Flavored Water & Weight Loss? (Aspartame)
YoshiBF
Posts: 6
I hate drinking just regular water. The past couple of days, I've tried to drink nothing but regular water. However, whenever I try to drink regular water, since it doesn't taste good I don't remember to drink enough of it. I drink maybe 4 cups a day (half the amount you're supposed to I believe) on just water.
So just today I bought some water flavoring packets and I think they're great. One packet only adds 5 calories, and it has no sugars. It's called "Crystal Light Energy: Wild Strawberry"
From the title and label it looks like complete magic, adding flavors with no sugar or calories:
Calories - 5
Total Fat - 0g
Sodium - 0g
Total Carb - 0g
Sugars - 0g
Protein - 0g
Niacin - 10%
Vitamin B6 - 10%
Vitamin B12 - 10%
Biotin - 10%
Pantothenic Acid - 10%
However, when you take a look at the ingredients:
Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Aspartame, Caffeine, etc..
There's been controversial topics on whether Aspartame causes weight gain by storing fat. It is a substitute for sugar, as its much more sweet and contains no calories, but some people claim that it causes weight gain, and some say it doesn't.
What do you think about the subject? Should I try and continue drinking regular water or will I be fine with the flavored water?
So just today I bought some water flavoring packets and I think they're great. One packet only adds 5 calories, and it has no sugars. It's called "Crystal Light Energy: Wild Strawberry"
From the title and label it looks like complete magic, adding flavors with no sugar or calories:
Calories - 5
Total Fat - 0g
Sodium - 0g
Total Carb - 0g
Sugars - 0g
Protein - 0g
Niacin - 10%
Vitamin B6 - 10%
Vitamin B12 - 10%
Biotin - 10%
Pantothenic Acid - 10%
However, when you take a look at the ingredients:
Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Aspartame, Caffeine, etc..
There's been controversial topics on whether Aspartame causes weight gain by storing fat. It is a substitute for sugar, as its much more sweet and contains no calories, but some people claim that it causes weight gain, and some say it doesn't.
What do you think about the subject? Should I try and continue drinking regular water or will I be fine with the flavored water?
0
Replies
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I drink water with Crystal Light all the time and I've managed to lose 25lbs so far. The only time I have water without Crystal Light is when I work out because I prefer plain water while working out. Any other time, I drink it with Crystal Light.0
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I drink water with Crystal Light all the time and I've managed to lose 25lbs so far. The only time I have water without Crystal Light is when I work out because I prefer plain water while working out. Any other time, I drink it with Crystal Light.
Thank you. I'm going to continue drinking it with it as there is no evidence that it causes weight gain.0 -
I drink water with Crystal Light all the time and I've managed to lose 25lbs so far. The only time I have water without Crystal Light is when I work out because I prefer plain water while working out. Any other time, I drink it with Crystal Light.
Thank you. I'm going to continue drinking it with it as there is no evidence that it causes weight gain.
There might be evidence that it causes weight gain - I'm not a doctor or anything. I'm just saying, in my experience it hasn't prevented me from losing weight.0 -
same here... i use the hawiiaan punch and wyler packets... still manged to lose. im not to fond of the the taste of regular water either0
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There hasn't been any scientific proof that it causes weight gain in humans. If it helps you get your water in than keep on doing it!
If you're one that doesn't like the chemicals in it you can try things like decaf tea to make iced teas, lemon slices etc.0 -
I won't eat or drink ANYTHING that contains Aspartame! Or high fructose corn syrup!
Yes....BOTH of those nasty little ingredients spike the blood sugars much higher than normal...and when the high is gone....there is a blood sugar crash!
People with diabetes....and hypoglycemic problems should AVOID them at all costs!!!
Artificial sweeteners are 3 times MORE sweet than regular sugar. I don't care what anybody says....the body DOES NOT treat them the same as sugar! ESPECIALLY if you have the above-mentioned health issues!
I have found that when I used to eat products that had HFCS in them, I would continually crave more of it! And Aspartame gave me headaches!
