Artificial sweetners - tell me your experiences please

[LuvOrlando]

Hey out there. So I have a question about artificial sweeteners. I have really bad migraines which get severely stirred up by Equal and Splenda. I can have a little a day but it will accumulate over doses and cause symptoms over time almost like a drug. Mostly I just do sugar but I have diabetes in my family and as I age i can genuinely feel my system react to the sugar. After I have something sweet I get extremely hungry and then end up feeling very sick... not much better than a migraine. Up until now I've just stuck with sugar but I'm beginning to wonder about dangers there too.

So I am now having coffee with Truvia, which tastes better but seems to be leaving my mouth faintly numb Its not sugar but I guess I can put up with it if it doesn't stir my migraines and is safe. DH has been telling me about Agave so I may try that tomorrow.

It could be that I simply have to give up the sensation of sweet but before I go that far can someone tell me what you think? Is there anything that isn't linked to migraines or diabetes

 

[lakelandgal70]

I am allergic to most artificial sweetners. So I use the Agave in my tea. Hot and cold. Love it. I never liked the taste of Stevia products. Left funny taste in my mouth. Make sure your Agave is organic. I get mine at my local Publix.

Eta. Yes some reports have said there is a link between diabetes, migraines and the artifical sweetners. If you google you will find a ton of info on it.

 

[Christine]

I didn't care for Truvia and didn't use it long enough to know if it did anything.

I've tried agave; however, it just didn't sweeten my tea as well. I know that they say it is XXXXX amount times sweeter than sugar but, for me, I couldn't tell. I use two spoons of sugar in my tea. I was dumping agave in there and couldn't get the taste right.

While agave is lower on the glycemic index, it is still sweetener that can cause problems with diabetics. It is also a big problem if you have any type of fructose malabsorption problem.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Thanks for the comments. I knew about the migraines, my own head is proof of that, but I didn't know about the diabetes link, thanks lakelandgal70. I don't have diabetes and am not even in the pre stage because I almost never indulge in sweets, but when I do let myself have a little I can feel it so I KNOW something is up even if the lab work doesn't reflect it. Better safe than sorry right, so thanks for pointing me in a direction.

About the Agave, DH told me there are different varieties that have different levels of sweetness. He said one is extremely light so maybe that's the kind you got that disappointed you Christine. I wonder which kind is being marketed right now? Maybe this is why lakelandgal70 prefers the organic kind.... hmmm...

 

[simba20]

I get headaches, dry mouth, and a feeling of being "stunned" when I eat anything with and artificial sweetener -- no matter what type it is. I can immediately tell when something has an artificial sweetener, no matter if a person tells me that I can't -- I CAN!

I am diabetic, but really closer tot the pre-diabetic numbers, meaning that I have been diagnosed as a diabetic (my family history made that inevitable) but my numbers aren't screaming high.

Since I avoid fake sugar, I just eat regular sugar. I believe that sugar in moderation is okay and I do my best to balance my sugar and carbs throughout the day. Even my diabetic dietician told me that I can eat sweets, but to do what I am doing. I believe that natural is better...so I go for regular sugar than fake process chemical altered stuff.

However, for me, as a diabetic, moderation and balance are key.

 

[lakelandgal70]

Yeah they do have a light and a dark Agave. I have only used the light and for me only takes a little to make my tea sweet. I love that it works so well in my cold tea!

 

[Mama-san]

Give Ideal sweetener a try. I started using it several months ago and like it very much. Closest thing taste wise to sugar I've tried with no aftertaste. The main ingredient is xylitol.

http://www.idealsweet.com

 

[sbell111]

MY experiences with artificial sweetners is that they taste bad, so I stick with real sugar (including 'corn sugar').

 

[LuvOrlando]

just took a pill for a migraine, guess i can cross Truvia off the list. No matter what the chemists say my body ALWAYS knows. The numbness in my mouth should have been a red flag to stop drinking

 

[pat fan]

Another vote for Ideal here! I've tried about every "other" kind of sweetener there is, and Ideal has won, hands down! Agave, excuse me for TMI, gave me gas and didn't seem all that sweet and has as many calories as sugar. Sweet-n-Low, Splenda and all the rest just taste YUCKY and some gave me stomach problems too. Ideal is even passable in my coffee, and that's saying something! It is awesome in my tea and in Greek yogurt. I can only find it at my local Big y, not Stop & Shop for some reason, but I just grab a box whenever I'm in there. Bonus is that every box bought has a $1 off coupon inside

 

[pls5286]

I cannot have anytthing with Aspartame in it. I careful check the ingredients or it will trigger a massive headache. One that lasts for days. It is so bad I have Aspartame listed as an allergy at the hospital so I get no diet foods. I have a medical conition that raises my ICP as well as migraines and when I switched from diet drinks back to regular I had a big drop in my headaches.

