Artificial sweeteners do give migraines, my neurologist told me so. He was not sure about monk fruit but noticed that his wife uses it too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't stevia a natural plant?

So is sugar. “Natural” doesn’t mean totally non-problematic. (And I’m drinking a Mexican coke right now, so I don’t hate sugar, but I’m only going to drink half and this will be the only added sugar I have today).

Ok…but the topic is your opinion on artificial sweetener, in which a couple people brought up stevia.

Sorry, should have circled that square. Stevia is pretty processed, so though it comes from a leaf, so does sugar, so does HFCS. HFCS is processed to the point that it’s not natural despite coming from a plant and it could be argued that stevia is in the same league. Plus, for those of us not hailing from South America, it’s definitely a novel compound.

I avoid fake sugars as much as possible. Aspartame used to give me horrific headaches and they all - stevia, aspartame, Splenda, monkfruit - have a weird slippery-greasy-astringent feeling on the tongue.

Funny I always noticed aspartame gave me headaches but I thought I was a crank

If your sources are saying it works because it doesn't get into the bloodstream, those are not reliable sources in any way.

Erythritol - all I can say is do your own research. I read, I reviewed, I googled and read about side effects, blood sugar effects, insulin effects, is it good, is it bad, is it a hoax, is it natural, who’s profiting, reviews of people who have used it, people who like it, people who had gastric issues, people who were meh. Decided it was worth trying.

How it works going into and absorbed thru intestines - I dunno. But that’s what everything I found consistently said. It’s approved for diabetics. Some keto people use it as it supposedly doesn’t cause blood or insulin spikes. Again, is it good or bad? so far no reports of people growing an extra thumb. I use it because it has no weird taste or after taste, no calories, is the only ingredient, doesn’t seem to give me a sugar high and then drop, and no ill or side effects.

Was just giving people a possible alternative to look into. Shrug. They can look into it or use or not. Just passing on what has been working for me.

Going to now research difference between being beamed vs taxi. And if either care absorbed in my intestines.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally think they are healthy, all the studies that show that they aren’t just seem like bad studies to me. And stevia seems great.

But I *swear* they increase my appetite. Even stevia. So I avoid them even though studies say they don’t have an impact on appetite. Maybe it’s a placebo thing. I just eat the sugar/honey/maple syrup.

Not placebo. There are studies that artificial sweeteners cause insulin response similar to regular sugar. higher insulins -> lower sugar -> increased appetite

This. Your body recognizes it as sweet and is triggered the same as if it was sugar. At least that's what I've read in several books and the internets.

I've been using erythritol, which is found is in some fruits and other fermented foods like cheese, and is a considered a sugar alcohol. But it doesn't cause an insulin spike because it's quickly absorbed in your intestines and then excreted in your urine and therefore doesn't get into your bloodstream. That's also why it's zero calories.

It seems to cause some digestive issues for some people, gas, bloating, diarrhea. I haven't had any problems, but I use one heaping (HEAPING) tablespoon in coffee when I have it, and occasionally a pinch over some blueberries or something like that if they're too tart. Other than that, I don't use much sugar at all except occasionally when cooking. Anything more than a few tablespoons, I use regular sugar.

What?

Where does it go when it is "absorbed in your intestines," and how does it get to the urinary tract from there, if not transported via the bloodstream?

Is it directly beamed there? Takes a taxi?

Compared to what? Compared to water, diet soda is worse. Compared to regular soda or a milkshake, better.

From Post nutritionist columnist Tamar Haspel:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/the-case-for-diet-soda-it-gets-a-bad-rap-but-the-research-tells-a-different-story/2019/06/21/70ad3f54-92da-11e9-b570-6416efdc0803_story.html

"..if there’s some evidence that they can help at least a little with weight loss, and evidence for harm is practically nonexistent, why oppose them? “Because they’re only in crap.”

In a nutshell, this explains the hostility. Low-calorie sweeteners represent just about everything that’s wrong with our diet. They’re mostly synthetic. They play to the human preference for sweetness, which manufacturers leverage to sell us more, and then more again. A good chunk of the research is industry-sponsored. And they’re mostly in highly processed foods — or, as Gardner puts it, “crap.”

We’re supposed to eat food, not too much, mostly plants. We’re supposed to turn it into home-cooked meals, with which we drink water. I’m on board! I’m squarely in the processed-food-causes-obesity camp. But given how far Americans are from these goals, should we let perfect be the enemy of perfectly okay?

People don’t want to drink water. They want to drink soda. But the attitude in the nutrition community isn’t just that you shouldn’t drink soda — regular or diet — it’s that you shouldn’t even want to drink soda. It’s puritanical, holier-than-thou and breathtakingly condescending.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gross and train you to crave sweets.

That's what people say. It's all I use now. 2 equals in my coffee. I don't crave sweets AT ALL.

I’m 2 Splenda in my one cup of coffee per day. Same as you, I don’t crave sweets.

Same here.

Bad for you. Don't help you lose weight AND gross.

Op here—thanks for all your input!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aspartame can lead to cancer.

According to a more reputable source then you, no link between aspartame and cancer has been found.
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/aspartame.html

Who cares, it still tastes revolting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't stevia a natural plant?

So is sugar. “Natural” doesn’t mean totally non-problematic. (And I’m drinking a Mexican coke right now, so I don’t hate sugar, but I’m only going to drink half and this will be the only added sugar I have today).

Ok…but the topic is your opinion on artificial sweetener, in which a couple people brought up stevia.

Sorry, should have circled that square. Stevia is pretty processed, so though it comes from a leaf, so does sugar, so does HFCS. HFCS is processed to the point that it’s not natural despite coming from a plant and it could be argued that stevia is in the same league. Plus, for those of us not hailing from South America, it’s definitely a novel compound.

I avoid fake sugars as much as possible. Aspartame used to give me horrific headaches and they all - stevia, aspartame, Splenda, monkfruit - have a weird slippery-greasy-astringent feeling on the tongue.

Not good overall, but that doesn't stop me from having a Coke Zero on occasion.

Anonymous wrote:Aspartame can lead to cancer.

According to a more reputable source then you, no link between aspartame and cancer has been found.
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/aspartame.html

Aspartame can lead to cancer.

I’ve cut way back on sweetener of any kind, but agree with PP that it’s a long process to retrain your taste buds. I’d cut back on added sugars over the years and switched to maple syrup and honey in baking, but still found myself craving sweets. I went completely cold turkey - zero sugar/sweetener of any kind except a little monk fruit in my coffee- and while it was VERY hard the first few weeks, it was the key to getting my health back. I lost the 15 lbs I’d been hanging onto for years faster than I’d ever lost weight, and without changing my workout routine. For me cravings happened mostly at night- it forced me to go to bed earlier. After a few weeks the cravings stopped altogether.