Sugar Substitutes Worse Than Sugar

I discussed my blood sugar levels with my doctor an he stated that sugar substitutes can trigger hunger and should be avoided at all costs as all of them including all of the latest types and brands. We did not even discuss the cancer issues attached to substitutes. He said there are too many unknowns about sugar substitutes. I threw my substitutes away this morning and used organic honey instead. I would urge others to do the same as it does not take much honey to cut through the bitter taste of coffee.

rhinefire said:

I discussed my blood sugar levels with my doctor an he stated that sugar substitutes can trigger hunger and should be avoided at all costs as all of them including all of the latest types and brands. We did not even discuss the cancer issues attached to substitutes. He said there are too many unknowns about sugar substitutes. I threw my substitutes away this morning and used organic honey instead. I would urge others to do the same as it does not take much honey to cut through the bitter taste of coffee.

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Honey is good as a sweetener. Maple syrup has too much of its own taste for many uses. But I usually don't use any sweetener. You get used to the taste without it and then you don't really like it as sweet as things tend to be.

I had a sweet tooth growing up but now I actually like bitter tea and coffee- no cream either. Ive ditched all sugars (except for the occasional buy a cake splurge on holidays) and artificial sweeteners. Havent touched a soda in years. When I eat oatmeal, I make it with boiling water and nothing else.

rhinefire said:

I discussed my blood sugar levels with my doctor an he stated that sugar substitutes can trigger hunger and should be avoided at all costs as all of them including all of the latest types and brands. We did not even discuss the cancer issues attached to substitutes. He said there are too many unknowns about sugar substitutes. I threw my substitutes away this morning and used organic honey instead. I would urge others to do the same as it does not take much honey to cut through the bitter taste of coffee.

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Sugar substitutes and high fructose corn syrup can be pretty bad for you. I try to avoid the lot of it (though companies have begun to relable high fructose corn syrup as something else to hide the fact that it's in their product).

Local, raw honey is a great alternative to it all. Well until we kill off all the bees anyway.

rhinefire said:

I discussed my blood sugar levels with my doctor an he stated that sugar substitutes can trigger hunger and should be avoided at all costs as all of them including all of the latest types and brands. We did not even discuss the cancer issues attached to substitutes. He said there are too many unknowns about sugar substitutes. I threw my substitutes away this morning and used organic honey instead. I would urge others to do the same as it does not take much honey to cut through the bitter taste of coffee.

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Stevia may be an option for you.

There doesn't appear to be any evidence that artificial sweeteners in the amounts used by humans causes cancer. I am not worried about that. However, if you are trying to lose weight without counting calories artificial sweeteners can be problematic. Like you said, they can cause food cravings in some people. But more importantly, for me, is it accustoms you to the sweet taste. For many people, like me, healthy food doesn't taste as good when you are accustomed to eating or drinking sweet things on a regular basis. When I cut out sugar AND artificial sweeteners, fruits and vegetables begin tasting better to me and a healthy diet becomes easier to stick to. There is also the psychological effect on some people that if they are drinking diet drinks they, on some level, find it easier to excuse consuming more calories in other areas.

All that said, if you actually count calories and don't have problems giving into your appetite, artificial sweeteners likely won't be a problem for you. But my guess is that is a minority of people.

rhinefire said:

I discussed my blood sugar levels with my doctor an he stated that sugar substitutes can trigger hunger and should be avoided at all costs as all of them including all of the latest types and brands. We did not even discuss the cancer issues attached to substitutes. He said there are too many unknowns about sugar substitutes. I threw my substitutes away this morning and used organic honey instead. I would urge others to do the same as it does not take much honey to cut through the bitter taste of coffee.

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Oh, I completely believe that sugar substitutes are terrible for us. Ever notice overweight people are large consumers of artificial everythings? Ever notice overweight people eat a salad with low-calorie dressing and a Diet Coke for lunch? Diets don't work. Depriving ourselves and trying to trick our bodies and satisfy a craving with artificial crap doesn't work. Chemistry is not food.

Our processed food is more like a science project than nutrition. We are "baited" into overeating. Baited into tricking our brain that we're not full when we really are. Addicted on purpose by food manufacturers into craving fat, sugar and salt.

My prediction is that some day our food factories will be thought about with the exact same disdain as tobacco companies.

Stevia is okay. The rest... I would avoid. I tried agave for a while but it really made me unwell.

Sugar substitutes only tend to cause hunger if they're in food that's empty calories, like soft drinks.

Aspartame is evil and a black mark on the FDA's competency.

rhinefire said:

I discussed my blood sugar levels with my doctor an he stated that sugar substitutes can trigger hunger and should be avoided at all costs as all of them including all of the latest types and brands. We did not even discuss the cancer issues attached to substitutes. He said there are too many unknowns about sugar substitutes. I threw my substitutes away this morning and used organic honey instead. I would urge others to do the same as it does not take much honey to cut through the bitter taste of coffee.