If you don't have a sensitivity to caffeine...then it will be fine.
However.....if it gives you jitters, sweats, heart palpitations, or anything else that seems strange...STOP CONSUMING IT!!!!
Anyways...that's just my honest opinion!0 -
I heard it causes cancer! I avoid it like the plague
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I hate the taste of water...I just use a little Kool-Aid in my water...Either the to go packs or I make a big pitcher of it...I just don't use as much Kool-Aid as it says to...It's way less expensive than Crystal Light or any of the other flavors for drinks & it's really the same thing for cheaper...Hope this helps....
Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter0 -
I won't eat or drink ANYTHING that contains Aspartame! Or high fructose corn syrup!
Yes....BOTH of those nasty little ingredients spike the blood sugars much higher than normal...and when the high is gone....there is a blood sugar crash!
People with diabetes....and hypoglycemic problems should AVOID them at all costs!!!
Artificial sweeteners are 3 times MORE sweet than regular sugar. I don't care what anybody says....the body DOES NOT treat them the same as sugar! ESPECIALLY if you have the above-mentioned health issues!
I have found that when I used to eat products that had HFCS in them, I would continually crave more of it! And Aspartame gave me headaches!
If you don't have a sensitivity to caffeine...then it will be fine.
However.....if it gives you jitters, sweats, heart palpitations, or anything else that seems strange...STOP CONSUMING IT!!!!
Anyways...that's just my honest opinion!
Thank you for your opinion. I was waiting for somebody from the opposing side!
I don't have any problems with my blood sugar, I don't have diabetes, and no hypoglycemic problems.
It has been proven that it does cause addiction and cravings, which is never good: but it's better than drinking 6 cans of soda everyday like I did a month ago!
Thanks again though, and I'll keep a look out for those things.0 -
I LOVE Crystal Light!!! I drink that flavor, the wild strawberry, as well as others like the Peach Mango and Pomegranate Lemonade every day. I've been doing it for the past year and a half, and I've lost weight. So I think its ok 0
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^^ what spinqueen72 said.
And, yes, there is evidence that it causes weight gain. Not directly, as a calorie, but sideways, by increasing carb cravings.
http://blpublications.com/html/body_aspartame.html0 -
I drink a lot of flavored water too and have lost weight. I'll drink plain water after exercise and with meals when we eat out. I do not like plain water either.0
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I heard it causes cancer! I avoid it like the plague
i hate quotes like this.. everything causes cancer... always per some high school study0 -
BTW: water DOES NOT have a taste! Unless of course your drinking from a garden hose that's been left out in the sun!!!
Get a water bottle with a filter in it!
I have a WaterU Fresh Sip 20oz bottle. The concept is the same as the Brita filter water bottle...except the Fresh Sip bottle's filter in on the bottom of the straw. It lasts longer than the Brita....and it's cheaper than the Brita....especially the refill filter straws!! I also put fresh frozen fruits in my water. Or lemon & lime. Get creative....don't opt for chemically altered flavors to ruin the health benefits of plain old water!0 -
Drink whatever you want.
Aspartame is not evil. It's actually just protein. The entire conspiracy was started by some random woman (I don't remember her name) who launched a smear campaign in the 60's. None of her claims had any evidence to support them, and science has so far debunked them all. Unfortunately for aspartame, this woman was so thorough with her mailing lists and her campaigning, that people believed her, and still do to this day. Most of the anti-aspartame websites and emails out there are her pamphlets, almost word for word.
Caffeine isn't evil, either, for the record. You'd need to drink the rough equivalent of 14 cans of caffeinated soda to reach a dosage level that would have any kind of dehydrating effect. You'd also need to somehow NOT consume any of the water in those said sodas in order for it to have an effect. If you can figure out how to drink a Coke without drinking any of the liquid, I'd love to see it. :laugh: :drinker:
To be honest, even beer and wine hydrate you. They have such a relatively low alcohol to water ratio that the hydration power of the water more than offsets the dehydrating power of the alcohol. Otherwise, humans never would've made it out of the 1700's (beer was safer to drink than water in most cities back then, due to poor sanitation, so beer was typically what was drunk, more than any other drink.) :laugh:0 -
I drink Mio in my water. I find it tastes a little better than the powders and mixes very well. No effect on my weight loss sofar!
