Not to mention the aftertaste or all the bad things some of the artificial sweeteners and genetically altered corn sweeteners do to your body... What most people totally refuse to understand is that artificial sweeteners should ONLY be used by people who CAN'T eat sugar... I have been known to totally freak out when I see a Mother buying sugar free gum and candy for their children...

Rita

I am guilty of using sweetener in my coffee and tea. And I drink diet soda when I drink soda.
I know I shouldn't, like people who take medication and still drink. I guess I am just as bad.
One t of sugar wouldn't do it for me, unless it was a small cup.

Another one who's guilty. I love Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi.

/t

I use Sweet & Low in my iced tea. Only because sugar doesn't dissolve in a cold drink!

::: raising hand ::: me too. I use 2 pks of splenda in my coffee everyday, drink diet cokes, chew sugarfree gum.

1 tsp of the real stuff wouldnt do it for me either in my coffee unless it was in a shot glass...I love it sweet!

But you know what? I dont like the taste of regular soda; it's too syrupy tasting to me. I much prefer diet drinks.

I tried that natural sweetener, Stevia, no likie.

I have been known to totally freak out when I see a Mother buying sugar free gum and candy for their children.

A friend once gave me a gum. When I started to get a headache, I asked her if it was a sugar-free gum. Sure enough it was! My daughter used to chew gum but now ALL gums have aspartame, etc., so she no longer chewes gum.

I refuse to allow her to drink or eat anything that says "diet". It's just not healthy. You're better off to eat a small amount or none at all than to eat some "diet" product.

Here's some info on Aspartame (NutraSweet) from a book I have entitled "Prescription for Nutritional Healing", America's #1 Guide To Natural Health.

- Because it is about 200 times sweeter than sugar, much smaller amounts of aspartame are needed to sweeten the taste of foods.

- Aspartame consists of 3 components: amino acids phenylalanine and aspartic acid, and methanol, which is also knows as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol.

- Consumption of aspartame in sodas, for instance, appears to cause a flooding of the amino acids in the bloodstream (a prompt rise that does not occur after the ingestion of dietary protein). This rise, it is believed, may cause problems.

- A significant number of people have reported suffering ill effects as a result of aspartame consumption. Reported reactions include headaches, mood swings, changes in vision, anusea dn diarrhea, sleep disorders, memory loss and confusion, and even convulsions. Aspartame appears to be especially dangerous for children.

- Needless to say, if you have experienced a reaction to aspartame, you should refrain from using foods that contain this additive. Better yet, avoid all additives, and enjoy a diet rich in fruits and fresh juices. These foods are naturally sweet, free of artificial coloring and preservatives, and full of the nutrients needed for good health.

(**A friend of ours has MS. His father was diabetic so every thing the family ate while he was growing up had aspartame. He seriously thinks that this is what led him to develop MS. I've seen info on this too.)

- Sugar is derived from natural sources. Additives like aspartame are made synthetically.

- At their best, additives and artificial ingredients simply add little or no nutritional value to a food product.

- At their worst, additives pose a threat to your health. The history of additive use includes a number of products that were once deemed safe but later were banned or allowed to be used only if accompanied by warnings.

I use Sweet & Low in my iced tea. Only because sugar doesn't dissolve in a cold drink!

All you have to do is dissolve the sugar in a small amount of hot water (use a small amount of the water called for in the recipe and heat it up in the microwave), then you add the rest of the ingredients for the iced tea.

Our dentist recommends we chew sugarless gum. Isn't that wild?

Khandi, I've done that with iced tea for my hubs and son. But when we're at a restaurant, hubs uses artificial sweetener because it'll dissolve faster.

I wonder which aspartamine is wild caught or farmed.

Just kidding.

I don't drink much soda (I prefer tap water, or distilled), diet or otherwise. I don't like the whole list of the label contents, plus I hear the C02 isn't so good for our bones.

I'm also with the camp of real sugar vs. a substitute, but one day I may change due to other health factors.

For now I'm eyeing agave syrup/nectar - it dissolves in cold drinks (here comes summer!).

