Is it bad for kids to have zero calorie sweeteners?

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myiceisonfire
myiceisonfire Posts: 782 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've heard a few people say that zero-calorie sweeteners aren't good for you. But let's face it, people aren't going to stop eating it.
I like my sugar free pudding, sugar free jello, etc.

But what I want to know is... Can it be bad bad for kids? Could it harm them in the long run?

I don't buy it for my son, but he likes to eat from my food sometimes & I don't want to give him my pudding or jello if it's bad for him.

I don't plan on giving him a whole pudding or jello... It would just be a spoonful of mine. Which isn't much, but still

edit: When buying things with zero calorie sweeteners, it's only Splenda.
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Replies

  • saadler
    saadler Posts: 116
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    I was raised eating and drinking diet things (Dad is diabetic), and so far I'm healthy (other than needing to lose weight, but that's not from zero cal sweeteners).
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    It's not healthy no. When I see little kids with a diet coke or coke zero in their hand I cringe. It's too young to have to deal with artificial chemicals. I would avoid it at all costs and give moderate amounts of full calorie things. Just my humble!
  • 3ricaAnn
    3ricaAnn Posts: 288
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    zero calorie sweetners can confuse the body into thinking that everything sweet has zero calories to burn off; therefore storing it as fat.
  • Neoneko
    Neoneko Posts: 16 Member
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    Diet products tend to contains aspartame whilst in the most part is not too harmful it can have some side effects.
  • ak_in_ak
    ak_in_ak Posts: 657 Member
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    the reason zero calorie sweeteners are considered bad is becasue the body does not know how to process them
  • Hoppymom
    Hoppymom Posts: 1,158 Member
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    I have a friend whose husband is a chemist. He won't let her drink it when she is pregnant and nursing, because of all of the negative traits it has. It is also an appetite stimulant. It's part of the reason I became obese. I would drink 3-4 Diet Coke's a day (thinking it's no different than coffee) and it has less caffine but I was always hungry. So I ate. Please find nutritious things for your children to eat. Offer water first when they ask for a snack. Often dehydration mimics hunger.
  • JennsLosing
    JennsLosing Posts: 1,026
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    I was raised eating and drinking diet things (Dad is diabetic), and so far I'm healthy (other than needing to lose weight, but that's not from zero cal sweeteners).
    me too...i didnt gain weight until i started partying and drinking till all hours of the night and eating tacos, fajitas, blts and cheeseburgers at 5 in the morning.
  • LuneBleu85
    LuneBleu85 Posts: 217
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    What are they made out of? I'm not sure I've seen those (I live in the middle of nowhere, to be fair). I did read some scary studies about aspartame (it gives me headaches also so I have to avoid it). I would say that if they contain aspartame they might not be a good idea.
  • myiceisonfire
    myiceisonfire Posts: 782 Member
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    What are they made out of? I'm not sure I've seen those (I live in the middle of nowhere, to be fair). I did read some scary studies about aspartame (it gives me headaches also so I have to avoid it). I would say that if they contain aspartame they might not be a good idea.

    Slenda, i believe
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
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    My kids fav thing is a diet coke cake,so far they are fine...my daughter has a tail but im sure its compleatly unrelated
  • Just_Bethy
    Just_Bethy Posts: 272
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    I wouldn't give it to them..purely because no one knows whatthe long term affects of these can be...Someone that consumes these chemicals over 30-40 or even 50 years...we can't know...they haven't been around long enough...but a bite of your pudding..won't hurt..
  • emswear
    emswear Posts: 11
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    Aspartame was developed by the military. it started out as a POISON to attack the neurological system and meant to slip into a drink with out them noticing it and killing a person slowly over time. its not good for anybody, let alone a child. Google it. maybe I'm wrong, but I definitely don't let my child have it.
  • khoolette
    khoolette Posts: 73
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    Diet products tend to contains aspartame whilst in the most part is not too harmful it can have some side effects.
  • Mrs_Hutch
    Mrs_Hutch Posts: 3
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    Stevia is a safe natural sweetener. It's a dried ground up plant. Agave is also another natural sweetener, derived from a cactus plant. These are two of the safest, all natural sweetener alternatives to sugar.

    I agree, people aren't going to stop consuming artificial sweeteners. Just be aware of how much and what you're giving to your kids. Aspartame can cause headaches in some, but so can other foods that people are not tolerant of. It's an individual sensitivity. It is also a chemical sweetener and while are stomachs do contain an acid that can eat through most things, it's also not usually a good idea to overload your system with artificial items. Splenda, which is derived from sugar, is also only a few molecules away from being bleach...I haven't read any of the long term studies, but friends who have saying their finding the results of long term use are not positive.

    Your best bet is to stick with all natural sweeteners. I occasionally buy SF pudding and I drink Diet Soda on occasion. I can't handle too much sugar and most things now-a-days contain High Fructose Corn Syrup and that makes me very ill so I stay away from it whenever I can. The trick is really moderation.
  • kmumansky
    kmumansky Posts: 119
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    My kids fav thing is a diet coke cake,so far they are fine...my daughter has a tail but im sure its compleatly unrelated

    Wish there was a "like" button :)
  • khoolette
    khoolette Posts: 73
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    I have read and been told by a lady who studies nutrition, that aspartame is extremely harmful. It has been linked to many health issues, such as migraines and eye problems. I even read that some diabetics who were diagnosed with retinopathy, were actually having side effects from aspartame instead.
  • myiceisonfire
    myiceisonfire Posts: 782 Member
    Options
    Aspartame was developed by the military. it started out as a POISON to attack the neurological system and meant to slip into a drink with out them noticing it and killing a person slowly over time. its not good for anybody, let alone a child. Google it. maybe I'm wrong, but I definitely don't let my child have it.

    I've heard bad things about aspartame but didn't know that... I only use or eat things that have Splenda when I have something with a zero calorie sweetener.
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
    Options
    Aspartame was developed by the military. it started out as a POISON to attack the neurological system and meant to slip into a drink with out them noticing it and killing a person slowly over time. its not good for anybody, let alone a child. Google it. maybe I'm wrong, but I definitely don't let my child have it.

    I've heard bad things about aspartame but didn't know that... I only use or eat things that have Splenda when I have something with a zero calorie sweetener.

    You didnt know that because its not true.Aspartame, was accidentally discovered in 1965 by Jim Schlatter. Schlatter was trying to discover new treatments for gastric ulcers
  • Bakins929
    Bakins929 Posts: 895 Member
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    Aspartame was developed by the military. it started out as a POISON to attack the neurological system and meant to slip into a drink with out them noticing it and killing a person slowly over time. its not good for anybody, let alone a child. Google it. maybe I'm wrong, but I definitely don't let my child have it.

    "Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by James M. Schlatter, a chemist working for G.D. Searle & Company. Schlatter had synthesized aspartame in the course of producing an antiulcer drug candidate. He accidentally discovered its sweet taste when he licked his finger, which had become contaminated with aspartame, to lift up a piece of paper."
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame

    G.D. Searle is now part of Pfizer.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    Aspartame was developed by the military. it started out as a POISON to attack the neurological system and meant to slip into a drink with out them noticing it and killing a person slowly over time. its not good for anybody, let alone a child. Google it. maybe I'm wrong, but I definitely don't let my child have it.

    "Killing a person slowly" has never really been a top military goal.

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