Aspartame, splenda, sugar?

A. There is a huge difference between sugars and artificial sweeteners.
B. Aspartame is made from at least one chemical that is on the EPA's list of most toxic substances. In my opinion, that makes it incredibly bad for your body.
C. Splenda is a chlorocarbon, a type of substance that our bodies cannot process and is very bad for us to ingest.
D. Sugars make your body release insulin, which stops the body's fat burning processes. Studies have shown that the brain cannot distinguish between natural sugars and artificial sweeteners, so artificial sweeteners also make the body release insulin, stopping the body's fat burning processes. They also force the liver to use sugar from the blood stream for energy when generally leads to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) making the brain send hunger signals to get you to replenish your blood sugar.

So, as bad as sugar is for you, it's better than artificial sweeteners. But, it's best to cut them all from your daily diet and keep sweets as rare treats.

I'm no health nut or nutritionist, so there will be people who will disagree with my answer.

The occasional Diet Coke won't kill you. If it makes you happy, go for it. Sure, we can eliminate everything we enjoy, live 150 years and all, but what sort of quality of life will we have? I can't live on steamed chicken, vegetables and water alone AND be happy. I choose happy. And that means the occasional diet soda or take-out.

As for sugar from fruits, I look at it as "could be worse". If I take in 24 grams of sugar from my 2 cups of blueberries today (one in my oatmeal, one frozen for dessert) it's better than the who-knows-how-much sugar I would have taken in if I'd eaten two cups of ice cream. Yes, I could go on an anti-sugar rampage, but I'd be miserable and crave sweets, and eventually toss the whole thing out the window because it's not something I can maintain.

Anything in moderation. As long as it fits into your calorie breakdown and you don't feel any negative effects, you should be fine.

It's not that sugars in fruits are "bad", it's just that they are the same thing as any other sugar, so your body will have the same effects.

Aspartame and Sucralose (Splenda) can't be used by your body as sugar, so that's why they don't give you any calories. The only tests that show bad effects with these substitutes are ones in which huge quantities were used for extended times, although there are some studies that theorize that taste sensors in the GI detect the "sweetness" and give a false insulin response, which can cause problems, but I haven't seen conclusive science on that yet.

Stevia-natural...means you don't get the headaches...try it!

Can someone tell me if Truvia is okay? I was told it is a generic of Stevia?? I use them both. Thoughts:))

Stevia is natural and doesn't give me headaches or nausea like aspartame does (Not everyone has the same level of aspartame intolerance, but it's definitely not good for you. I happen to be one of those people who gag on it and end up with nasty headaches.). Splenda (to me!) tastes sickly-sweet and ruins the taste of whatever I'm eating.

I personally go either with Stevia, BC sugar (baja calorias--reduced calorie sugar), or just sugar in the raw or honey. It's better to use the natural stuff and just cut down on it. Case in point: I used to add four sugar packets and 3 creamers to my morning coffee. Now I use a single Stevia packet (or just 2 regular sugars) and two creams. It's a matter of choosing to eat healthier and more moderately.

Which Stevia brands do you guys use? It seems that the ones I've looked at seem to be just as artificial since the key ingredient usually isn't the stevia extract itself.

Sugar in fruits is a different type of sugar than what is found in soda. Sugar in fruit does not create a spike in your blood sugar with a crash after like processed sugar does. Your body digests it over a longer period of time and keeps you fuller and energized longer so the two are very different indeed.

I am not trying to pick on you, but this is a pretty big misconception. Fruit has varying levels of Fuctose, Sucrose, Glucose, and some even have other sugars in them. These sugars are exactly chemically the same as the Sucrose in table sugar and the Fructose that is in High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Whereas it is true that the absorption time is higher with some fruits, it is not that high. You can ask any diabetic what happens to their blood sugar levels when they eat a piece of fruit. It will spike similarly to what would happen if they ate a candy bar.

That said, if you are not diabetic, fruit has a lot of other good stuff, like antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber, so I am not saying that it is "bad" for you. Just moderation is needed with most things.

Well I am not diabetic so I can't speak to that but I have incorporated/replaced much of my refined sugar with fruit and have lost 32 pounds in 4 months. Fruit keeps me fuller for longer, point, bottom line, period and to lump all sugars into one catagory is pretty nieve I think.
Bottom line, food that comes from the great mother earth, in it's natural state, is better for you than anything that is refined. The body can recognize is and digest it more efficiently than anything man made!!

