Artificial Sweetners

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tnrunningnurse
tnrunningnurse Posts: 549 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Just curious as to what everyone thinks about artificial sweetners?
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  • LesliePierceRN
    LesliePierceRN Posts: 860 Member
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    poison. You can't get animals to eat/drink it. Ants won't come to it if spilled on a sidewalk. When sugar is an energy source, the preferred source by your body, and the only one your brain can use, why would you substitute? That's like running a gasoline powered car on diesel.
  • Rielyn
    Rielyn Posts: 150 Member
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    I used to put them in my coffee but I'm off of them now, I just can't wrap my head around them being even remotely good for you. I use Blue Agave instead, it doesn't have that sickly sweet taste and it's all natural!
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
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    Can't and won't do it!!!!!!! Rather do without sugar altogether.
  • cupcakemama
    cupcakemama Posts: 52
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    I do put one in my tea :) Other then that I don't use them. I just hate useing all my calories in my tea/coffee because of sugar
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
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    poison. You can't get animals to eat/drink it. Ants won't come to it if spilled on a sidewalk. When sugar is an energy source, the preferred source by your body, and the only one your brain can use, why would you substitute? That's like running a gasoline powered car on diesel.


    ^^^^this
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    Don't use them - doesn't seem like a good idea to willingly ingest chemicals into my body.

    I just try to avoid sugar. I do use small amounts of honey in plain all-natural yogurt to sweeten it up and a put a sprinkle of sugar on my shredded wheat. But that's pretty much it (besides the sugar in fruit). I don't eat baked sweets or candy, so I don't get sugar from those. I would rather not have them than have ones made with artificial sweetner. I guess there is also some sugar in my coffee creamer.....not willing to give that up! :)
  • Laurayinz
    Laurayinz Posts: 923 Member
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    I've gotten away from them, and now use plain white sugar, brown sugar, or honey in most things. I also have a bottle of agave but haven't used it. The calories aren't that bad when I'm only having 1 cup of coffee on the weekends, and maybe a few cups of tea during the week.
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
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    I've gotten away from them, and now use plain white sugar, brown sugar, or honey in most things. I also have a bottle of agave but haven't used it. The calories aren't that bad when I'm only having 1 cup of coffee on the weekends, and maybe a few cups of tea during the week.

    We picked up some Agave a few weeks ago and just opened it last week. Its delish! I used it in some tonic water with a lemon to make something different since I was wanting something more than water that evening with dinner.
  • lukybug
    lukybug Posts: 209
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    Stay away from them. If you must substitute your sugar, use Stevia/Truvia. Here's my views on fake sugar.

    One of the major functions of your liver is breaking down all foods you consume into their chemical substances.

    During this process the the liver filters out everything other than the nutrients your body needs. One part of what makes this process possible is bile, which the liver produces for this purpose. The job of bile is to break down fats and process the fats your body needs to assimilate fat-soluble vitamins.

    But what happens if your liver is so overwhelmed with toxins (everything your liver does not recognize as a NATURAL NUTRIENT it considers a toxin and attempts to filter out)? Your liver is too busy filtering out these toxins and cannot do an effective job processing the nutrients and fats your body needs, thus causing weight gain or the inability to lose weight!
    Another side effect of artificial sweeteners is an increase in appetite.

    I'm not going to bore you with the chemical details here, but in simplified terms, when the sweet substance is consumed it triggers the brain to think that nutrition for the body has appeared and needs to be processed. However, since artificial sweeteners are not recognized as nutrients, the brain receives another message, which is that more nutrients are needed to break down the waste and you stay hungry, thus eat more. I'm sure you can see where this ends up in terms of you trying to lose weight.

