Thoughts on aspartame while dieting?

Just make sure to drink more water to make up for the water it negates

I used to drink a lot of those sorts of things, like Crystal Light and put artificial sweeteners in my coffee. Then I was told by my doctor that it could be the cause behind some of the digestive issues I was having. I was consuming large quantities of it, which was causing severe bloating for me. Once I cut them out of my diet, I've noticed a significant reduction in bloat. Also, they trick your brain because you taste the sweetness, so your brain expect calories to go with it, and when it doesn't get those calories, it leads you to feel hungrier and potentially overeat later on because of that. I've been told it's better to actually just use a little of the regular sugar vs. a lot of the artificial sweeteners. But, I think anything in moderation would be ok. If you crave one every once in a while, I don't see much harm in using some. Just don't go overboard

There is so much misinformation about astpartame/splenda out there I don't even know where to start. It's been tested over and over and the protests are anecdotal or pseudo-science.

How about "everything in moderation"? I certainly find artificial sweeteners helpful to stave off boredom. Or sometimes I just put a spritz of lemon juice in my water. I change it up and don't stress over it.

While this is not definitive yet, I personally would never advise people to drink artificial sweeteners because some of the research into how fake sweeteners mess with our brains is not looking good IMO.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/artificial-sweeteners-linked-to-obesity-epidemic-scientists-say-1.2769196

A possible alternative is sweetening your water with stevia or just continue to occasionally treat yourself to small amounts of 'the real thing' as it tastes better anyways!

I use multiple packets of sweet n low daily for my coffee and have for many years. I used it all while I was overweight, and I've continued to use it while losing almost 60 pounds.

It has zero calories and doesn't coat my teeth and that's why I use it. I've never noticed any kind of pattern of craving food due to having an artificially sweetened coffee or cola, or of "feeling tricked" physiologically like how, say, salivation happens when you smell good food, but if you don't eat any then hunger pains can begin. I get no such reaction or anything similar to it from drinking my artificially sweetened beverages.
This idea of being "tricked" into eating sounds similar to the Twinkie defense. "The artificial sweeteners made me do it..." Sure..

GaleHawkins wrote: »

While you are very young you can get away with doing bad food. At 63 I was so toxic I finally decided to dump stuff like that. Stevia I understand is OK but now that I eat no sugar it is just about too sweet to taste good. livescience.com/39601-stevia-facts-safety.html

Toxic would need medical attention. And there's no study supporting that ingesting artificial sweeteners past a certain age is undesirable.
Personally I've drank diet Pepsi for over 25+ years now and haven't succumbed to the issues that many anti-artificial sweetener supporters contest will happen.
Stick to the science. If used in moderation, there's really no issue with it for the general public.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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I realize that some people like artificial sweeteners and by all means people should use them if they want but in "stick[ing] to the science"...
Published in NATURE: Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota

NAS in humans associate with impaired glucose tolerance:

Basically they took healthy volunteers that normally did not consume artificial sweeteners and got them to consume them - after 7 days 4/7 of the volunteers "developed significantly poorer glycaemic responses" - this is compared to their normal response after only a week...

Non-caloric artificial sweeteners =(NAS)

Also they found in long term consumers - (non-diabetic): "significant positive correlations between NAS consumption and several metabolic-syndrome-related clinical parameters, including increased weight and waist-to-hip ratio; higher fasting blood glucose, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1C%) and glucose tolerance test (GTT, measures of impaired glucose tolerance), and elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT, measure of hepatic damage that is likely to be secondary, in this context, to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). Moreover, the levels of glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1C%), indicative of glucose concentration over the previous 3 months, were significantly increased when comparing a subgroup of high NAS consumers (40 individuals) to non- NAS consumers (236 individuals. This increase remained significant when corrected to body mass index (BMI) levels...
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And this is only one of *many* studies that show possible negative effects on health (including changes in the way our brains function!).
I don't believe in anecdotal evidence - I just think that the human body is complicated and no one can for sure say that artificial sweeteners are 'healthy' or 'safe' - maybe you won't drop dead from having them, but I personally would not consume them. Each of us are entitled to form our own opinion and do a risk-benefit analysis for ourselves though:)

Sorry for the long post...

Gives me migraines.

It causes carb cravings

The thing with artifical sweeteners is they trigger the same response from the liver and pancreas as real sugar does, so it's kind of pointless. When your liver ingests artificial sweeteners, your pancreas responds by creating insulin, which can't be filtered out through the liver, so it turns it into fat instantly. You might be saving calories, but don't think you're tricking your body! There's a great documentary on the sugar/sweetener industry and obesity in general that Katie Couric put together. It's very informative, I suggest you look it up... it's called Fed Up.

I drink a gallon of mountain dew a day, and also 44-64oz of diet dr. pepper. It has never affected my weight loss OR blood sugar.

Here's a full list of scientific studies on the effects of aspartame on everything from brain function to weight gain. The stuff is just no good. http://aspartame.mercola.com/sites/aspartame/studies.aspx

cherylmurray83 wrote: »

Here's a full list of scientific studies on the effects of aspartame on everything from brain function to weight gain. The stuff is just no good. http://aspartame.mercola.com/sites/aspartame/studies.aspx

Mercola? This is getting even duckier. People need to stop getting their science from Oprah...
Start here to see why aspartame isn't unsafe:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308408/why-aspartame-isnt-scary/p1