Sugar in fruits is a different type of sugar than what is found in soda. Sugar in fruit does not create a spike in your blood sugar with a crash after like processed sugar does. Your body digests it over a longer period of time and keeps you fuller and energized longer so the two are very different indeed. I would agree that natural sugar, by far, is a lesser evil than any artificial sweetner. The reson being that your liver has two main functions 1) Rid the body of any toxins present 2) Process food efficiently so that fat storage is a minimum. Artificial sweetners are just how they sound...artificial...the body recognizes it as a toxin so what happens is your liver spends most of it's time ridding the body of this foreign substance and the processing of food comes secondary hence promoting fat storage. So...eat lots and lots of fruit, I don't care what anyone says, you will not get fat off of just fruit...and stay away from any aftificial sweetners. Eat real sugar, real butter, real mayo, real dressing...most diet substances are unidentifiable by the body and will promote fat storage.

I like this answer best. Although it is true that it does spike faster for blood sugar, it digests slower than more refined sugar. So a fruit is much different (faster, especially) to dump into the system, cause insuline to release, then crash your blood sugar. this is why a doughnut, breads, or candy makes me hungry right after! Fast carbs and sugar vs. slower carbs and sugar. Diabetics count "carbs", not sugar. Carbs come in fast and slow processing by our bodies. It's better to eat whole grains, fruits and vegetables, than to eat bread, fruit juice (real, sweatened, or not) and cookies. Because they are s-l-o-w-e-r. No spike, then washed out crash. Faster energy is a good thing. Our body likes use carbs first, especially the brain. The other things take more work by the body. Carbs leave us hungry quick because they get used first. More fast carbs leave us hungrier abruptly fast.

Eating natural products from unprocessed chemical laiden food is best. Moderation in all things, including "fake" sugar and real fruit. Maybe it won't kill us right away, or we can dump the toxins, but I won't go severely out of my way to not eat "fake". I do try to avoid it more and more as best I can. It takes hours at the grocery store to look for hidden crap on a lable and find anything that is actually totally healthy! Overall eating better is going to be a good thing. I still have a diet coke, but way less because i'm trying to get more water and now my favorite diet coke tastes nasty. I try to avoid HFCS and artificial anything, but i'm not militant about it. The more actual fruit and unprocessed food I eat the better I feel. The more I can't tolerate the "fake" and processed stuff as well. I use real sugar and less of it when I use it for the calories, and my appetite for it goes down as it does when I eat less salt I crave it less. This has got to be good.

So as a diet website Ithink we need to encourage more fruits and vegetables, even if it's not #1 on the list of perfect, it's better and better than we used to eat. Change happens in a good direction. Make those little changes over time and you will find you are eating better and wanting healthier food. I can now taste and smell the artifical stuff in food and it's a big turn off!

Well I am not diabetic so I can't speak to that but I have incorporated/replaced much of my refined sugar with fruit and have lost 32 pounds in 4 months. Fruit keeps me fuller for longer, point, bottom line, period and to lump all sugars into one catagory is pretty nieve I think.
Bottom line, food that comes from the great mother earth, in it's natural state, is better for you than anything that is refined. The body can recognize is and digest it more efficiently than anything man made!!

Once again, I apologize if I seem to be picking on you.

I have eaten almost no fruits, and the only sugars I have eaten have been refined, and I have lost 23 pounds in 2 months. I commend your efforts. I know how hard it is to lose weight, and your method is working for you, so I am happy. You should keep doing it, but I'm but you have been doing many things differently than simply switching your "refined" sugars for fruits.

Refined sugar also comes from mother earth also. From the same plant sources as the sugars in fruits. These sugars are not somehow alchemically created from nothingness. It is made chiefly from boiling the sugars out of natural plant material, then filtering and separating the not-sugar from the sugar. I assure you, your body can't know any difference, as it is exactly the same thing.

It's ok to eat fruit, though. It has lots of good stuff in it as well, and there is nothing inherently "bad" about sugar either. For instance your brain cells have no mechanism for using Fat as a fuel, so your brain function requires some sugars. Like most things, it is only bad in excess.