    Another one of the side effects of artificial sweeteners is an increase in the desire for sweet food. Artificial sweeteners are several hundred times sweeter than sugar itself, thus promoting a "sweet tooth" effect, resulting in sugar cravings. This is another dangerous territory if you are trying to maintain a healthy meal plan.
  • Karmynzahringer
    Karmynzahringer Posts: 192 Member
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    Splenda, sweet n low, and equal etc are all bad for you, and your liver processes them as toxins (which gives it less time to break down fats) I use local honey or in the mornings, I use just a little Stevia in the raw powder (still not the best in the world, but a huge step above the others I listed) and try to just stay away from sugar for the most part. Also artificial sugars can "trick" your brain into thinking you are getting sugar when you are not and mess up your metabolism.
  • lruff1987
    lruff1987 Posts: 263 Member
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    POISON!!! Artificial sweeteners are so bad for you! It's safer just to have sugar! Personally, I don't eat any sugar. Instead, I find sweetness in fruit and sometimes if I need something a little extra, I'll use Stevia. But not the Stevia they sell at grocery stores, because that still has crap in it. I buy the SweetLeaf brand. It comes in lots of different flavors too.
  • MattGetsMad
    MattGetsMad Posts: 429 Member
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    on to a less controversial topic: Pit Bull Dogs, vicious killers or misunderstood house pets?
  • Jill_newimprovedversion
    Jill_newimprovedversion Posts: 988 Member
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    I, along with a LOT of people I know personally- have BAD reactions to Nutrasweet (aspartame)
    and Splenda (sucralose)......for me, *instant migraine* and *loose stools*, respectively.

    NOT worth it.

    bettter to log a *few carbs* and NO calories and go with a NATURAL plant sweetener
    such as Stevia- MY personal favorite.

    and BTW, if you're concerned about chemically engineered sweeteners- watch out for HighFructoseCornSyrup-
    many manufacturers offer a variety of their food products WITHOUT it.
    just my extra 2 cents' worth
  • lruff1987
    lruff1987 Posts: 263 Member
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    I, along with a LOT of people I know personally- have BAD reactions to Nutrasweet (aspartame)
    and Splenda (sucralose)......for me, *instant migraine* and *loose stools*, respectively.

    NOT worth it.

    bettter to log a *few carbs* and NO calories and go with a NATURAL plant sweetener
    such as Stevia- MY personal favorite.

    and BTW, if you're concerned about chemically engineered sweeteners- watch out for HighFructoseCornSyrup-
    many manufacturers offer a variety of their food products WITHOUT it.
    just my extra 2 cents' worth

    My dad had the same reaction to Splenda!! He tried to use it instead of sugar and it gave him a major headache and he got the shakes and was all panicky. Ugh. So bad!

    Totally agree on the Stevia thing too. Great stuff! I love using the Chocolate stevia, Lemon Drop stevia, and Vanilla Creme in my plain greek yogurt. Just a few drops and it is YUMMY! :)
  • tnrunningnurse
    tnrunningnurse Posts: 549 Member
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    Great responses everyone. I do not do any artificial sweetners and I avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup like the plague.
  • llgg1977
    llgg1977 Posts: 2 Member
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    I used to be addicted to Splenda. Now I just use Coffee Mate Fat Free Vanilla-Caramel Creamer.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    Aspartame has been great for me. Replaced the sugar from my 10-12 cups of tea a day, and have never felt better! :D
  • Emily_Katherine
    Emily_Katherine Posts: 150
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    I drink diet pop with artificial sweeteners, and occasionally have jello or yogurt that contain them. I don't bake with artificial sweetener because it doesn't taste quite the same, but I do use it sometimes when I make lemonade. In general I prefer less sugar to artificial sweetener, but personally I do not see it as poison.
  • wriglucy
    wriglucy Posts: 1,064 Member
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    I have no problem with them. People say poison, but then again....anything we do can be considered bad for us if we do it too much. I'm sticking with the everything in moderation.

    If someone has a fear of using real sugar because of the calories, then I think there may be a problem there....but using it to flavor coffee or tea or something here and there...no biggie in my opinion.
  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
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    Poisons!

    Did you know Splenda is made from regular sucrose treated with CHLORINE? Toxic!

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