Artificial Sweetener Demonizing

32sami
32sami Posts: 380 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Artificial sweeteners have become a necessity for many people to make their food palatable. They need sweetness, but they don’t want the calories. Artificial sweeteners mean they can have their cake and eat it too. But don’t tell people it’s bad for them. They actually already know this, but they don’t care. Sugar is addicting, and like most addictions, people don’t want pleasure to be taken from them. What are your thoughts??
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Replies

  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
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  • Kaylyn221
    Kaylyn221 Posts: 123
    I think it has an addicting factor, most certainly. Every morning I have my coffee, not only because of the caffeine to wake me up, but for that sweet, creamy, sugary taste. I put sugar in my coffee and once I have my cup I feel content. If I don’t have my sweet cup of coffee, watch out! It’s like a fix.

    I do not use artificial sweetener though. I used to but I cut it out and use pure cane sugar.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    I think it's none of my damn business what other people put in their food, and if the thought even enters my head to tell someone else a food is bad for them or lecture them on eating habits in general then it is probably time to re-evaluate my priorities and get a hobby.
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
    Aspartame FTW! :drinker: :drinker:
  • Ainar
    Ainar Posts: 858 Member
    Artificial sweeteners have become a necessity for many people to make their food palatable. They need sweetness, but they don’t want the calories. Artificial sweeteners mean they can have their cake and eat it too. But don’t tell people it’s bad for them. They actually already know this, but they don’t care. Sugar is addicting, and like most addictions, people don’t want pleasure to be taken from them. What are your thoughts??
    I think you got it all right my dear Watson. So what? Every person has some addictions to some particular pleasures and some bad habits they do because it is pleasurable but in no way benefit their lives apart from that. Whatever it's eating related or not. Literary everybody me and you included. So who are we to judge or teach them how to live their life right?
  • Linnaea27
    Linnaea27 Posts: 639 Member
    I'm not going to comment on whether artificial sweeteners are bad for you or not-- but I don't eat them mainly because I don't like the taste/the effect on me. I tried xylitol (since I can't bear the taste of stevia and I used to NEED my nice, sweet, 100+ calorie mug of coffee) and oh my, it gave me a migraine and diarrhea! Of course not all such sweeteners do that but for some people they cause various types of malaise. :sick:
  • tquill
    tquill Posts: 300 Member
    But don’t tell people it’s bad for them. They actually already know this, but they don’t care.

    Well, what I do know is that I don't care because real science hasn't proven that it's bad.
  • fxg20
    fxg20 Posts: 61 Member
    The medical consensus is that artificial sweeteners are safe to consume. I think people are addicted to pseudoscience that confirms various beliefs they have about food that are rooted in psychological hangups. There is a certain element of belief that everything that tastes good must have a hidden danger.
  • brianeweston
    brianeweston Posts: 2 Member
    I agree. They are safe because we would never eat the doses given to rats in labs. And the chlorine issue with Splenda? I would argue that we take in more chlorine from salt than from Splenda.

    Everything in moderation.
  • aly_mc
    aly_mc Posts: 13 Member
    I think it's very helpful for people to have sweetners as an option especially if you're diabetic. If you have the "big mac and diet coke" mentality, it's probably not helping very much, but small changes are better than none.
  • shields1847
    shields1847 Posts: 14 Member
    if you NEED sweetener use stevia.
  • fxg20
    fxg20 Posts: 61 Member
    If you want to use a sweetener, feel free to use sugar within your calorie allowance or any of the tested and approved artificial sweeteners, and don't stress out about it.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I prefer the taste of sugar, sweeteners have a weird aftertaste for me. Every single one of them. That said, when I really want something and I just can't fit it into my calories or needs to be too sweet for my pre-diabetes to handle I use splenda.

    Both have no nutritional value, but both have their uses. I don't see why anyone would be demonizing either of them.
  • 32sami
    32sami Posts: 380 Member
    I read one time that aspartame was an ingredient used for embalming dead people.
  • LexiMelo
    LexiMelo Posts: 203 Member
    To each his own. I don't use artificial sweeteners, just regular sugar, honey, or maple syrup (real). I have a strange reaction with aspartame involving migraines and anxiety attacks. I don't love the taste of splenda, but stevia is okay in a jam.

    That being said, you don't NEED sweetener. And if you cut back on them you actually appreciate the taste of regular food more IMHO.
  • MissTea3112
    MissTea3112 Posts: 12 Member
    embalming fluid includes water too.. just saying. That said, I prefer not to use artificial sweeteners, as I feel natural sugars offer more, since ones like raw honey have other benefits and taste better.
  • 32sami
    32sami Posts: 380 Member
    water's not man made :wink:
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    I read one time that aspartame was an ingredient used for embalming dead people.

    I read one time that Santa Claus was actually the devil Satan.

    Just because you "read one time" doesn't make things true.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    I read one time that aspartame was an ingredient used for embalming dead people.

