just don't see the need to put anything fake into my body. I am not all high and mighty and won't tell anyone else not to do it, but that's just my choice. If I want something to be sweet, I will use regular, real sugar (which in and of itself really is a processed food). Similarly, most packaged, canned or prepared foods contain too many unpronouncable ingredients and way too much salf, so I generally skip them, too. That's not to say I won't eat this stuff once in a while, but I will never make a lifestyle out of it or use them to boost weight loss. If I can't do it naturally, then there's something very wrong.

    The downside to all of this is that 99.9% of coupons that people can get for groceries are for packaged/prepared foods.....so when my husband and I go food shopping, since we mainly get fresh produce and meats, we generally can't even use coupons. And that stinks. For example, we went last night, bought food for an entire week, and the only packaged foods we got were Chobani yogurts, a box of cereal, some chicken stock, and some Hostess 100 calorie packs....and even some of that stuff doesn't even have "weird ingredients" in it.
  • Juliane_
    Juliane_ Posts: 373 Member
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    I try to avoid them as much as possible, I have read that they make you crave more sweets. But whatever works in the short term to get started on healthy habits, but in the long run the goal should be to eliminate these ingredients from your diet.

    I think this is true. I personally find myself going on less sugar/junk food binges when I don't eat the artificial stuff and/or sugar.

    I personally do not drink a lot of soda. Better yet, I hardly if ever drink soda anymore. I don't miss it or need it at all. If I do, it's because there's hardly an option. So that's really on very very rare occasions. If I have to choose between artificial and real stuff I try to stick to real stuff. I try to avoid HFCS as well. Who wants to eat corn all day?

    My main sweetener is Stevia. So far the best tasting stevia I have found is NuStevia. I also have a Liquid stevia with singing dog vanilla extract from NuNaturals. It tastes pretty darn good as a sweetener to my plain Fage Yogurt 0%. It gives it a vanilla-sweet taste that's pretty good. Stevia takes some getting used to though and after a while, the same amount of sugar you needed for a recipe will be too too sweet so you end up needing less sugar. I know this because I baked my fiancee a dessert cake we call arepa. I have made that recipe before with the same ingredients and this time around I couldn't stand how sweet it was.

    My main drinks are tea (I carry some in my purse w/ stevia packets), unsweetened almond milk, and water. I also have some tropicana trop 50 in my fridge. I'll have like 4 oz of that with my dinner.
  • bluehorsesjp
    bluehorsesjp Posts: 34
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    I still drink my diet coke and use Truvia, that wont be changing any time soon

    Why not?

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