Do Artificial Sweeteners Hinder Weight Loss? What Are Healthy Alternatives that Satisfy?

Ragbunch wrote: »

My paternal family is diabetic, so I'm at risk for it. They developed it despite working out and diet- both were thin.

I don't touch artificial sweeteners. They did. Sweet and Low (grandfather); Aspartame/ Splenda (father).

I still don't have diabetes and I'm 45. I use plain old sugar in my coffee and drink water, no sodas.

Diabetes is more dependent on genetics and being well overweight, then consumption of sugar.
Over consumption of sugar and calories lead to being over weight which increases risk of diabetes.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Also, do not take the idea that because somebody dodged the diabetes bullet in their family that their lifestyle prevented it. It is largely genetic roulette. My dad is overweight type 2, my mom is normal weight type 2, my brother is a fit guy who became type 1 at 30. Me? I am an overweight chick who had gestational diabetes with both pregnancies and at 38 am still not a diabetic. I check regularly with a glucometer and get my A1C checked, too.

By all rights I should have it.... But I don't. Go figure. And I do indulge in artificial sweeteners. So does my brother. My mom does rarely and my father never does. It is what it is.....

This can be a touchy subject. I almost didn't post because I'm new here and don't want to participate in any debates. However, I do feel strongly about this one so I'm taking the risk and posting... A few years ago my husband started developing some very scary neurological problems. He was fainting, loosing sight for a minute at a time, his leg would feel weak and give out. He had horrible headaches etc. We spent thousands of dollars on medical tests (at first they though MS, then after ruling that out they thought brain tumor etc.) The doctors didn't know what was wrong and prescribed him a stong anti-seizure medicine to control his symptoms. The medicine had a horrifying list of side effects, but he was desperate.

Luckily a coworker of mine happened to bring in a case of diet sprite and said we could have them at the office because she realized artificial sweeteners were causing her headaches. A bell went off in my head, my husband had consumed so many artificial sweeteners since he had decided to lose weight. He switched from his 2 cokes a day to coke zero. He suddenly developed more of a taste for them and since they were guilt free he was drinking 3 or more a day and he had developed a taste for sugar free jello too. These habit had been going on for months before his health issues and continued as we sought medical advice. No Dr had ever asked him about what he was eating.

Turns out my husband had aspartame poisoning (it's a real thing.) When he presented the idea to our Dr she said "Oh yes, some people are very sensitive to artificial sweeteners." Since then we've immersed ourselves in the research and know how dangerous this stuff is. He was much better within 3 weeks of quitting aspartame and totally healthy within about 3 months.

I think only some people have sensitivity to artificial sweeteners and I'm sure it's safe-ish for most people. Personally, after seeing first hand the damage it can do I don't consume them.

I am in no way proposing that aspartame is more dangerous than obesity. Loosing weight is important and we need resources and alternatives in order to not feel deprived. We should just be aware of what we are putting into our bodies and be alert to any possible sensitivities.

I don't worry about them either

zenner22 wrote: »

This can be a touchy subject. I almost didn't post because I'm new here and don't want to participate in any debates. However, I do feel strongly about this one so I'm taking the risk and posting... A few years ago my husband started developing some very scary neurological problems. He was fainting, loosing sight for a minute at a time, his leg would feel weak and give out. He had horrible headaches etc. We spent thousands of dollars on medical tests (at first they though MS, then after ruling that out they thought brain tumor etc.) The doctors didn't know what was wrong and prescribed him a stong anti-seizure medicine to control his symptoms. The medicine had a horrifying list of side effects, but he was desperate.

Luckily a coworker of mine happened to bring in a case of diet sprite and said we could have them at the office because she realized artificial sweeteners were causing her headaches. A bell went off in my head, my husband had consumed so many artificial sweeteners since he had decided to lose weight. He switched from his 2 cokes a day to coke zero. He suddenly developed more of a taste for them and since they were guilt free he was drinking 3 or more a day and he had developed a taste for sugar free jello too. These habit had been going on for months before his health issues and continued as we sought medical advice. No Dr had ever asked him about what he was eating.

Turns out my husband had aspartame poisoning (it's a real thing.) When he presented the idea to our Dr she said "Oh yes, some people are very sensitive to artificial sweeteners." Since then we've immersed ourselves in the research and know how dangerous this stuff is. He was much better within 3 weeks of quitting aspartame and totally healthy within about 3 months.

I think only some people have sensitivity to artificial sweeteners and I'm sure it's safe-ish for most people. Personally, after seeing first hand the damage it can do I don't consume them.