 

[krcit]

I use Equal in my tea a nd have no problems. I tried Splenda and it upset my stomach really bad.

 

[lovesmurfs]

I use Equal in my tea a nd have no problems. I tried Splenda and it upset my stomach really bad.

Same here -- I also get sores on my tongue, and I've traced it to when I start trying Splenda again.

 

[tvguy]

I use Equal in my tea a nd have no problems. I tried Splenda and it upset my stomach really bad.

I guess everyone is different. This is the first I've heard of anyone having issues with Splenda, since it is the only artifical sweetener made with sugar. Using Nutrasweet is the one people react to. I know it gives me a headache.

I'm old enough to remember cyclamates, which were banned in the U.S. in 1969, that was the last artificial sweeter I liked.
Funny, it's still legal in 55 countries including Canada.

 

[honugirl]

I can't do any artificial sweeteners at all and I know if they're in there too. I can tell the minute I drink it. I only use sugar or in my oatmeal, blackstrap molasses now because it's supposed to contain some vitamins and minerals.

To make splenda, they take sugar and replace 3 hydroxyl functional groups with 3 chlorine molecules. Gross! That's not natural!

 

[Christine]

I guess everyone is different. This is the first I've heard of anyone having issues with Splenda, since it is the only artifical sweetener made with sugar. Using Nutrasweet is the one people react to. I know it gives me a headache.

I'm old enough to remember cyclamates, which were banned in the U.S. in 1969, that was the last artificial sweeter I liked.
Funny, it's still legal in 55 countries including Canada.

I actually know of three people who get intestinal issues with Splenda.

As for Splenda being made from sugar:

Is Splenda an all-natural product?

Absolutely not. The finished product contains no elements of natural sugar. It is made in a chemical plant, not in a sugar cane or beet field. Splenda is a highly processed chemical. Despite advertisements stating “Made from Sugar so it Tastes like Sugar”, which attempt to confuse consumers, Splenda is not natural.

What is Splenda made from?

Splenda is the trademarked name for sucralose, an artificial chlorinated sweetener that is formed when the hydroxyl groups in a sugar molecule are replaced with chlorine molecules. Sucralose is manufactured in a chemical plant in Alabama, and then a bulking agent is added to create Splenda. While the FDA has ruled that the chemical compound sucralose is not in itself toxic, there is no question that it is unnatural and is a highly-processed chemical artificial sweetener that depends on the presence of chlorine for its intense sweetness.

 

[palavra]

I have no issues with artifical sweetners of any kind.

 

[palavra]

I actually know of three people who get intestinal issues with Splenda.

As for Splenda being made from sugar:

Is Splenda an all-natural product?

Absolutely not. The finished product contains no elements of natural sugar. It is made in a chemical plant, not in a sugar cane or beet field. Splenda is a highly processed chemical. Despite advertisements stating “Made from Sugar so it Tastes like Sugar”, which attempt to confuse consumers, Splenda is not natural.

What is Splenda made from?

Splenda is the trademarked name for sucralose, an artificial chlorinated sweetener that is formed when the hydroxyl groups in a sugar molecule are replaced with chlorine molecules. Sucralose is manufactured in a chemical plant in Alabama, and then a bulking agent is added to create Splenda. While the FDA has ruled that the chemical compound sucralose is not in itself toxic, there is no question that it is unnatural and is a highly-processed chemical artificial sweetener that depends on the presence of chlorine for its intense sweetness.

Actually, chemicals are all natural if they are not man made. Chlorine is definitely all natural.

 

[hucifer]

I can't do any artificial sweeteners at all and I know if they're in there too. I can tell the minute I drink it. I only use sugar or in my oatmeal, blackstrap molasses now because it's supposed to contain some vitamins and minerals.

To make splenda, they take sugar and replace 3 hydroxyl functional groups with 3 chlorine molecules. Gross! That's not natural!

I'm with you.

 

[Christine]

Actually, chemicals are all natural if they are not man made. Chlorine is definitely all natural.

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Okay, but the manufacture of Splenda is a little more complicated than the advertisers originally led most consumers to believe. A lot of people latched on to Splenda because they felt that it was some how magically produced from sugar granules and was very "sugar-like" without the calories.