Possible link between diet beverages and obesity?

[Spiky Bugger]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/18/artificial-sweeteners-gut-bacteria_n_5837646.html

 

[DianaCox]

Meh - I think the benefit of NOT drinking the sugar outweighs any supposed deleterious effect.

 

[Munchkin]

For me, if I really want to lose weight I cut out the sweeteners. I didn't want this to be true for me but it is. If I cut out all the diet drinks and just have water and plain tea, it is easier to lose.

Diet drinks are like treats to me and I love them!

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Once in a blue moon, I will have a soft drink. When I do, I want it to be real. Most of my sugar is chewed... .

 

[Munchkin]

I have been on the fake stuff for so long I can't drink the real thing! They taste awful to me!

 

[southernlady]

I have been on the fake stuff for so long I can't drink the real thing! They taste awful to me!

I can but don't like too...and I have been using splenda since it first was made available BY mail order thru the company before it was allowed in the stores in 1998.

 

[brooklyngirl]

I am constantly torn over the artificial sweetener thing. Sugar is the devil for me, I'm a total addict, plus it's what helped me become a diabetic over 400 pounds. I avoid sugared drinks completely, but I really can't drink too much plain stuff. I only recently started forcing myself to go back to plain water for part of the day. I used to drink ice water all day, but since surgery it's just ick. I've been using crystal light and the little squeezie bottles all day for the past year and I feel like I'm poisoning myself with chemicals. I was talking to a friend about it recently and he said "it's a catch 22, do you want to have diabetes or cancer?" Meh

 

[southernlady]

All the Crystal Light I ever found had aspartame in it...and I've been avoiding that as much as I could.

That's why I make my own lemonade all summer long...but I use splenda.

Sugar would definitely be a problem for me. I try to not have stuff with sugar in it. However, I can use honey.

 

[JackieOnLine]

I finally found a Stevia I like - it's called Sweetleaf and you can get a powder that you just add a bit to whatever.

 

[Munchkin]

I finally found a Stevia I like - it's called Sweetleaf and you can get a powder that you just add a bit to whatever.

I have tried so hard to like stevia. But it tastes like bitter ass to me!

 

[brooklyngirl]

Some stevia I can tolerate, depending on what it's added to, some is terribly bitter. I think the ones that are more artificial are the ones that taste better. Yeah, in my research I've found that not all stevia is just extract from the leaf. Even the "stevia in the raw" isn't all natural

 

[JackieOnLine]

when I have tried it before I have tolerated but not enjoyed it. @brooklyngirl what do you think of Sweetleaf? it says it is organic stevia and inulin, then lists a bunch of stuff it doesn't have.

I like it so I am suspicious!

 

[brooklyngirl]

when I have tried it before I have tolerated but not enjoyed it. @brooklyngirl what do you think of Sweetleaf? it says it is organic stevia and inulin, then lists a bunch of stuff it doesn't have.

I like it so I am suspicious!

Hmmm, that sounds good on first look. Lemme see if I can find the article I read explaining the difference between the original stuff that the FDA wouldn't approve, but you can buy in healthfood stores and the stuff that the Coke people got them to approve once they added a bunch of artificial crap to it....

 

[brooklyngirl]

For what it's worth, you know there's always debate about this kind of thing, there's lots of conflicting information out there, this is just the one that caught my attention the most since it talks about the stuff in each of the popular brands...
http://foodbabe.com/2013/04/25/stevia-good-or-bad/

 

[JackieOnLine]

good link, thanks - I see she lists Sweetleaf as not having an additive but if you click on the link it's what I have, with the inulin (which the box makes sound really healthy...huh)

I am liking Food Babe...