Am I going to grow fat and die with all the artificial sweetener?

Question

I've found these great-tasting 0 calorie packets of flavoring that one can put in their drink to have instant tea, or an energy drink or whatever. I think they're the greatest thing and have been having about three a day for the past week.

The tea has splenda in it, and the energy drinks have aspartame. Now, I know aspartame has to be bad for me, but I'm trying to only have one of those a day.

And, then I've also fallen in love with sugar-free hard candies, which also have Splenda in them.

Should I try to cut down on the artificial sweetener? Is there anything I can expect to happen if I keep on overdosing on this, like getting sick or something? I hear this stuff can increase appetite, but I don't have to eat just because I'm hungry. I count my calories, and make sure I don't go over.

I am not diabetic to my knowledge, so there's no medical reason why I'm doing this....
It's just the low-calorie thing I'm interested in.

Answer 1

Darling, we are all going to die. That's just a fact of life. Are you happy with your artifical sweetener? Being happy will lengthen your lifespan, and may balance out any bad effects. OTOH, if you are hungry and/or gassy, you won't be happy. If you notice your body complaining, try cutting out the artificial stuff for a little while and see if your body is happier.

If you decide to cut down, there are a lot of herb teas out there that have a naturally sweet/fruity flavor, and they have no calories and no artificial things. Celestial Seasonings Mandarin Orange is really good, and so are their berry teas.

Good luck, and try not to worry.

Answer 2

heres a great website to read. someone i know switched to drinking splenda because of diabetes. a few weeks later had to start missing work because of hip joint pain. i did research on the web to figure out what the problem could be and this is what i found. until i read this site and others, i didnt put 2 and 2 together between the pain and splenda. a week after stopping the splenda there were no hip problems at all.

Answer 3

The whole aspertame thing is still up for debate. I know how you feel though. I watch what I eat very closely and am undecided on wheter it is safe or not too. They say it can cause brain tumors. I just try to limit my intake by drinking water or unsweetened tea. I guess it's all a matter of personal preference as to what you want to believe. Google aspertame side effects or splenda side effects and make your own decision based on the research.

Answer 4

I think the amount one eats and how high their metabolism is is why people gain weight. When you want to know if you are full you eat a meal then wait 20 minutes and if you are still hungry eat more. I've been that way too which is why I gained weight and I went to weight watchers and found out that because I wasnt eating all day and then I would eat dinner is why I gained so much weight because My body would go into starvation mode. If you are concerned about gaining weight you need to eat the right foods throughout the day and then you will lose it. As far as the full felling goes, you need to eat foods rich in fiber that is what gives you the full feeling

Answer 5

half the stuff we eat anymore is artificial. Stick to organic items as much as possible. Splenda seems to be a good thing, use it like you would sugar, except I think you are supposed to use about a third splenda to one sugar. If you sit and worry about everything artificial you will make yourself crazy.

Answer 6

artificial sweeteners have a negative effect on the brain and that is the only "negative" thing i think is wrong with it
in our brain we have certain cells that communicate to each other constantly at a fast rate
the negative effect causes the normally fast firing rate of the brain to slow down thus slowing your thinking process now the effects aren't permanent
certain tests done show that the effects have a outward effect on how people do on intelligence related questions (IQ tests)
oh and about the energy drinks studyshow that they cancel each other out , what i mean is the cafeine makes your brain work faster but the sugar makes itwork slower thus you get no effect

Answer 7

first of all, i commend you for being teh conscious eater that you are, counting your calories? takes persistence. Anyway, about aspartame, i heard it can cause cancer, but i would recommend one every other day. Actually i think you will be fine even if one everyday.. but Since you also have similar things in other products that you consume. Especially if you are planning on making this a long-term thing to have.... i think you will find it desirable to mix in your days of tea with natural sugar from time to time.

Answer 8

The chemicals in the artificial have worse effects than real sugar. It's not made out of real sugar, no matter how much they say it or prove it. Try to lay off the artificial food, and stick to the real food, no matter how much worse it may seem

Answer 9

well .... I think the aspartame can cause some serious mind problem,but the better thing to do is to check more about it on wikipediya, but there is nice site that teaches you how you can eat almost anything you like and stay in good shape it one of the links in that site http://www.angelfire.com/planet/populardiets

Answer 10

calories dont really matter as much as fat, mainly saturated and trans. just use common sense. if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. just drink water. its a lot better for you anyway. oh, but if you dont like just plain water, a good alternative to those splenda things are these vitamin drinks--called emergen-c. theyre really good for you and boost your immune system. they come in lots of different flavours and i personaly drink one every morning and it works better than caffine.