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I like bitter coffee. I actually detest overly sweet foods and drink. So, all's well here.

i never eat sugar.

As a general rule I am trying to "get back to nature", as in preferring the 'real thing' over artificial options. That means real sugar instead of artificial alternatives. Real butter instead of margerines. Making my own pasta sauce so I don't have added sugars. Making my own taco seasoning so I don't have all the added chemical stuff. And so on.

As a simplistic rule I have come to believe that real is better than fake, and sugar & fat is not wholly evil, you just have to do it in moderation.

That being said, my major weakness is that I still drink a lot of diet soda. You won't find me eating a large salad with diet dressing, for example, though I will have a diet soda with it. I drink diet soda for the taste. I have become accustomed to it and regular soda is too sweet for me now.

rhinefire said:

I discussed my blood sugar levels with my doctor an he stated that sugar substitutes can trigger hunger and should be avoided at all costs as all of them including all of the latest types and brands. We did not even discuss the cancer issues attached to substitutes. He said there are too many unknowns about sugar substitutes. I threw my substitutes away this morning and used organic honey instead. I would urge others to do the same as it does not take much honey to cut through the bitter taste of coffee.

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I've never used substitutes.

Bootlace said:

Stevia may be an option for you.

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My doctor mentioned Stevia by name as included in the group to avoid.

MaggieD said:

Oh, I completely believe that sugar substitutes are terrible for us. Ever notice overweight people are large consumers of artificial everythings? Ever notice overweight people eat a salad with low-calorie dressing and a Diet Coke for lunch? Diets don't work. Depriving ourselves and trying to trick our bodies and satisfy a craving with artificial crap doesn't work. Chemistry is not food.

Our processed food is more like a science project than nutrition. We are "baited" into overeating. Baited into tricking our brain that we're not full when we really are. Addicted on purpose by food manufacturers into craving fat, sugar and salt.

My prediction is that some day our food factories will be thought about with the exact same disdain as tobacco companies.

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Excellent post!

rhinefire said:

I discussed my blood sugar levels with my doctor an he stated that sugar substitutes can trigger hunger and should be avoided at all costs as all of them including all of the latest types and brands. We did not even discuss the cancer issues attached to substitutes. He said there are too many unknowns about sugar substitutes. I threw my substitutes away this morning and used organic honey instead. I would urge others to do the same as it does not take much honey to cut through the bitter taste of coffee.

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This is something I looked into a bit. some artificial sweeteners still trigger an insulin response. So your body 'thinks' it has sugar to deal with and insulin is released. If you ate say a salad and a diet coke as someone else was mentioning on here, then there wouldn't be much sugar to work with. the insulin would take whatever blood sugar ( glucose ) there was and store it as glycogen, meanwhile you likely may feel hungry and be inclined to eat more.
This process is very negative as the energy intake you did have is stored instead of used for the most part and you possibly end up eating more unless you have good discipline.

ive looked at a few studies. one tested Splenda, another tested Aspertame and Saccharin. of the articifial sweetener the one that seemed to have the least possible bad response was Saccharin which is one of the older ones and was banned in Canada and almost banned in the USA because of a study on rats and as it turned out what happened to the rats doesn't happen to humans.

Stevia however is a natural sugar substitute. it was banned for a time as it was thought to be carcinogenic just like saccharin but after more testing they didn't find a real harm.

Honey as you mentioned is a good idea though. Sugar ( sucrose ) has be broken down by an enzyme (sucrose) before it can be stored. this process occurs in your small intestine. Honey , which is roughly half and half Glucose and Fructose. The glucose can be absorbed immediately the fructose has to be converted to glucose first. so in short, honey is easier for the body to absorb.

Bootlace said:

Stevia may be an option for you.

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I am trying my best to avoid processed foods of all kinds, including sugar, as much as reasonable--I am not a fanatic about it. But I definitely do have a sweet tooth and a totally non-sweet diet for me would definitely affect my quality of life and not in a good way. I use quite a bit of raw, unrefined honey and when I want sweet without altering flavor such as in my tea or coffee and don't want extra calories, I use stevia. It is pricey, but a little bit goes a long way. So far there are no known negative side effects--doctors still caution pregnant women not to use it as they haven't completed research on whether it is safe for a developing fetus--but it seems to be A-Okay for most people. And there are indications that it seems to have a positive effect on blood sugar levels, blood pressure, LDL cholesterol and autoimmune issues.

For me it does not generate the cravings for more sweets like the usual artificial sweeteners do. I'm going to be really disappointed if they come up with a downside for it other than it costs more than I wish it did.