Diet soda, however, does make me retain a ton of water weight. Not saying it's bad, but I don't like seeing that much bloating.0 -
I have a friend that pissed me off with the Aspartame in drinks and cancer, so I looked it up. Basically I found out that it's inconclusive. Look up the aspartame controversy. I always have sugar free drinks since my father has diabetes.0
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I drink the crystal light iced tea packets for the water that I drink in the evenings and weekends. At work, I purchase boxes of things called "True Lemon". Each individual packet equals a lemon wedge. It is no calories all natural.0
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I heard it causes cancer! I avoid it like the plague
i hate quotes like this.. everything causes cancer... always per some high school study
yeah I heard that about red meat, cell phones...ect. I eat read meat and have a cell phone.. No cancer :-)0 -
BTW: water DOES NOT have a taste! Unless of course your drinking from a garden hose that's been left out in the sun!!!
Get a water bottle with a filter in it!
I have a WaterU Fresh Sip 20oz bottle. The concept is the same as the Brita filter water bottle...except the Fresh Sip bottle's filter in on the bottom of the straw. It lasts longer than the Brita....and it's cheaper than the Brita....especially the refill filter straws!! I also put fresh frozen fruits in my water. Or lemon & lime. Get creative....don't opt for chemically altered flavors to ruin the health benefits of plain old water!
but its still water in the end, do what ever you need to do to increase your fluid intake period0 -
I'm not sure if it causes weight gain. However, aspartame has been linked to infertility, it is linked to oesophageal cancer and is one of the ingredients used to preserve dead bodies!!!
Saying all that.....i love diet coke which contains aspartame and i love it!! :grumble:0 -
I won't eat or drink ANYTHING that contains Aspartame! Or high fructose corn syrup!
Yes....BOTH of those nasty little ingredients spike the blood sugars much higher than normal...and when the high is gone....there is a blood sugar crash!
People with diabetes....and hypoglycemic problems should AVOID them at all costs!!!
Artificial sweeteners are 3 times MORE sweet than regular sugar. I don't care what anybody says....the body DOES NOT treat them the same as sugar! ESPECIALLY if you have the above-mentioned health issues!
I have found that when I used to eat products that had HFCS in them, I would continually crave more of it! And Aspartame gave me headaches!
If you don't have a sensitivity to caffeine...then it will be fine.
However.....if it gives you jitters, sweats, heart palpitations, or anything else that seems strange...STOP CONSUMING IT!!!!
Anyways...that's just my honest opinion!
Thank you for your opinion. I was waiting for somebody from the opposing side!
I don't have any problems with my blood sugar, I don't have diabetes, and no hypoglycemic problems.
It has been proven that it does cause addiction and cravings, which is never good: but it's better than drinking 6 cans of soda everyday like I did a month ago!
Thanks again though, and I'll keep a look out for those things.
I used to use all those flavored packets (Crystal Light, Wyler's, etc) til I read the ingredients in them! I didn't want to put that garbage in my body...so I never wasted my money on them again!
I now put lemon or lime in my water...or even frozen fruits.
I have a Water U Fresh Sip 20oz filtered water bottle I fill up around 3-4 times a day. Filtered water definitely helps with the "taste" of regular water. I found it at Walgreens. The water bottle & filters are MUCH cheaper than the Brita...and easier to use!
