Sugar vs. Sweeteners

In my opinion, it depends on how you want to eat and what your focus is (losing weight or improving your diet or both) and if you have any other health issues going on.

I personally want to try to stick to whole foods (and cut out processed stuff) as much as possible so if I do treat myself to something with added sugar, I'll have go with fair trade sugar and try to get out for a long walk or something to help balance it. Some people are just focused on calories in/calories out so in their case, the 0 calorie sweetener might be preferred.

Have you tried stevia? It might be a good middle ground between the two.

In my opinion, if a person eats so much added sugar in a day that they need to find zero calorie alternatives, then that person is just ingesting WAY too much sugar and should take a good hard look at their overall diet. A teaspoon of real sugar has only 15 calories.

I prefer sugar, because it forces me to confront my dietary habits. However, if I'm at a barbecue or get-together, I'll stick to the Coke Zero. That's probably my most regular "cheat"... and I don't even get to enjoy calories out of it!