About a month ago, I quit drinking Diet Coke (I usually drank about 8-10 cans a day). I quit cold turkey and felt much better immediately and even lost weight without making any other conscious changes to my lifestyle.

So my question is, do you eat or drink artificial sweeteners? Do you like them? If you consume them, do you notice them having a positive or negative effect on you and your appetite?

By the way, I was shocked to find this statistic in today's New York Times: "only about 15 percent of Americans regularly consume beverages and foods that contain artificial sweeteners." I would have thought it would have been much, much higher.

http://www.nytimes.com/20...7brod.html

I really try to limit my use of artificial sweeteners - aspartame, in particular. The stuff can be bad for you on a number of levels.

A lot of people have an insulin response to aspartame - and I seem to be one of them. If the artificial sweetener causes me to release insulin, I might as well eat sugar. Sounds like that happened to you, too (since you dropped weight when you quit the diet sodas).

I find that aspartame gives me brain fog...can cause me to break out...and irritates my bladder. If I'm going to have a diet soda, I try to get one that comes out of a fountain because they use a mix of aspartame and saccharin in the fountain syrup for diet sodas.

Splenda doesn't seem to cause any of the above problems...so if I want a soda in a can, I try to keep it to Diet Rite (which uses Splenda exclusively).

If I want to sweeten tea or make hot chocolate at home, I use Truvia - which is a blend of stevia and erythritol (a sugar alcohol).

Never, if I can help it. Not only does it taste weird it makes me feel weird. I can't describe it but it makes me feel off. Can't imagine what long term use would do to me. I also think that usage percentage should higher. I wonder if they're including high fructorse corn syrup.

My parents use artificial sweeteners, but I like to stick to good old normal sugar. I do eat a little too much sugar, but I feel it gives me a boost when I´m feeling a bit lethargic. If I do have to much, I tend to start feeling really tired and am unable to focus on anything (ie.
computer screen). My dad is diabetic, so I really should eat less sugar and watch what I´m doing, but I think I´m ok. I don´t take excessive amounts and I don´t take it in coffee or tea. Your cold turkey effort has inspired me.. maybe I´ll think about cutting out sugar.. might actually lose a bit of weight at the same time!
[Edited 3/16/09 6:34am]

Genesia said:

Thanks for the info. I had no idea that "fountain pop" had a mix of aspartame and saccharin. Wow. I knew I always preferred it.

The bladder thing is so true for me too.

Since quitting the Diet Coke, I've been avoiding all artificial sweeteners and having sugar when I want something sweet. I'm glad to have the information about Truvia as a reference as I try to figure out my diet going forward. Thanks!

My mother uses abosolutely obscene amounts of Sweet N' Low

To the point where she puts it on things like ranch dressing and popcorn
I think it might have addictive properties.

I admit that I put Splenda in my coffee and tea though, but not too much

Efan said:

The reason they do that is because saccharin is a more stable sweetener.

Aspartame loses its sweetness with temperature (that's why you can't cook or bake with it). It has to be transported and stored under very controlled conditions. The saccharin is added as "insurance."

Genesia said:

This is what I drink too! I LOVE diet rite!

I do consume artificial sweeteners in some capacity, but not as much as I used to. When I switched from regular to diet soda I dropped weight, but I changed my entire diet and exercise level at that time as well. I switched to lots of "diet" things.

And now that I've gone back to more regular stuff, I've gained weight. It's a pretty simple equation for me. Calorie count matters most.

I realize everyone's experience may be different.

No - I tend to steer as far away from them as possible

Yeah, I drink two cups of coffee a day and each one has one Equal packet in it.

I drink about one soft drink a day, or every other day, but never the diet stuff.

I love splenda...I hardly ever drink soda but I drink a lot of crystal light.

CarrieLee said:

Me too - I've always got Crystal Light at my house. The Pomagranate/Cherry one is my new fave.

I do, but I've limited the amount I use considerably. I almost exclusively drink unsweetened tea and water. I like the extra large McDonald's ones. I used to use 3 Equals in them, but now I'm down to one. And on occasion, I won't use any at all. I'm growing more and more to like the taste without the sweetener.

I try not to eat ANY sugar.....so I've swaped it out with splenda. Just in my coffee, and tea and then I'll drink like 2 diet cherry pepsi's a day.

I didn't care for the taste at first, but now I like it, and now I can't stand the taste of real sugar in my coffee.

Next to go is the cream. All greamers have partially hydrogenated oils of some sort in it, and thats just as bad as the sugar. I love cream in my coffee though. Do you know any creamers with out it??

Hell no! It tastes disgusting and it's just a decoy for human organism

TotalANXiousNESS said:

There are some soy based creamers that are lower in the hydrogenated oils. You could also try powered milk.

we are all about splenda here. A lot of sprite zero.

But if you have diabetics in the family, watch out for the "sugar free" that have high sugar alcohol. it is harder for your body to process that then regular sugars if you are diabetic..

I use Equal

bluesbaby said:

Sugar alcohol can have other side effects.

WellInever said:

Sugar is the devil. (In a BAD way, that is)

No. I don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners so I just use sugar but watch my intake.

Splenda can give a person cramps and the runs if you consume too much of it.

StephaniePlum said:

I didn't like the taste at first either. The "anal leakage" and cramps fade with time too.

I swear I will never go back to sugar. It is addicting and awful for our bodies. And while I know splenda is too, I'd just rather not go through the terrible side affects sugar has on us ever again. I've weaned my kids off of the stuff too.

thekidsgirl said:

Dear God, that is VILE

Mach said:

Me too. I don't like how they taste.

I don't know. What might I find them in? I don't really drink sodas. Would they be in packaged gyoza or maybe a microwavable pasta meal? I take it they're not in 100% fruit juice cartons or beer. That's about all I drink that comes pre-packaged, along with bottled water. I just drink water and loose tea mainly.

I generally stay away from the artificial sweeteners. Honey is my go-to. Unrefined raw sugar is the close second. When I do eat the artificials, though, I haven't noticed any side effects. They just taste weird.
[Edited 3/7/09 20:17pm]

CalhounSq said:

now I am hungry for popcorn.hold the sweet N Low...

No. I also try to avoid sugar as well. I drink tea and water.
I also avoid any carbonation, for the most part. They say it pulls calcium out of the bones.

Ha! ppl say that natural sugar is addicting. Artificial sugars are addicting and bad for you.
If I add sugar to anything I used unrefined unbleached sugar.
I read labels on everything I buy because I am finding them adding Aspartame to everything these days.
Nasty, nasty stuff.

Why would anyone choice something man made, synthetic over something natural?

I don't get it.

How or why did you drink 8 to 10 cans of cola in a day?? I would think that amount would make anyone's system messed up.