I need to kick artifical sweetners HOW???

I weaned myself off of artificial sweetners on the advice of my nutrtionist. She claimed that the artificial sweetners just made you crave sugar more. She said your body craves sugar and when you try to fool it with artificial stuff it says"wait a minute I didn't get what I wanted and then it makes you crave it more". I don't know all the scientific stuff behind this ,but I do trust her advice. My one exception to this is my sugar free chocolate pudding as my dessert every night.. My doctor said that if this is the worst of it, not to worry. It was those 5 cups of coffee each day plus diet sodas. I bet I was doing 8 servings of equal and aspartame a day. I feel so much healthier I truly feel the difference. I first gave up cream in my coffee and then cut the packet down to a half , then a quarter. I found it so much more convenient to just go black without all the adding and stirring etc.. Now I add just skim milk or just black.I make myself a large pitcher of lemon and water and keep it in the frig for cool thirst quenching taste.

Hi ~ I have made lots of healthy changes during the past year. Losing weight, changing habits and loving exerise. I am so hooked on exercise I am always up for trying new things now that I have dropped some pounds! I think the next thing I need to look at is artifical sweetners. I know they are not good for you and I need to work on cutting back or cutting them out all together. I enjoy a Fresca a few times a week and put splenda in my coffee..I also enjoy crystal light, and once in awhile treat myself to a Weight Watcher ice cream. I have tried agave sweetner.....yuck!

Have you given up sweetners??? Looking forward to any tips you might have :happy:

Why? What evidence do you have that artificial sweeteners, in the absence of an allergy, are "not good for you?"

I have never been one to use artificial sweeteners much, as I just never learned to acquire a taste for them. However, I did quit sugar cold turkey for about 2 weeks last year. I found, as others have mentioned, that when I went back to it, I needed much less of it to be satisfied taste-wise. For example, i use about 1/3 the amount of sugar in my coffee now. Also, I dieted and went from an overweight range back down to a healthy weight range. After the "detox" described above, I just limited carbs and watched calories to lose the weight. During this diet, and ever since, I have consumed only real sugar and full fat goods (i.e. whole eggs, dairy, etc.) and maintained my weightloss! I have no science behind this, just my personal experience, but I just seem to be more satisfied. I just believe you should put things into your body that it can actually use for maintenance and energy. The allergies described in just this handful of ppl are evidence that these artificial things may not be good for the human digestive system. Even if some thing is "safe," that does not make it necessarily "good for you."

SO if some people are allergic to something, it's "not good for" the general population? Like say, cat dander, dust, and/or plant pollens, for instance, are "not good for you?"

Xylitol is good- try the brand called Ideal Sweetener. It tastes just like sugar and is natural.

Xylitol, like it's sister chemicals, mannitol, and sorbitol, is a sugar alcohol. It's a good sugar substitute, and it's proven to kill the bacteria that cause tooth decay--BONUS!--but in large quantities it can have a laxative effect.

Personally I don't see the point. Life has gotten be sweetened up somehow and real sugar adds too many calories and carbs. And contrary to popular belief, consuming artificial sugar does not make you crave real sugar.

The point to not using artificial sweeteners is HUGE! It's not about the calories it's about the foreign chemicals that you are putting into your body that your body does NOT know how to digest! It's like poison! So the best thing to do is either not use them at all or use good ole fashioned organic sugar in moderation. That is the only way to go for the most healthy choice and you will benefit so much from it! In my opinion artificial sweeteners should be banned and no longer allowed in stores. They are highly toxic! So unless you are detoxing constantly it's not a good idea. I would just stay away from them altogether. For example, Just drink your coffee black...that is what I do. I used to drink all those fancy coffees at starbucks and caribou but after changing my ways and my very bad habits I have learned to live a life without sweeteners and high calorie coffees. Once you get used to it, you will be fine and your body will thank you for it! )

sorry, but that's just not true!

Sorry but YES that IS true!!! Artificial sweeteners are toxic. Do your research!

I completely agree. I argue with people about this all the time. I have lots of nutritionists and various other people who tell me I'm wrong, yet they don't know the chemistry behind it. I know chemistry and I know some of the best industry experts in chemistry (who do the chemical engineering of things like artificial sweeteners) and a number of artificial sweeteners are very bad. That being said, there are actually good ones that have essentially no ill effect on the average human body. Even then, the good ones are often some pretty nasty chemicals that are only "safe" by virtue of their low solubility in our digestive system. It's just not worth it in my opinion. If I told you to swallow a container full of poison and said it's fine because your body won't open the container, would you still take it? I wouldn't. Especially when the container leaks...