I am in no way proposing that aspartame is more dangerous than obesity. Loosing weight is important and we need resources and alternatives in order to not feel deprived. We should just be aware of what we are putting into our bodies and be alert to any possible sensitivities.

So he had PKU? Because it's people with PKU who shouldn't consume aspartame. Doc should have asked or inquired. Some people are sensitive to it, but like allergies to certain foods, etc., it's something THEY should be aware of. For the general public, aspartame is fine.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

zenner22 wrote: »

No, he's never been diagnosed as having PKU (which was a new term to me with your post, but a quick Google search makes me doubt he has it.) Our doctor deduced, after seeing proof of the resolution of his symptoms, that the artificial sweeteners had been toxic for him. I absolutely agree that the doctors should have asked about his diet. They asked about alcohol and drugs, but never talked about his general eating habits. That simple question would has saved us a ton of money.

I also agree that aspartame is likely fine for the general public in moderation. However, many dieters over use artificially sweetened diet foods and I've seen first hand that that can cause damage to some people.

It can for some. It would take quite a dose though of it though to do some serious damage. A study a few years back done on mice showed lots of neurological damage and other issues. But the dosage they gave them was equivalent to a human drinking about 4 cases a day of diet soda. I would think that that would be overkill.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Here's where to search published medical studies for whatever subject you want:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

Consuming >21 artificially sweetened beverages per week (vs. none) was associated with almost-doubled risk of overweight (BMI > or = 25) among 1,250 normal-weight individuals, and doubled risk of obesity (BMI > or = 30) among 2,571 normal-weight individuals.
A significant positive dose-response relationship emerged ...

Here's the abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18535548
Here's the full text article: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/oby.2008.284/pdf

This study looked at 78694 women ages 50-69 years... Those who used artificial sweeteners were significantly more likely than non-users to gain weight, regardless of initial BMI, but the difference in weight gain between the users & non-users was less than 2 lb.

Here's the abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3714671

So the 30+ x larger study found no real difference in weight gain from using artificial sweeteners v. natural sweeteners.

The good news is that stevia is a natural sweetener and is being used in more & more products.
Aspartame is also natural, being made from 2 amino acids.

This study of 285,079 men and 188,905 women ages 50 to 71 says that aspartame is not found to be related to bone marrow or brain cancers.

Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16985027
Full text: http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/15/9/1654.long

re: artificial sweeteners influencing diabetes

A small study found that artificial sweeteners make no significant changes in blood glucose concentration vs. sugar.

The abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17982603
Get the full text here: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2007/141827/abs/

Data from large, epidemiologic studies support the existence of an association between artificially-sweetened beverage consumption and weight gain in children.
Randomized controlled trials in children are very limited, and do not clearly demonstrate either beneficial or adverse metabolic effects of artificial sweeteners.
Presently, there is no strong clinical evidence for causality regarding artificial sweetener use and metabolic health effects...

Abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20078374
Full text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951976/

maybebaby34 wrote: »

Sorry ninerbuff for ruffling your feathers. We all hold a topic near and dear to our heart. Mine is not artificial sweeteners or even stevia. Mine is child nutrition. But I did mention that we should research anything we put into our body. Also that everyone would have an opinion. I did not come in here spouting knowledge as a doctor or a reseach peer conductor. Sure they use mice and find this or that, but it is a start. I am very pleased none of your people have shown issues using artifical sweetners. That awsome! But as in any food or drug, there is another side of the coin. I can only imagine as technology or science advances how many safe "thing" one reccomends we will find toxic. Or if one thought hard, detoxed from sweetners, what health issues would be gone.
I personally have illiminated white sugar and artificial sweeteners from my family's diet and seen in a short 3 months huge changes.
What probably would be best is not coming here and making someone feel attack because they did cut it and saved their health. Sure you have fancy red words after each share. But we all live different lives. Have different things that affect that life. One can apprectate the knowledge you can share, & utilize it. But done with a softer touch maybe.
Like my dad always says "opinions are like a**holes, everybody has one." When we open a discussion like here, everyone will in fact have an opinion. If we dont agree we roll our eyes and move on. But what if that one eyeroll share actually does help someone in a positive way? Who knows? I sure the hell dont http://www.livestrong.com/article/536467-does-stevia-affect-insulin/#page=4

who was doing any attacking?/

Ninerbuff wrote concise factual replies with reference to scinetific studies - which you didnt agree with and you feel attacked???

Good grief