Comments on: HEALTHY EATING: Sweet predicament at the table

By: GRDANDMAINTEXAS

GRDANDMAINTEXAS — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:37:59 +0000

Well, now I am completely confused. Guess I will go to a health food store. I drink at least a 12 pack of caffeine free diet coke per week. Wow, I’ve been worried about the aspartame in it and tried Diet Pepsi but they don’t make a drink that is caffeine free so stuck with coke. I really enjoy it but I notice lately my appetite is off. I don’t need to eat as much but I don’t think it’s because of the drink. I don’t know. I heard that Aspartame is harmful to the liver. Does anyone know for sure?? Would love to know.

I am using Truvia now on cereal but now I’m confused about that too. WHY CAN’T THE GOVERNMENT JUST BE HONEST.

By: nprfreak

nprfreak — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:43:48 +0000

Ultrasuede said “I’m very disappointed that there still isn’t a calorie-free sugar substitute that truly tastes like sugar.”

There is: cyclamate. It’s sweeter than sugar but tastes very much like it in low concentrations. Unfortunately it was banned in the US in 1969 but is still available in many countries. (Personally, I have long suspected that the ban was the result of efforts by the sugar industry.)

I came to this site from the Coca Cola website. I sure wish Coke would abandon high fructose corn syrup and go back to sucrose. I find fructose entirely too sweet.

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:05:01 +0000

Sweeteners dull your tastebuds and make you crave real sugar even more. If you cannot detect the sweetness of a granny smith apple, your tastebuds are ruined by all these chemical sweeteners.

Splenda was developed as an insecticide. It’s role as a sweetener is accidental.

By: sally

sally — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:45:25 +0000

I wish comments were numbered,because I agree strongly with several,esp the lack of helpful info in the article,and the deception in products such as Truvia. I also am a big fan of Xylitol,for the same reasons as search for self.There is one big unfortunate effect,though,especially for people with any kind of intestinal problem,which is extreme diarrhea if you aren’t moderate in your intake.

By: search for self

search for self — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:52:21 +0000

One natural sweetener that wasn’t mentioned is Xylitol. It’s endorsed by the ADA and is actually the only thing granulated and white, I’ve tasted, that’s aftertaste free and pleasing to my palate. And folks research, research, research! Lastly, I’d avoid aspartame and anything containing it period.

By: mary stoddard

mary stoddard — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:20:22 +0000

I agree with More Details Needed. Under current FDA regulations, Truvia [and all artificial sweeteners] may even have small amounts of the mega-aspartame, 13,000 times sweeter than sugar, called Neotame added without being labeled. It’s the aspartame formula, with toxic 3-dimethylbutyl added. Seems FDA caved in under pressure from the NutraSweet people to approve Neotame as safe and no labeling reuqirements. Neotame is even being added to Domino sugar to make it sweeter, without increasing caloric content. This will be the unfortunate wave of the future of natural and artificial sweeteners if the consumers [all of us] do not protest this toxic chemical pollution of our food supply.

By: More details needed

More details needed — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:10:01 +0000

Unfortunately, this article doesn’t even begin to do justice to educating the reader on the differences between true stevia and truvia.

For starters truvia hasn’t been thoroughly tested, yet it’s been called GRAS. Any chance it’s because it’s being pushed by Cargill and the Coca-Cola company? Funny how the FDA for years has refused to give GRAS status to stevia, but when the mightly conglomerates push it, it’s suddenly GRAS.

Added to the insult to the consumer, Truvia claims it doesn’t need to undergo as through a testing as other products, because stevia has been shown to be safe. While truvia, according to consumer advocates in most likely a safer bet that artificial sweeteners, the reality is that Truvia is an extract of stevia, and there is no 100% guarantee that it reacts in the body the same way as stevia, so Truvia’s claim that more testing isn’t needed because it’s already been done on stevia is disingenuous at best.

This is at best, a very superficial treatment by the registered dietitian. At the least the dietitian should have encouraged the reader to research some of the various studies comparing stevia to Truvia, so that the uneducated consumer doesn’t fall prey to the marketing hype.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:44:24 +0000

I think the big thing here is the variety of sweeteners now available. There are so many of them, each with their own taste and side effects, that it gives some of us who can’t have sugar an alternative. Being diabetic for 20 years, I have had only SnL (the Pink stuff) and = (the blue stuff) for most of my life. These non-natural sweeteners actually increase the cravings for sweet foods which is not good. Some of the “new” sweeteners, Stevia based, agave nectar, etc. are more natural and I have found them to not increase the craving/urges towards more sweet foods. I always agree that the more natural a product is, the better for the body.

By: Keith Johnson

Keith Johnson — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:15:15 +0000

I agree with those here who say the article wasn’t very helpful. It lists the various types of sweeteners, but doesn’t list the pro’s and cons. What are the risks of taking each, such as the headaches often associated with Equal? Why didn’t it discuss how people generally think each sweetener tastes? Why not discuss the Glycemic Index difference between sweeteners that otherwise have the same calories? G.I. is important for folks with diabetes as well as people just watching their health. And I too am a bit disappointed that Truvia is the standard for stevia, when many other brands exist, that stevia is called “new” (i first used it at least ten years ago) and that agave nectar–another lower G.I. food–was ignored. The article seems to be more something written by someone who just went shopping at a typical grocery store, and never has set foot inside a health food store.

By: Ultrasuede

Ultrasuede — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:15:47 +0000

I’m very disappointed that there still isn’t a calorie-free sugar substitute that truly tastes like sugar. Whatever I use in, for example, coffee — Equal, Splenda, whatever — never does the trick. The coffee always tastes different compared to if real sugar is used in it.

Same goes for diet soft drinks — no matter which one I’ve tried, none of them taste as good as sugared soda.

I cannot wait for the day — if it ever comes during my lifetime — when I’ll be able to drink a diet soda that tastes like sugared soda, when I’ll be able to put a sugar substitute in coffee and not tell the difference from having sugar in it.