this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2023
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Artificial sweeteners is one of the reasons I'm not obese. You can quote me all the studies you want, diet coke is not a gateway drink to regular coke, and splenda on my black coffee doesn't make me crave a caramel macchiato.
I don't care about the calories. Artificial sweeteners taste like plastic cancer, so it's normal coke for me.
I'm kind on the same hill. I find that artificial sweetener leave a terrible taste in the mouth.
The worst is that some regular drinks are using sugar plus sweetener. I got this bad surprise now than once after taking the first sip.
I completely agree and don't know how other people don't notice the awful taste? Like the aftertaste is sooo gross and sticks around for awhile. Maybe it's genetics and taste buds related. I also get bloated and headaches from things like sucralose.
On another note though I have actually found an artificial sweetener that doesn't taste like ass and doesn't have negative side effects like sucralose for me. Xylitol has been great and I can finally chew gum again that's good for my teeth too.
Aspartame gave me terrible headaches. Then I became diabetic. Turns out by that time sucralose was more popular. It doesn't give me headaches and it tastes fine. After so long of having sucralose, I can now tolerate aspartame. Still gross though.
WHO says sugar alternatives not effective for weight loss. I think this would also generally imply that they do not prevent weight gain. I think you likely just don't gain weight regardless of sweetener; like how I and most of my family don't gain weight regardless of what we eat. That is to say our habits and decisions don't allow for weight gain regardless of sweetener, not that we have some genetic thing processes sugar differently or anything so unlikely.
Though yes, I also disagree with that strawman argument, diet coke being a gateway pop or artificial sweeteners being gateway sugar seems a bit rediculous.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/15/health/who-sweeteners-weigh-loss-guideline-wellness/index.html
I think it's important to note that this was strictly an observational study that they explicitly describe as "conditional". They don't go into the how or why of it. It could be that it's a negligible change or that participants overindulge elsewhere because they cut it out of sweeteners or that the most at-risk use sugar alternatives or that they lose weight in the short term (mentioned in the article) before reaching their new maintained weight.
Honestly, I think the last part is very likely, or a mix of many of those. They say it doesn't have a long-term effect, although it can have a short-term effect. So if you decrease your calorie intake a little, you'll lose weight until your calorie output matches (less weight mean less effort to move).
So, it's not an end-all solution.
Yeah. I don't get it either. Artificial sweetners are way more effective at stimulating your tastebuds than sugar for the calories.
Why would anyone switch to an inferior product which ruins your health if they have the option not to??
I can taste all of the artificial sweeteners. My spouse uses them constantly and they taste sideways to me. My partner doesn't taste much of a difference so If we ever get drinks mixed up I'm the poison tester.
The only way to get them to taste fine enough is by using a mixture of a few different ones. I'm sure my experience is similar to people who have the cilantro soap thing.
I think high fructose corn syrup taste like literal poison. I can taste it in anything and everything it's in. Funny thing though. Your tastebuds acclimate, and you get used to flavors (either HFCS or Aspartame). I still struggle with stevia, sometimes, but it's far easier to look past than high fructose corn syrup.
Artificial sweetners do taste "off" to me, but tastebuds can acclimate to it. The rest of my digestive system? Not so much. Let's just say there is a reason it is pronounced ASS-partame.
My partner has been doing low carb for around 5 years now. I'm assuming it takes longer? I usually try everything they make. From ice cream to syrups to cakes.
Real talk though, I love xanthan gum. I know it's garbage.
They're also one of the most heavily studied food additives and if it was going to poison you big-sugar would let us know.
Aspartame is the only artificial food additive I feel has been studied so much that's it's all but guaranteed to be safe for human consumption (unless you lack the ability to process certain proteins, but you know that if that's you)
Sucralose and other more novel alcohol sugars (ethyritol/monkfruit) are slightly more questionable to me, but should still be fine in moderation.
Possibly also depends on your body in other ways. I have yet to find an artificial sweetener that doesn't give me headaches. Multiple times I had a headache for seemingly no reason and found out something I consumed a few hours earlier had artificial sweeteners. Same goes for too much licorice or stevia.
Yeah some people are sensitive to Phenylalanine without having Phenylketonuria, relatively uncommon. As with all things natural or not you should listen to what your body tells you there is no one reaction to anything. Eggs and dairy can also be high in this amino acid.
I have no problem at all with either eggs or dairy, so it must be something else. I suspect it's my brain registering sweetness and telling the respective glands to prepare for an influx of sugars which then fail to appear, leading to those headaches.