Comments on: Artificial Sweeteners Linked to Weight Gain

By: Carla

Carla — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 20:18:34 +0000

Interesting study results!! Did they say the quantity of artificial sweeteners the rats had in relationship to what a human would consume? For example, was it equivalent to 2 diet cokes a day for a human or 100 diet cokes per day for a human?

Thanks!

By: DaveC

DaveC — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:50:29 +0000

I have RSS feeds for five health/fitness blogs on my homepage and all but one of them featured this article. There’s some discussion on one of them that artificial sweetners and stevia (actually anything that taste sweets)somehow fool the body into an insulin response. It’s another one of those topics where the science is less than conclusive, and we are stuck to make choices with inconclusive data. Of course, choosing not to placate the old sweet tooth is probably the best answer, but that’s tough for some of us (me most assuredly included!). Again, Scott’s dictum to eat only “real food” is the safe bet!

By: Joe Matasic

Joe Matasic — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 15:08:22 +0000

I have been trying to cut back on Splenda in the coffee and other stuff. Really don’t use that much. What about natural sweeteners like oligofructose and erithrytol (which score almost zero on the glycemic index) or stevia. Do you think the body can tell the difference?

By: DaveC

DaveC — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:30:56 +0000

This one is not good news for yours truly. I have cut my diet soda consumption to five or less a week. However, one of the mainstays of my diet has been sugar-free popsicles for treats. I may have several over the course of a day. They’re only 10 calories a pop, but the only thing in them that isn’t artificial is water–the rest is a chemical cocktail I probably should be avoiding. Ugh. I’m going to have to ponder this one awhile–this could be the motivation I need to drop them as well.

By: Lemur

Lemur — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:40:38 +0000

Thanks for posting this, it reinforces my desire to kick the sugar habit for real. I was never one to rely on artificial sweeteners (never liked the taste), but I have noticed that if I do cave into a sugar craving & consume fruit or a little chocolate, it only increases the cravings until I’m forcing myself to say no at midnight.

I do put a bit of Splenda in my iced tea, at most 1/3 cup per pitcher. My husband likes it sweet, so sweet it will be.

That being said, I stopped drinking anything but water outside of the house, and only drink the tea I make at home. I used to be a chronic sweet tea addict, ordering it at any restaurant, thinking, “Well it’s got to be better than pop…” I quit when I realized the taste was always boring, overly sweet, and occassionally bitter. My own tea is far superior. I even make the sweet tea for family gatherings now, I’d rather take the time to do it myself than see a jug from Hardee’s on the table.

Thanks for explaining the tongue’s job in signaling the rest of the system to prepare for what’s coming. I had heard that before, but didn’t dwell on it, so it didn’t stick. Really makes saying no to even a bite of something bad a little easier. I feel like every time I say no to someone’s offer of “bad” food I am countered with “One bite won’t kill you”. I usually comply to avoid argument, but maybe now I’ll stand my ground because even one bite will set off a cascade of unnecessary reactions.