    I read one time that Santa Claus was actually the devil Satan.

    Just because you "read one time" doesn't make things true.

    I didn't say it was true dumbass, I said I read it. Christ doesn't take much to piss people off in here.

    Pretty sure you're the one who is upset here.

    Regardless, there's nothing wrong with artificial sweeteners.

    If you want to claim that there is, first identify which artificial sweetener you are talking about (there are many different ones, from aspartame to cyclamate, with very different chemistry) and then use peer-reviewed scientific articles to establish a negative health effect from the artificial sweetener in question.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    I read one time that aspartame was an ingredient used for embalming dead people.

    I read one time that Santa Claus was actually the devil Satan.

    Just because you "read one time" doesn't make things true.

    I didn't say it was true dumbass, I said I read it. Christ doesn't take much to piss people off in here.

    BTW, calling people names is strictly against the community guidelines. The mods take that stuff pretty seriously.
  • 32sami
    32sami Posts: 380 Member
    Ah bite me :laugh:
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Ah bite me :laugh:

    Strong argument. I'm convinced by your superior knowledge and understanding!
  • skittlesnhoney
    skittlesnhoney Posts: 651 Member
    Aspartame gives me bad migraines. I stay away! The last time I got a migraine, I also got severe vertigo with it. But, it was really good to figure out what my trigger was. And I was getting a ton of it as it was in everything from my yogurt to my chewable vitamin c.

    That's my personal experience with it.

    My mom told me that it's been linked to Multiple Sclerosis and that if you use it during pregnancy, your kids can come out without any coordination. I asked her if she knew this firsthand, because I am seriously uncoordinated. :laugh: But just because my mom told me that doesn't mean that I'm going to shove those ideas down someone else's throat.

    All I know is that my body does not handle it well. I don't know why. Just really thankful to have found the trigger. One migraine in 3 years since cleaning my life out of it, is not bad compared to how frequently I used to get them! :smile:
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    I read one time that aspartame was an ingredient used for embalming dead people.

    I read one time that Santa Claus was actually the devil Satan.

    Just because you "read one time" doesn't make things true.

    I didn't say it was true dumbass, I said I read it. Christ doesn't take much to piss people off in here.

    You're the one resorting to name calling and the rest of us are mad?

    Do you understand that when you have a discussion, that there will be dissenting opinions? Are you unable to handle when others disagree with you?
  • dsb188
    dsb188 Posts: 121 Member
    I think it should be up to the individual. On one hand white sugar is bad and artificial sugar is bad. So what are people suppose to do eat fruit all the time. I think that sugar should be consumed moderately but thats my opinion but I would never push that down someones throat. Its up to them.
  • crevices
    crevices Posts: 226 Member
    i just love sweet things lol i have "real" sugar but also opt for sweeteners for lower cals etc. my way of living is just believing that almost anything can be 'bad' for you in one way or another and we all die in the end, positivity right? :drinker:
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Ah bite me :laugh:

    Strong argument. I'm convinced by your superior knowledge and understanding!

    Nobody twisting your arm to be in here, and the only reason I said that was cause your were being an *kitten*. Should I just show no spine and take your ****? I'm betting you wouldn't.

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  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,147 Member
    I think it's none of my damn business what other people put in their food, and if the thought even enters my head to tell someone else a food is bad for them or lecture them on eating habits in general then it is probably time to re-evaluate my priorities and get a hobby.
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  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Ah bite me :laugh:

    Strong argument. I'm convinced by your superior knowledge and understanding!

    Nobody twisting your arm to be in here, and the only reason I said that was cause your were being an *kitten*. Should I just show no spine and take your ****? I'm betting you wouldn't.

    Seriously though. I'm not talking "****." You made a claim in the OP that artificial sweeteners are bad for you.

    This is a claim that is 100% unsupported by the significant volume of evidence we have on the subject. If you want to disagree, that's fine, but you should be prepared to defend your opinion if you want to have any credibility.
  • cpdiminish
    cpdiminish Posts: 84
    I'd love if everyone would stop using Splenda. A small percentage gets stored in fat cells (because that's what happens to toxins in our bodies) but the rest ends up getting flushed into our water supply. And our water supply is very quickly becoming contaminated. It doesn't biodegrade so this could be quite a big problem in a short period of time.

    Otherwise, not caring just means that you are willing to be a guinea pig in a scientific experiment.

    But most artificial sweeteners have come out on the wrong side of weight gain in the scientific studies, causing the brain to crave sweet more than regular sugars, making it more likely that people slip up.

    And once you've been off of them for a while, they really do taste so awful that you don't want them. They just taste like chemicals.

    I personally try to avoid all sweeteners but when I do have some, it is normally unrefined cane sugar. Sweet in all the right ways without the problems that arise in the bleaching process, and has been around long enough for us to know its effects on our long-term health.
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