Sweeteners..... Curbing That Sweet Tooth One Chemical At A Time

[Coopsy91]

What are everyone's opinions of artificial sweeteners?

Ive never been a big sugar eater, i was always the kid actively avoiding fizzy drinks etc but now since my Type 1 diagnosis ive turned to sweeteners in my time of a sweet need.
Usually i have two cups of tea per day, each with 2x sweetex tablets. Now im becoming aware of the fact that this is some artificial chemical tricking my body into thinking its sweet, if i keep this up for years and years will these chemicals have an effect on me?

Ive only ever heard bad things about Aspartame, and Stevia........ well who actually likes the taste of stevia....... So sodium saccharin was my chosen vice.

I remember reading an article about sweeteners and the effect they have on the body, tricking your system into pumping more insulin to counter the "supposed" sugar intake but i guess thats not a concern for me anymore haha


Any thoughts? or even recipe ideas for sweetness......

 

[urbanracer]

As somebody who got used to taking 5 teaspoons of sugar (that's not a typo) in a mug of tea, I am struggling to wean myself of hot sweet drinks. I am down to 1-1/2 Sainsbury own brand sweetener which is sucralose based.

I too am wary of aspartame although I know that the health scares have been scientifically debunked over recent years. I'll probably get off the pills eventually, but not today.

 

[ThePenguinPimp]

I love my sweeteners.. I squeeze half a lemon and half a lime into a pint of water, add a capfull of apple cider vinegar (all very healthy) then add (and everytime I feel like I'm undoing all the healthy benefits of the rest of the concoction) 3 teaspoons of granulated sweetener (variety changes depending on where I shop) and 4 drops of caramel stevia sweetner..

In my coffee or tea I have 4 teaspoons or 4 tablets of sweetener..

I don't even like sugar in my drinks but feel like I need my sweeteners..

 

[db89]

Intriguing how we're all different. Whilst I enjoy something sweet to eat from time to time my tea can only be described as bridging the gap between black and builder's brew.

I do drink Coke zero having never liked the original red variety. I've seen it noted once or twice on this forum that some people can see a blood glucose reaction to these drinks but I've never observed a noticeable difference.

 

[Sani Thomas]

I used to live on coffee with milk and three sugars and a sandwich a day before diagnose. So I had to turn to sweeteners. I did not like the taste in the beginning, but now I'm used to it. I still drink my coffee very sweet although using only sweeteners.
When people argue about sweeteners, they talk about chemicals. But all around is chemicals, including ourselves. So it is better to look at the effects a substance has on the body. I had a discussion with the dietician of my diabetic team. They assured me that all and any sweeteners sold in Britain have been thoroughly tested and are safe. I'm inclined to believe her, rather than some rumours.
The sweeteners trick only the sensory cells for sweetness, so I think they do not exactly treat the body. The sensors send signals to the brain, but at the same time sensors in digestive system and blood vessels send signals that there is no sugar. So the first signals satisfy the body's award receptors making you feel good, while the second make sure that no insulin is released onto the blood stream.
I have no idea if I'm right but I'm basing my reasoning on what I know of human physiology.

 

[bulkbiker]

I had a discussion with the dietician of my diabetic team. They assured me that all and any sweeteners sold in Britain have been thoroughly tested and are safe. I'm inclined to believe her, rather than some rumours.

Safe in that they should not kill you by poisoning you maybe. However I doubt any of them have been tested to see if you get an insulin response from them.
Also whilst I agree the body is smart I'm not sure it is smart enough to know that a sweet trigger in the mouth and head isn't really "sweet". Certainly I have seen people testing the impact of various sweeteners on the blood sugar levels which would lead me to think that there may well be an insulin response.