Artificial Sweetners

Jenn3452
Jenn3452 Posts: 23 Member
edited November 21 in Food and Nutrition
So in order to cut calories here and there I started using Splenda in my coffee. After about 2 weeks of every day use with 2 packets in a medium ice coffee, I had noticed I was feeling like crap with headaches and no energy. So I decided to stop because that was the only thing new I had added to my regimen. It took another 2 weeks for me to get it out of my system and I started to feel 100 times better. Needless to say I'm just going to stick to my 2 tsp of sugar. Has this happened to anyone else??

Replies

  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,396 Member
    Not that precisely, but artificial sweeteners sometimes give me diarrhea and I also just don't enjoy the taste so there isn't much reason for me to want to consume them.
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  • Jenn3452
    Jenn3452 Posts: 23 Member
    edited August 2017
    No I did not
  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
    edited August 2017
    I've been using several servings of artificial sweetener every day, (4-6 pkts of splenda, plus the artificial sweetener in the diet sodas I drink every day), for around 5 years now with no side affects (besides saving a butt load of calories).

    It seems odd that it took 2 weeks after you stopped using it, to feel better-are you sure you didn't just have a virus/were sick?

    eta: headaches/lack of energy sounds like caffeine withdrawal-did you reduce your caffeine intake during this time, by chance?
  • MarylandRose
    MarylandRose Posts: 239 Member
    In brand name diet sodas, the artificial sweeteners are fine, but I can't use them in tea/coffee and I can't drink them in other non-soda formats. For example, those flavored sparkling waters that *aren't* seltzer give me a headache three sips in. I stick to true 0-cal sparkling water just fine, but I have to be careful at parties and work events because people supply the sweetened ones as the 'healthy drink' option.
  • bizgirl26
    bizgirl26 Posts: 1,795 Member
    I have no issues at all with any artificial sweeteners except sorbitol as it has a laxative effect

    10116386.png
  • Jenn3452
    Jenn3452 Posts: 23 Member
    OliveGirl128 wrote: »
    I've been using several servings of artificial sweetener every day, (4-6 pkts of splenda, plus the artificial sweetener in the diet sodas I drink every day), for around 5 years now with no side affects (besides saving a butt load of calories).

    It seems odd that it took 2 weeks after you stopped using it, to feel better-are you sure you didn't just have a virus/were sick?

    eta: headaches/lack of energy sounds like caffeine withdrawal-did you reduce your caffeine intake during this time, by chance?

    No I wasn't sick at all and a long time ago I had tried using splenda and I had forgot how it made me feel I guess because I haven't used it since :/
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    MonkeyMel21 wrote: »
    Not that precisely, but artificial sweeteners sometimes give me diarrhea and I also just don't enjoy the taste so there isn't much reason for me to want to consume them.

    Sugar alcohols can cause this problem.... Hence products containing it have warnings about excess consumption causing a laxative effect.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,396 Member
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    MonkeyMel21 wrote: »
    Not that precisely, but artificial sweeteners sometimes give me diarrhea and I also just don't enjoy the taste so there isn't much reason for me to want to consume them.

    Sugar alcohols can cause this problem.... Hence products containing it have warnings about excess consumption causing a laxative effect.

    That's good to know. I don't buy products with artificial sweeteners, so I only have them if they're from something without a label (like my friend's pie that she wanted me to try last week)
  • Mary90Mary
    Mary90Mary Posts: 59 Member
    When I have tried sugarfree soda in the past I usually get bloated, stomach ache and other nasty side effects so now I usually just stick to regular sugar even though I want to be able to have artificial sweeteners since I like sweetness but don't want to eat to much sugar.
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    Many people have troubles with Splenda. You are not alone. https://www.consumeraffairs.com/nutrition/splenda.html
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
    I can't do sucralose at all! Aspartame I can tolerate in small amounts
  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
    TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »
    Many people have troubles with Splenda. You are not alone. https://www.consumeraffairs.com/nutrition/splenda.html

    AS sensitivity is a real thing for some people, but it just seems odd that she still had symptoms two weeks after cutting it back out?
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    I use stevia or monkfruit for most of my sweetening needs and avoid Splenda (I'll only use it if nothing else is available). Neither is going to have a laxative effect, and at least for me I haven't noticed any effects from daily use of them. Some of the stevia products out there also use erythritol, which is one of the sugar alcohols, so you need to watch for that. Truvia and Nectresse contain erythritol, but Stevia In The Raw doesn't, for example. I think I've read erythritol isn't as bad with the laxative effects as other sugar alcohols, but individuals react differently to these things. I've personally noticed I have a very low tolerance for other sugar alcohols, but erythritol doesn't seem to bother me.
  • debtay123
    debtay123 Posts: 1,327 Member
    I also use stevia and monk fruit- I do better wit the liquid stevia than the little packets- so far I can use sucrlose with no problems- but I have been using less of it-
  • MommaGem2017
    MommaGem2017 Posts: 405 Member
    I eat Splenda and some aspartame, but I can't handle the taste of stevia or erythritol. Good things there are plenty of different types to satisfy many different taste buds.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    bizgirl26 wrote: »
    I have no issues at all with any artificial sweeteners except sorbitol as it has a laxative effect

    10116386.png

    Yep - this^
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    I use sweetex which is a saccharine based sweetener. I have been using it for decades. I tried stevia, among others, but could not get on with them.
  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    Artificial sweeteners can have different effects on different people - I can't take aspartame (except in the occasional stick of gum/mint), but I love erithrytol and stevia. If you take it out of your diet and find that your headaches go away, It may mean you need to try a new sweetener.
  • solovino1
    solovino1 Posts: 29 Member
    Stevia is the ticket.
This discussion has been closed.

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