Re: 's motd Monday February 28, 2011

[Guest guest]

This is a good post. I am also on the fence with A/S. My only intake of it is in diet Pepsi, I use stevia otherwise. I am not much into the sweet tastes of things, and even as a diabetic, I can handle a very small amount of sugar or honey (tsp or so) in a day. I am working up to giving up diet Pepsi, as I feel it is important for my health overall. My husband is addicted to sweets and needs them everyday. His addiction to diet Pepsi is incredibly strong and even though we both know that once we get back to Denmark, we cannot afford it. It’s extremely expensive there and we will be pensioners.

While I can manage to stick to 2 cans of diet Pepsi's a day, I really would like to give it up. My reluctance is a sure sign of addiction too!

From: Sue in NJ

Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 3:36 AM

~100-plus ; ~RSDeal ; ~TheFoodmovers

Subject: 's motd Monday February 28, 2011

YOU SWEET THING!

Monday, 28 February 2011

Do you know the history of artificial sweeteners? Well, let me tell you. Artificial sweeteners were originally created mainly for those people who could not use regular sugar. I'm talking about diabetics. See, if a diabetic uses regular sugar, they can get sick or end up going into a diabetic coma.

One of the first artificial sweeteners was a product called cyclamate and it had just about zero calories. Later on came all of those diet soft drinks we've been talking about lately in my daily messages. Artificial sweeteners became like the little "miracle" for those people who wanted to lose weight.I saw a cartoon in a magazine many years ago. It was of an overweight lady, having a huge hot fudge sundae and between bites, she was asking for a pack of artificial sweetener for her cup of coffee. I had to laugh.These days, a lot of people are addicted to artificial sweeteners. Oh, they use them in everything from cooking, to sprinkling them on their morning bowls of cereal and adding it to their coffee or tea.Every now and then, I'll receive an E-mail from someone asking what I think of artificial sweeteners. Well, I have to say that I'm kind of on the fence about them. Yes, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has approved several artificial sweetners and I'm sure you see them in your supermarket every time you go. The FDA reached the conclusion that with "normal use," they don't pose a health risk. But remember, this is the same FDA that approved the diet pill that ended up causing people liver and kidney problems or sent them to the bathroom a lot for, shall we say..."other issues." (If you know what I mean.) So honestly, I don't know if I'm ready to completely trust the FDA on this one, just yet.

A lot of researchers have been doing more tests on artificial sweeteners. See, they're still concerned that, in the long term, that is, over the course of a person's lifetime, using these sweeteners may indeed lead to cancer or other health problems. So, in my mind, the jury is still out.Now you know what my "middle name" is, don't you? It's MODERATION. It's all about how much you use artificial sweeteners. As I pointed out, the FDA talked about "normal use" of these sweeteners not being a problem. But really, what qualifies as "normal use?"When I first tasted an artificial sweetener, it had kind of a metallic taste to me. Years ago, people complained about their bitter aftertaste. But lately, their taste has improved. And I'm telling you, it seems that every other month, a new low-calorie artificial sweetener is introduced to the market. (Gosh, how many are there now?)

Oh how we Americans love our sweets, don't we? But when it comes to artificial sweeteners, we have to be careful with them. I mean, let's face it, we're still not 100% confident on how truly safe they are.And by the way, if you're not diabetic, there's nothing wrong with having a little sugar on occasion. Again, it's all about portions. It's about how much you use real sugar. On my FoodMover, if you have four teaspoons of sugar, you have to close one fruit window. So see, you can have a little sugar every now and then. But one more time, you just have to be careful with how much.

When you're having sugar or using one of those artificial sweeteners, I want you to remember my middle name...moderation!Love,

[Guest guest]

On 2/28/2011 8:22 AM, i Mouse wrote:

>  My only intake of it is in diet Pepsi,

Back when I was a kid, saccharin was the artificial sweetener of

choice. I remember getting a tiny pill case, similar to those people

with heart conditions stored their nitroglycerin tabs in, to carry

my saccharin tabs around in from the time I was about 5 years old

and up. When Sweet and Lo came out in those cute little pink

packages my world changed - everyone was now using the same stuff I

had, I no longer had to sneak it around. Even diet sodas back then

had saccharin, and it was the only soda I was allowed to have and

only once a week, not multiple times a day like people drink sodas

nowadays.

Then that silly study came out saying saccharin caused bladder

cancer. The general public then, like now, only read the headlines

and not the study itself, and decided Oh! This stuff causes cancer!

Don't touch it any more! when in actuality it said something like if

you drink the equivalent of 800 cans of soda an hour, 24 hours a

day, for X number of years, then there's an increase risk of bladder

cancer. Eventually people read the fine print and saw that saccharin

was safe, but it was too late - the item was not branded and made

taboo. I learned to drink my tea and coffee without any sweeteners

and gave up all sodas.

Other artificial sweeteners were now being developed to pick up the

slack.

And they all taste horrible and have side effects far worse than

those saccharin had. One made from formaldehyde, another bleached

something or other, another from sugar itself but chemically

altered. And they all was proud of the fact that they tasted many

times sweeter than sugar. Way too sweet for my tastes.

A few years ago agave syrup was big as a replacement. Same calories

as sugar but less effect of blood sugars. I wasn't too fond of the

taste

>I use stevia otherwise.

Then stevia came into prominence in the US. There's whole leaf, bits

of leaf, liquid, crystalline. I tried them all, a very expensive

experiment. I found every one bitter, not sweet. I read not too long

ago a study that said some people only taste the bitterness and not

the sweetness of it, and companies are aware of that and are

developing bitterness-blocker chemicals to add to stevia. So much

for a "pure and natural" sweetener.

