Body Blog: Step Away from the Artificial Sweeteners!

February 28, 2011 11:00 am     Posted in Body, Health  Jill - University of Wisconsin g+ page

I have something to share with you. Something many of you don’t want to hear (ignorance is bliss, right?), but something you all need to hear. Something that goes against everything we’ve been taught our whole lives. Something that is going to rock your world. You ready for it?


By Jill

Zero calories doesn’t always equal healthy.

If your favorite dessert is claiming to be calorie free, or you’re reaching daily for that “skinny vanilla latte” thinking skinny latte = skinny jeans, think again. The truth is all of these things are loaded with artificial sweeteners. Chemicals. Things your body doesn’t recognize and are actually poisonous for your bootylicious bod.

Hard to swallow, right? Girl, I know it. Every time I try to convince my friends that artificial sweeteners turn into formaldehyde in their body, are the furthest thing from natural and that it’s actually better for us all to have a little of the REAL stuff then this fake crap that millions of us are now putting in our bodies multile times a day, I get the same response: “Everything is going to cause cancer eventually so why not at least look good now?!”

Well, what if I told you that your artificial sweeteners are actually making you FAT? Gasp! Shudder! The horror!

I know, but it’s true.

Studies have shown that artificial sweeteners actually make you… EAT MORE, When you’re sipping on chugging Diet Coke (or whatever other artificial sweetener laden food or drink you enjoy) it confuses your body and convinces your brain that food is coming. To prepare, your body produces insulin, which actually drives up your appetite, slows down your metabolism and leaves you with a few extra pounds around your midsection. Studies have shown that people who drink diet soft drinks at meals end up consuming more food than those drinking water.

So for those of you freaking out, thinking real sugar is going to be the death of you AND your Spring Break body, here are some great sugar alternatives that are natural and delicious. Try weaning yourself off the artificial and lean in to real, all natural solutions. I promise you will feel and look better.

Stevia – Harvested from the Stevia plant, it’s an all natural, zero calorie sweetener. It comes in powdered packets for on-the-go, but my favorites are the flavored drops. They have everything from cinnamon to peppermint to English Toffee to Lemon and they are all great. I use it in my coffee, for baking – pretty much in everything.

Agave Nectar – Agave is a better choice than sugar because while they are similar nutritionally, what you can’t tell from the comparison is how your body processes and reacts to it. Agave is praised for being low on the glycemic index (GI), which means it won’t cause a spike in your blood sugar levels the way sugar does. High-GI foods like white sugar make us feel hungrier sooner, and give us that sugar crash. Foods made with agave nectar may keep you feeling fuller longer … which translates to eating less.

Truvia – Another form of stevia, Truvia is now even showing up at some restaurants and in some commercial beverages. Woot woot!

Sugar in the Raw - Okay so this is still sugar, BUT this brown stuff is better for you than the white processed crap. Just use it in moderation and you’ll be fine. Promise.

So what do you think? Will you be trading in your daily Diet Cokes for some more natural alternatives? Share your thoughts and questions below!

27 Comments on "Body Blog: Step Away from the Artificial Sweeteners!"

  1. dani says:
    Mon, 28th Feb 20112:19 pm 

    couldnt have said it better, I eat very healthy and have cut out soda for the past two years, I feel great! Great post, this is an issue that people in College do not really know about because they are just influenced by the media

  2. Jennifer says:
    Mon, 28th Feb 20115:52 pm 

    Although I can't believe your conversion to formaldehyde claim (if you provide the chemical proof, organic molecules and all then maybe I will), I can't help but agree that the diet cola has definitely made it so I have a little extra around my midsection. I'm trying to give it up, but it's probably the most addictive thing ever.

  3. Erin says:
    Mon, 28th Feb 20118:23 pm 

    Not all artificial sweeteners turn into formaldehyde in the body, but aspartame does. Aspartame is in equal and nutrasweet. The fact is it converts into formaldehyde above 86 degrees, which means when it enters the body it turns into formaldehyde.