Agave syrup - pros

Agave syrup - cons (Raw food industry slant)

I do enjoy sugarless gum. Keeps me awake during opera nights.

jessyf - We've used agave nectar as our primary sweetener for years and have adapted it to all baking and cooking. The only thing I use white sugar for is one batch of Mamie Eisenhower's Million Dollar Fudge at Christmas.

I just ordered a years worth of Madhava Organic Raw Agave Nectar from Amazon.com the other day (Pack of two 46-oz bottles for $19.60 - I got 4 bottles total).

-Grainlady

Nice idea khandi but unfortuately that won't work in a restaurant.

I won't argue the dangers, real or not, of sweeteners. But I will say that sugar is not exactly natural, it's processed to get it to be in the form we buy it. So when you say, "Sugar is derived from natural sources. Additives like aspartame are made synthetically" just exactly how do you differentiate the processing sugar gets from the process any other sweetener gets? And how do you differentiate the "natural sources"? Is the aspartame coming from unnatural sources, somehow?

Just to clarify, I'm not saying one is better than another or that any of them are OK or safe, just that they all come from some kind of earthly source, and they are all processed. What gives one person a headache might be perfectly OK for someone else.

Restaurant Usage: As an avid ice tea drinker in restaurants, I'm with Lowspark and Shaun. I have used at home agave for a couple of years.

My dentist also says that carbonated beverages, even the sugar free ones, are bad for your teeth, most are acidic enough to affect the enamel. He does promote sugar free gum, though, and although I seldom chew gum, I do choose sugar free because the sugar makes my teeth ache. I mostly drink iced tea with no sweetener but I do still drink Diet Coke, just because I like it. I do not like ANY of the full-sugar sodas, it's like drinking a big ole' glass full of sugar.

As with everything, some people are sensitive and some aren't. My boss can't use Splenda at all, it literally makes her sick. "flulike symptoms" raning from headaches to upset stomach to intestional....um.....issues. I just don't like Splenda, it tastes icky.

I do occasionally use Equal in my coffee and I'm convinced that high fructose corn syrup is the scourge of America. So, what to do?

I follow Grandma's advice. Moderation in everything. Is it bad for me? Probably. So are fried foods, whole milk, the preservatives on produce, the chemicals in our soil, the pollutants in our air, the lead in paint from China, and a zillion other environmental factors.

Since I'm very bad at being good, I try to just be good SOME of the time.

Oh, and Shaun, I agree with you on Stevia. It's not good and it's also not consistent. Sometimes it's very sweet, sometimes it's bitter, sometimes it tastes like I've been eating pasture. Nope, it's not for me either.

Annie

There are extreme amounts of sugar in the average American diet. Whether or not it's natural, it's very harmful -- obesity is epidemic and now the latest reports show that industrialized nations' citizens may have reached the peak of their longevity. Which I attribute directly to the gross amounts of food modern peoples eat. It's sad to think we've peaked because of our own doing and that our children will live shorter lives due to cultural gluttony and sloth.

My SIL and my best friend do the same thing - they buy all low-fat salad dressings -- those things are loaded with sugars! Might as well pour maple syrup on your salads (hmmmm, that sounds kinda good...)

So just watch your intake of harmful substances, natural and processed alike.

(and Boba drinks, Gina, bwahaha OK I'll get those pictures posted....)

I've seen several articles lately about the artificial sugars having the opposite of the desired effect.

I discovered by accident a few years ago that Splenda gives me a headache, so I avoid it even thought I find the taste less off-putting that the other "fake sugars". I gave up all sodas (except a very occassional tonic water) ages ago after my dentist and chiropractor started telling horror stories about what the acids in carbonated drinks do to bones, and I've learned to drink coffee and hot tea black. Iced tea at home I make the way any sane southerner who knows you can't sweeten a cold drink does -- I sweeten the whole batch. And I've yet to find a restaurant where the waiter/ess won't bring me a couple ounces of hot water in which I can melt sugar to sweeten the iced tea. :) I'd drink iced tea unsweetened if it were brewed strong enough to have any flavor, but in most restaurants you can read a newspaper through the tea, it's so weak. If it weren't for sweet, it'd have no flavor at all most of the time.

And I agree with Annie that corn syrup is the satan of food ingredients. Tha stuff is EVERYWHERE.

Fortunately, as I get older, I find I have less and less of a sweet tooth.