  > and even as a diabetic, I can handle a very small

amount of sugar or honey (tsp or so) in a day

In my case it's not diabetes but hypoglycemia, sometimes fasting but

when I had it bad it was reactive, when my blood sugar after eating

certain foods would crash down to below fasting levels. I could

always tolerate a bit of sugar, even honey and syrup, but fruit

sugars would cause drastic crashes. Even now, 27 years after my

first hypo crash which sent me to the ER not knowing what was

happening, if I eat too much fruit or the wrong kinds I'll get a

reaction. I limit myself to a bit of dried fruit in my morning

oatmeal (old fashioned oats made with water and nothing else) and my

daily banana. Without that banana I get horrible foot cramps so I

eat it after my dinner, the meal I have most of my daily protein in.

No hypo problems eating it that way.

> I am working up to giving up diet Pepsi, as I feel

it is important for my health overall.

I stopped drinking diet sodas when they took out the saccharin and

started putting Splenda in them. I would get headaches, dizzy

spells, even brain fog after drinking it. Now, maybe twice a year I

have a yen for the taste of soda and will take a sip from my

husband's once a week can of Coke. That sip is more than enough for

me - tastes like plain Coke syrup we used to get at the local soda

fountains, the soda flavoring that the carbonated water is added to

to make a glass of soda at an old fashioned soda fountain. Do they

still have those things anywhere? Coke syrup was what all the local

moms would give their kids when they had an upset stomach if ginger

ale didn't do the trick. The fountains would sell it by the ounce in

tiny bottles as if it were a liquid medicine. It helped that many of

those old fountains were located in drug stores.

Sue in NJ

[Guest guest]

We still have saccharin pills in Denmark, my father likes one in his coffee, although I have no idea why, he eats sugared desserts. He’s not diabetic. Just likes the taste, and it does come in a tiny container. P-piller is Danish for “the pill†to prevent pregnancy, and he loves to call his saccharin his P-piller. Weird, I know.

Yes, I agree that the whole A/S thing is out of hand an who knows the long term affects of them. The addicting quality of diet Pepsi is that since I can’t drink much, that tart taste refreshes my mouth more than water does. I think plain soda water would do the same, I do like it and have switched to it before. I think I will attempt to give it up on the next home time. I enjoyed reading your experience of A/S.

From: Sue in NJ

Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 10:02 AM

100-plus

Subject: Re: 's motd Monday February 28, 2011

On 2/28/2011 8:22 AM, i Mouse wrote:

> My only intake of it is in diet Pepsi,Back when I was a kid, saccharin was the artificial sweetener of choice. I remember getting a tiny pill case, similar to those people with heart conditions stored their nitroglycerin tabs in, to carry my saccharin tabs around in from the time I was about 5 years old and up. When Sweet and Lo came out in those cute little pink packages my world changed - everyone was now using the same stuff I had, I no longer had to sneak it around. Even diet sodas back then had saccharin, and it was the only soda I was allowed to have and only once a week, not multiple times a day like people drink sodas nowadays.Then that silly study came out saying saccharin caused bladder cancer. The general public then, like now, only read the headlines and not the study itself, and decided Oh! This stuff causes cancer! Don't touch it any more! when in actuality it said something like if you drink the equivalent of 800 cans of soda an hour, 24 hours a day, for X number of years, then there's an increase risk of bladder cancer. Eventually people read the fine print and saw that saccharin was safe, but it was too late - the item was not branded and made taboo. I learned to drink my tea and coffee without any sweeteners and gave up all sodas.Other artificial sweeteners were now being developed to pick up the slack.And they all taste horrible and have side effects far worse than those saccharin had. One made from formaldehyde, another bleached something or other, another from sugar itself but chemically altered. And they all was proud of the fact that they tasted many times sweeter than sugar. Way too sweet for my tastes.A few years ago agave syrup was big as a replacement. Same calories as sugar but less effect of blood sugars. I wasn't too fond of the taste

>I use stevia otherwise. Then stevia came into prominence in the US. There's whole leaf, bits of leaf, liquid, crystalline. I tried them all, a very expensive experiment. I found every one bitter, not sweet. I read not too long ago a study that said some people only taste the bitterness and not the sweetness of it, and companies are aware of that and are developing bitterness-blocker chemicals to add to stevia. So much for a "pure and natural" sweetener.

> and even as a diabetic, I can handle a very small amount of sugar or honey (tsp or so) in a dayIn my case it's not diabetes but hypoglycemia, sometimes fasting but when I had it bad it was reactive, when my blood sugar after eating certain foods would crash down to below fasting levels. I could always tolerate a bit of sugar, even honey and syrup, but fruit sugars would cause drastic crashes. Even now, 27 years after my first hypo crash which sent me to the ER not knowing what was happening, if I eat too much fruit or the wrong kinds I'll get a reaction. I limit myself to a bit of dried fruit in my morning oatmeal (old fashioned oats made with water and nothing else) and my daily banana. Without that banana I get horrible foot cramps so I eat it after my dinner, the meal I have most of my daily protein in. No hypo problems eating it that way.

> I am working up to giving up diet Pepsi, as I feel it is important for my health overall. I stopped drinking diet sodas when they took out the saccharin and started putting Splenda in them. I would get headaches, dizzy spells, even brain fog after drinking it. Now, maybe twice a year I have a yen for the taste of soda and will take a sip from my husband's once a week can of Coke. That sip is more than enough for me - tastes like plain Coke syrup we used to get at the local soda fountains, the soda flavoring that the carbonated water is added to to make a glass of soda at an old fashioned soda fountain. Do they still have those things anywhere? Coke syrup was what all the local moms would give their kids when they had an upset stomach if ginger ale didn't do the trick. The fountains would sell it by the ounce in tiny bottles as if it were a liquid medicine. It helped that many of those old fountains were located in drug stores. :)Sue in NJ