    (I tend to know about this stuff because I work for Wisdom Natural Brands, the makers of SweetLeaf Sweetener-stevia).

  4. vicky says:
    Mon, 28th Feb 201110:34 pm 

    Thank you for this article, I feel the same way when i tell my friends to put down the splenda. I started using agave over a year ago and couldn't be happier. I dont understand why people insist on thinking artificial things are going to make them loose weight and be healthy? Its the opposite, if everyone spent as much time figuring out how to eat healthy, as they did counting calories, they would loose weight and be much healthier.

  5. g m g says:
    Mon, 28th Feb 201111:22 pm 

    [sigh]….more sensationalism journalism. What we truly need is the genuine facts, not hearsay.

    The formaldehyde myth is right up there with the cancer myth. Yes I know, aspartame is part methanol which in turn is processed in the body to form formaldehyde. HOWEVER, you're likely to take in more methonal (eventually turning into formaldehyde) from natural sources (i.e. fruit juice, fermented beverages, etc.). Even if you are in the 90th percentile of aspartame consumption, you would be consuming 25 times less than an amount considered toxic.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17828671

  6. Casey says:
    Tue, 1st Mar 20111:23 am 

    My mom wouldn't let me have artificial sweetener growing up, and thank god cause that crap is NASTY! It leaves the most disgusting aftertaste. Blech! I just don't get how people can guzzle that stuff.

  7. Brittany says:
    Tue, 1st Mar 201111:27 am 

    Does this mean the myth I have created in my mind that regular Coke is better for you than Diet Coke is true? That would be amazing. I am not a big soda drinker, but every once in a while I need that sugar kick and I turn to Coke, not DC.

    I think I need to try some of these other options. It sounds like it is totally possible to manage getting you sweet fix in a healthier way.

  8. Christine says:
    Tue, 1st Mar 20112:53 pm 

    What's the biology/chemistry that cases stevia and agave nectar to be safer as sugar replacements? I've never quite followed that one, and given what the problems caused by other non-glycemic sweeteners, I'm reluctant to just assume that stevia is safe.

  9. Sarah says:
    Tue, 1st Mar 20114:50 pm 

    Sugar in the raw is not better for you just because it's brown. It's only brown because some of the molasses has been added back in after it's processed, adding nothing but trace amounts of iron and color.

  10. D.Fuentes says:
    Tue, 1st Mar 20118:47 pm 

    I knew it artificial is always bad , that is why I stop drinking coke ( regularly) instead of changing to diet coke.Thanks for the article it was really useful :)

  11. Sherry says:
    Sun, 20th Mar 20118:25 pm 

    You're thinking of brown sugar. Sugar in the raw is all-natural and unrefined, with no additives. And not even all brown sugar has coloring added to it, only some brands. You can check the packaging to see if it's colored or not.

  12. Carathustra says:
    Tue, 22nd Mar 201112:12 pm 

    Wow…what a load of pseudoscience! Very disheartening to see such ignorance and misinformation propagated through these sites. It's great to encourage healthy living, but let's do so through actual RESEARCH supported by actual DATA, aye? Show me the peer-reviewed journal articles!!!

  13. kimlynn says:
    Tue, 22nd Mar 20112:19 pm 

    What about those with gastric bypass who can’t eat any real sugar? What do I do for a replcement to sugar free syrup, diet sodas, no real sugar in coffee, tea, crystal light, sugar free ice cream, I can’t drink fruit juice due to the sugar content in an 8oz glass, etc. So anyone who had this surgery what’s your opinion. Others can’t eat fruit, drink orange juice without dumping, can use a teaspoon of real syrup on their pancakes but would make me pass out? So which one of you genuises have all the answer to these questions?

  14. Tiffiny says:
    Tue, 22nd Mar 201110:33 pm 

    If artificial sweeteners like aspartame turned into formaldehyde when they entered the body, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead right now with the amount of Diet Coke that I drink. Load of BS.

