Comments on: Pour Some Sugar On Me!

By: jenn

jenn — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 13:26:33 +0000

Awesome post, Annabel!
I agree with you – it is all about moderation. Too much of anything is not a good thing.
I use Splenda in my coffee, 2 packets a day.
I do want to use less aspartame, which means getting off of Crystal Light. I’m not a big fan of plain water, but I definitely feel the aspartame when I drink too much.
*Sigh*

By: Elina

Elina — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:48:07 +0000

I used to put splenda in everything – really it sounded like a dieter’s dream! But recently I started concentrating on the quality of ingredients/food I’m consuming and so Splenda got the boot. I don’t like stevia either (never even tried it!) because I feel like it’s the new and improved splenda of sorts… every time there is a new product, that seems better than the old one and after a few years it gets bad rap and there is a new better and improved savior. No thanks!

By: Quix

Quix — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:32:10 +0000

I have one decaf in the morning with one splenda and some powdered nofat cream. The rest of the day, I might have half a diet soda or a little crystal light, but I try to stay away from the stuff as much as possible. Most of the time it’s water for me. But given the choice between something with calories and something without, I will always choose the something without.

By: Shellene

Shellene — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:52:27 +0000

Went through this same debate/struggle this year and finally decided on very small amounts of sugar rather than fake stuff. By the way, I live in the same town as the splenda factory and my husband happens to be an industrial electrician who has worked with many men who have worked in the splenda factory. They (the electricians from the splenda factory) would not dare eat splenda and to quote, “some areas of the plant were off limits to humans because of the toxicity of the process/ingredients.” That was enough for me. My motto- “as close to the way God made it as possible.” Non-sweetened food, like oatmeal and coffee for instance, is an acquired taste. I would recommend decreasing fake sweetener slowly and then substituting with honey or agave or fruit.

By: Actual Scale

Actual Scale — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:14:53 +0000

I’m for moderation.

I know there is a lot of hype about the dangers of artificial sweeteners but I believe there are usually nuggets (maybe itty bitty) of truth mixed in with the wild accusations.

I prefer Splenda over the rest as it has less of an aftertaste to me.

That said, I do notice as I use it less frequently, that the aftertaste is becoming more pronounced. Similar to when you cut back on salt & rediscover the natural saltiness of certain foods.

I use it to sweeten iced tea, but that is a once in a while thing we drink.

Hmm, I think the main source of artificial sweeters for me would be some processed foods (sf/ff pudding for one), but once again, these are a few times a week versus a few times a day so I tend to shrug it off.

For my beloved coffee I still use my chemical laden Coffee Mate, but I only use 1 Tbs & then add a little fat free half & half to make it luxuriously creamy when I want a cup in the evening. Mornings I just add a Tbs of vanilla Coffee Mate – regular, not the sugar free – and greedily drink it down before the children realize I am not doing something ‘them’ related.

By: Jules

Jules — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:57:07 +0000

I use any artificial sweetner in moderation. That being said… i do try to avoid it. i always have and recently I decided to do some research to cut it out of my diet altogether and oh my. I’d have to be brining home more money than i do now, because I just can’t afford to cut it out. It’s in EVERYTHING!!! from vitamins to my favorite high fiber cereal to medicine. And some things… i just can’t afford on a stay at home mom salary. So, instead I’ve been choosing where I get it from. i’m very diligent at reading the lables and making the choice BEFORE I buy it. Do i want it from this source. It helps to eat like the Dr told me to, if it’s not in it’s most natural form possible from nature… Don’t eat it.

Frankly my take on the sugar vs artificial has ALWAYS been simple… if I’m gonna die from what i eat, good lord let it be natural because we all know Mary Poppins said it best: A spoon of sugar makes the medicine go down… all the better. A spoonful of artificial sugar in my mouth is just nasty. It’s a choice everyone should make on their own, but inform yourself so you know what you are deciding on.

By: Yum Yucky

Yum Yucky — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:53:57 +0000

Well it’s a big “No, thank you!” on those Splenda cons! It tastes nasty to me anyways. I only eat real sugar, and yes, moderation is key. Thanks for breaking this down!

By: Mrs. Myers @ Eat Move Write

Mrs. Myers @ Eat Move Write — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:05:22 +0000

Moderation says it all. It’s not good to eat tons of sugar because you’re afraid of other sweeteners. It’s also not good to eat tons of sweeteners because you’re afraid of sugar. The problem with stuff these days is almost always quantity. We (Americans especially) just don’t know how to stop.

By: Fat[free]Me

Fat[free]Me — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:40:42 +0000

I tend to avoid them because I can always taste them and even a moderate amount seems to upset my stomach. I have had my coffee black with no sweeteners for 25 years now, lol!

You can gradually wean yourself off sugar/subs in coffee by very gradually reducing the amount you put in every cup/mug.

I hope your mind isn’t too boggled now with all that research!

By: Marlan

Marlan — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:39:54 +0000

Quote: Just because a synthesized molecule is similar to a natural sugar molecule doesn’t make it safe. Just a one- or two-atom change makes a big difference when ingesting water versus hydrogen peroxide, beer versus wood alcohol, or carbon dioxide versus carbon monoxide.

Ummmm…. As somebody who has studied biochemistry extensively, I can assure you that this analogy is not as simple as you make it seem. You don’t just add an atom to an organic (carbon based) molecule — you add functional groups. Getting that extra H on a water molecule to form hydrogen peroxide is no simple task — the extra hydrogen doesn’t want to be there, which is why it is so reactive. Likewise, withCO2 (carbon dioxide) and CO (carbon monoxide) — one is formed during the respiration process in our bodies (the process of converting glucose into an energy form usable by our bodies) and the other from combustion process.

Again, same argument with alcohol. What most people don’t know is that alcohol in any form is poisonous to our bodies, even ethanol (the kind you drink). The toxicity problem is why we have a liver. Not just for alcohol, but for everything we ingest. Just grilling a chicken patty puts more toxins into what you eat than a few packets of artificial sweetner. Moderation is the correct answer — our body is designed to deal with a moderate concentration of toxins without a problem. So use the sucrolose in moderation and don’t worry — your body can deal with it.

As for the artificial sugars, I don’t use any of them. I don’t like the way they taste. I have come to appreciate the flavors of foods in their natural state — if they don’t taste good to me, I don’t eat them.