Try one....you might be surprised that you end up liking water more!0 -
don't opt for chemically altered flavors to ruin the health benefits of plain old water!
pretty sure unless you are some kind of chemist or physicist and can change the properties of water you can't ruin the benefits of water with a packet of crystal light.
i love crystal light (store brand cause i'm poor)... i have found that the 10 calorie bottle of water is a great way to help me when i'm having a sweet craving. i'll take that over noshing a 200+ calorie candy bar.0 -
There is much controversy over Aspartame, if it works for you then great in my opinion. I personally avoid anything with artificial sweetners, and not because of ANY advertising, rumors, or anything on the internet. Personal experience....artificial sweetners cause me to have massive migraines. I used them for several years, and was going to the dr on a regular basis for migraine headaches. A nutritionist suggested I try one month without any artificial sweetners....at the time I made no other changes.....no more migraines. I haven't touched them since.0
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I don't drink Crystal Light any more, but that's just because I've come to not mind the plain water as much, haha. But I drank it quite a bit before, when I was training several years ago, and I lost 20lbs and body fat easily, without issue. I think it's one of those things that could cause issues if you weren't eating right and exercising outside of drinking it, but if you maintain everything else, I really don't think it would be a problem at all.0
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I drink Mio in my water. I find it tastes a little better than the powders and mixes very well. No effect on my weight loss sofar!
Diet soda, however, does make me retain a ton of water weight. Not saying it's bad, but I don't like seeing that much bloating.
That bloating would be from the salt they added in to the soda to make it taste better! Not to mention........sodium carbonate (carbonation) is nothing but chemically altered salt, that causes bubbling. Did you know that you can pour a can of Diet (or even regular) Coke down a clogged drain, and it will clean it? Or that some highway patrols use it to clean blood off of roads? gross, I know....but it's true! My brother is a cop. He's had to do it.0 -
There is much controversy over Aspartame, if it works for you then great in my opinion. I personally avoid anything with artificial sweetners, and not because of ANY advertising, rumors, or anything on the internet. Personal experience....artificial sweetners cause me to have massive migraines. I used them for several years, and was going to the dr on a regular basis for migraine headaches. A nutritionist suggested I try one month without any artificial sweetners....at the time I made no other changes.....no more migraines. I haven't touched them since.
You're right about that! It has been scientifically proven that artificial sweeteners do cause headaches. So anybody that has problems with headaches should stay away. I'm lucky enough to only have a headache about once every couple of months 0 -
I"ve been adding Mio to my water, too, and cutting down on my diet soda intake. I had one caffeine-free Diet Coke last night (I usually add some rum on weekends, but am trying to really be good until I meet my goal!), and this morning my weight was up a couple of ounces, which I attribute to bloating from the diet coke. There is a lot of sodium in soda (thus the name "soda"), so I think whatever helps me drink less of that and more water is a good thing!0
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I"ve been adding Mio to my water, too, and cutting down on my diet soda intake. I had one caffeine-free Diet Coke last night (I usually add some rum on weekends, but am trying to really be good until I meet my goal!), and this morning my weight was up a couple of ounces, which I attribute to bloating from the diet coke. There is a lot of sodium in soda (thus the name "soda"), so I think whatever helps me drink less of that and more water is a good thing!
There is almost no sodium in soda. This is a misnomer. Read the label.
What bloats you is the carbonation. I have the same problem with ginger ale an other carbonated beverages.0 -
I drink Mio in my water. I find it tastes a little better than the powders and mixes very well. No effect on my weight loss sofar!
Diet soda, however, does make me retain a ton of water weight. Not saying it's bad, but I don't like seeing that much bloating.
That bloating would be from the salt they added in to the soda to make it taste better! Not to mention........sodium carbonate (carbonation) is nothing but chemically altered salt, that causes bubbling. Did you know that you can pour a can of Diet (or even regular) Coke down a clogged drain, and it will clean it? Or that some highway patrols use it to clean blood off of roads? gross, I know....but it's true! My brother is a cop. He's had to do it.
Did you know that water also cleans blood off the highway?
Sheesh. There's almost no sodium in soda. It's right there on the label. Read it.
Baking soda also cleans up dirt quite well and I'll bet you use it in your baked goods and your toothpaste as well.
I hate scare tactics like this. You can't find a single study showing reasonable intake of aspartame or diet soda causing any deleterious effects on human beings.0
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