  15. Amelia says:
    Wed, 23rd Mar 20114:23 pm 

    Good post. I recently wrote an article touching on coke vs. diet coke. My 2 cents:
    http://eating-made-easy.com/2011/02/17/coke-vs-di…

  16. Amelia says:
    Thu, 24th Mar 201111:26 am 

    Interesting article. I wrote a similar one recently too: http://eating-made-easy.com/2011/03/10/artificial…

    I would just point out that Stevia/Truvia have not been studied extensively, and given that they are also no-calorie sweeteners, they will likely make you eat MORE too, since your body is expecting calories along with the sweet taste, just as with the artificial sweeteners. In general, probably best to just eat sweets occasionally, but stick to real sweeteners that have calories.

  17. Lollie says:
    Thu, 24th Mar 20115:41 pm 

    I track my calories burned and ingested at thedailyplate.com – daily. I went months without any artificial sweeteners, then tried diet pop… it hasn't made me eat one extra bite or want one either. Calories without nutrition makes me hungry for the nutrition my body missed out on…. but apparently, if it's no calorie it's not touching me. So I'm keeping mine.

  18. susan says:
    Fri, 25th Mar 20118:24 am 

    No one mentioned MIGRAINES! Lucky for all of those that CAN drink aspartame (or unlucky as i truly believe this stuff is toxic). One 20oz bottle of diet soda = 3 day migraine for me that no meds help. Even sugarless gum (and sugared gum,yea look at the ingredients) contain aspartame which gives me a headache. Took trial and error to see what triggered it, but obviously there is something that aspartame does to the cardiovascular system to cause migraines. Splenda doesnt affect me the same way nor does truvia but even those i use in very small amts. And yes I diet, it really stinks but headache or water? i will drink the water!

  19. Irv D Johnson says:
    Sun, 27th Mar 20119:42 pm 

    The key here is moderation. Eat and drink what you want, just in moderation. Using your elbows at the table works great if you are sincere about maintaining a healthy weight. Just place your hands on the edge of the table and use your elbows to push away. I know, I'm all wet, but it works for me.

  20. amanda says:
    Mon, 28th Mar 20111:44 am 

    unfortunately regular soda pops, as well as juices are also loaded with artificial sweeteners(Aspartame) so it really is not much better for you than diet.

  21. Hannah says:
    Tue, 26th Jul 20117:22 pm 

    Exactly, Amelia. I really would recommend the same thing that its the best to stick with real sweets or real sweeteners. I just can't digest all the information that I found out about the aspartame (equal) and saccharine. I have switched to the "real sweeteners", Natvia, and it is just like the sugar but better. It only uses the purest part of stevia, which made me feel more safe :) and 1 tsp of Natvia is equal to 1 tsp of sugar but a lot less calories. Of course no aspartame and no saccharine. I am really happy with my sweetener lately and hope y'll try Natvia :)

  22. healthybodycc says:
    Wed, 16th May 201212:54 am 

    Totally Agree with this, the Artificial stuff is really hurting people, there is a great video to spread the word, its called The Artificial Sugar Challenge, its fun and interesting and people can try it at home, you can check it out at http://youtu.be/Umod2r1dLSE

  23. cheap snapback hats says:
    Mon, 23rd Jul 20129:39 am 

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  24. Joan Jameston says:
    Thu, 14th Mar 20132:51 am 

    I wouldn't go so far as to completely step away from any kind of sweetener. Reducing the amount I take in, of course, is definitely a good idea. As they say, "too much of anything is bad for you".

  25. Johnny Soto says:
    Tue, 26th Mar 20132:04 am 

    That is the reason why I take all things in moderation especially all the foods that I am eating. Anyway, thank you so much for providing this kind of information.

  26. Dana B. Sharp says:
    Mon, 22nd Apr 201311:19 pm 

    A lot of people have been staying away or avoiding altogether sweeteners to their everyday consumption. It is a very respected choice and they are opting for natural ones like honey or monk fruit.

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