aspartame

[tulip]

Any known major issues with Splenda? I do try to avoid all artificial sweeteners (not sure how good it is to trick one's body into thinking it's consuming massive amounts of calories when it's not), but I do drink it in tea with some regularity and very occasionally coffee (have tried to train myself to unsweetened, and it hasn't worked). Otherwise, it's water except for the maybe once a month small glass of fruit juice or an occasional small glass of soy milk if I'm running out of the house without breakfast.

I prefer sugar in my tea (16 calories), but stevia is a runner up. You can find it in packets (Stevia in the Raw)

[papaver]

Stevia is illegal here. I don't know why.

[badger]

I'd imagine Splenda's under the radar now but something will pop up. I think if you're using just small quantities of sweetner in your tea/coffee, you're just better off to using sugar, or my favourite, honey.

I've tried stevia, and I just can't get over that bitter undernote.

I usually have raw cane sugar in my house, but that usually gets used in cooking and baking. Luckily I don't like sweetened hot drinks so I get away with not using sugar much in my daily life (if I don't eat out or eat processed foods, that is).

[solobiker]

Thanks for the post. I have been in the process of decreasing my consumption of it. After reading this..no more for me. Yikes.

[spindizzy]

I used to be a diet coke addict. Gave it up. If I have to have pop (soda), which is very rare, I drink the sugarful stuff.
The chewing gum thing; I have not found any (in Canada) that don't have some aspartame - it seems it is in everything!

[badger]

the odd time I have gum, I buy Spry, which is xylitol gum. Gets hard and loses flavour after about 10 chews, but that's what it is, I guess.

[Shara]

I do not like aspartame at all. It hurts my stomach so much that I can't leave the house. That is linked to my IBS. But I know it bothers a lot of people. We won't drink it at our house and we won't let our daughter have it. I do think it's evil lol.

However, I have to say that aspartame is one of the most researched food products out there and no unbiased researchers ever agreed that it was harmful. Some people are just intolerant to it. That's what the common agreement is. It's used so much in North America people are bound to have reactions

Again, that doesn't mean I think it's good for you.

[Owlie]

Stevia is illegal here. I don't know why.

There was a study done in the '80s that showed that one of the breakdown products was mutagenic in rats. It's disputed, though.

[Aggie_Ama]

I developed neurological tremors after changing to Diet Dr Pepper in 2003. There is no family history of them, I wonder if my DDP addiction might be a key? I stopped seeing a neurologist because I didn't feel like the were attentive and I was sick of being doped up on Primidone. I have been trying to cut down on my soda intake for other reasons, if I can kick the habit it would be nice to stop shaking too. Caffeine limitation alone should help some.