If your body can't absorb something, it' can't absorb it. Period. Not like your leaky jar analogy, but not at all. So consuming it would be zero risk. Period.

And saying you "know chemistry" without showing your credentials doesn't prove you know anything at all about the topic of artificial sweeteners, nor does throwing out that you know "some of the best industry experts in chemistry" if you don't prove THEIR credentials. This is all hearsay and the available evidence contradicts it.

I use them all the time and I've used them since Equal came out in the 80's! The only problem I've ever had with them is this.. if I'm out of Splenda, Equal or whatever and I have to use regular sugar in coffee.. I have to put a ton of sugar in it to make it taste as sweet as the Splenda does. I think that solves the mystery of the 'sweeteners make you crave more sugar' theory! I don't crave it whatsoever, I just want my coffee to taste the same as it did yesterday. I solved that problem by not ever running out of Splenda!

Don't fear sweeteners. You will not die if you use them! If you prefer sweet tasting beverages and/or foods, use them instead of sugar! It's better for you than excessive calories, especially if you're like me and maintenance cals are UNDER 1200. I cherish my sweeteners as they allow me to eat more FOOD.

P.S. I'll also add that I'd be more worried about the toxins, pesticides, etc. in the FOOD you eat rather than something that has been proven to be safe to eat. I live in farm country and all summer long we hear the cropdusters spraying our country's supply of green beans, sweet corn, peas, cabbage, etc. These are big companies like Green Giant, Del Monte, Stokelys and Libbys! Worry about that instead.

I'd also like to add that all sugars, (unless you eat raw, not fitered and pasteurized honey), are processed. How does the stevia leaf turn into a granular form? Sugar comes from a cane. Have you ever seen how it's processed?? It's gross and I wish I had never seen it done.

Just use what works for you. If you truly want to stop using them, gradually phase them out one at a time and/or replace them with fruit sugars. I use strawberries and/or bananas to sweeten my oatmeal and smoothies. It tastes better too!

Good luck

I don't use artificial sweeteners anymore. Actually, I never liked the taste of them, so it wasn't that hard for me.

A few tips for the usual suspects:
I have one cup of coffee in the AM. I switched back to regular sugar. Then, I cut down the sugar. Now I add spice mixes to my coffee with no sugar (like pumpkin pie spice) plus 1 tbsp of real cream. Sometimes I add a bit of dark cocoa powder. I've read about coconut oil in coffee - but haven't tried that yet. I only drink really good coffee, freshly ground beans.

For other hot drinks - I drink fruit or herb tea with no sweetener or a bit of honey on occasion.

For soft drinks - I started with sparkling water mixed with small amounts of fruit juice. Now, sparkling water with fruit and/or mint. (Strawberries and mint with lots of ice and sparking water or, sliced lemon, lime and orange or sliced cucumber and slivers of melon).

I don't eat "diet" foods or bars - which usually use sweeteners. Instead, I've found raw fruit and nut bars or natural energy bars (if you're in the US, Whole Foods or maybe Trader Joe's or maybe even regular grocery stores might have them - haven't lived in the US for a while). Here in the UK, I eat "Nakd" bars. No gluten, no sugar. Just fruit and nuts and spices.

On the rare occasions that I bake - I use real sugar, but lower amounts. There are so many recipes on line that show you how to add nutrition to baked goods. I try to only have these in small amounts. Right now, I'm trying to lose weight and get blood sugar under control, so I really don't have baked goods.

Your taste will adjust. I bought a vegetable soup for lunch the other day and I couldn't eat it because it was SO sweet. Read the label, sure enough, sugar was one of the last ingredients listed. Yuck! Cream and butter and tomatoes (and so many other things) taste sweet to me, now, whereas they didn't before. So, the girl who loved syrups in her coffee now thinks it tastes great with some cinnamon and cream. Oatmeal? I don't add sugar of any type anymore - just cinnamon and 1/3 banana.

Have you given up sweetners??? Looking forward to any tips you might have :happy:

The best way to give up sweeteners is to give up the idea that everything in life needs to be sweet. That's the key to developing the willpower to avoid sicky sweet sugary junk when it is offered to you - because once you start tasting "sweet" less frequently, your cravings for it will drop off naturally.