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It's probably a "no-duh" to the people around here that Aspartame is very bad news, but I thought I'd relate my experience with this particular poison.
I ended up learning the hard way is that if you drink Aspartame-containing drinks in large quantities the way I did, you will experience intense carb-cravings that *will* make you want to eat more than you normally would. So even as an alternative to sugar, the stuff is no good.
Like many men in their thirties, my hairline is starting to recede back on the top of my forehead. But on the right side of my hairline, I was experiencing recession that went noticably further back than the recession on the opposite side. Then I read that Aspartame promotes hair-loss. So after chucking the Crystal Light (or "Crystal Blight", as I call it now), that spot on my upper-right forehead where there was excess hair-recession filled back in very quickly, and now my hairline looks even again.
The scariest thing I read about Aspartame is that a very rare brain cancer has been skyrocketing in occurence lately, and this increase is statistically coincident with the rise in Aspartame consumption. Even before this occurence, it was known or suspected that Aspartame was bad for your brain and nervous system.
I like my sweet drinks, but being an overweight person, I don't want to start gulping down drinks with white sugar or high fructose corn-syrup in them, and Stevia powder extract is a tad expensive for making into drinks. So what I did was I started using two tablespoons of liquid saccharrin to make two quarts of Kool-Aid. It tastes rather like "diet Kool-Aid" and you have to develop a taste for it, and this works with some flavors (notably strawberry and grape) better than others. Saccharrin was recently removed from the list of suspected carcinogens, and despite what the prissy ninnies at the Center for Science for the Public Interest would tell you, while saccharrin might not be good for you the way brown rice and stir-fried veggies are good for you, it's not even nearly as toxic as it was once made out to be. It has been used as a sugar substitute since the turn of the previous century, and if it were truly toxic, there would have been illness and death, such as what we have begun to see with Aspartame, that could have been statistically correlated to its general use. Even during the height of the saccharrin scare, there was a lot of skepticism that this artificial sweetener was really all that dangerous.
In Reply to: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Palpatine [100.1399] on July 18, 2005 at 11:31:38:
Hi Pal,
If you find it very difficult to loose weight, a low thyroid
has to be checked into.. Get a complete thyroid panel paying close attention to the TSH, T3 and T4
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Ron [1928.1989] on July 18, 2005 at 11:40:45:
Thank you for your concern, Ron, but I had that looked into, along with a full bloodwork five years ago, and that appeared not to be the problem. I am both a Taurus Sun and a Cancer Rising, which both predispose me to being overweight. In addition, it could also simply be a spiritual problem. Due to some unpleasant experiences, especially in late childhood/ early adolescence, with my fellow humans, I have a tendency to put up pyschological walls. The weight could be yet another of these walls. (The problem is that once such a problem becomes entrenched in my subconscious, there it stays, and fluffy-bunny New-Age pieties do not even come close to sufficing in dealing with it.)
In Reply to: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Palpatine [100.1399] on July 18, 2005 at 11:31:38:
Pal,
Your no different than the rest of us, sometimes we have to learn the hard way..Be glad you found out and can do something about it..Thanks for sharing..
Silver Fox!
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Palpatine [100.1399] on July 18, 2005 at 12:12:24:
Hi Pal,
You seem to have yourself diagnosed, but can not correct the problem. If you are consoled by "knowing" what the problem
is but are not winning the battle, you need a different doctor.
It is possible to have "Sub-clinical Hypothyridism" and the docs will not tell you to do anything about it except to
try to loose weight.
If you are eating too much because of an emotional need, anxiety, depression, etc... you can either chase therapy
or have your thyroid checked for a low T3 component which
often causes anxiety.
In Reply to: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Palpatine [100.1399] on July 18, 2005 at 11:31:38:
Hi Palpatine,
If you ever decide to go the natural route, have you ever tried Stevia? It is a natural substance used as a sweetener.... similar taste to sacharrin. No side effects. You can get it at the health food store.
Sapphire
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Sapphire [422.1366] on July 18, 2005 at 13:27:58:
I use a stevia mixed with vegetable glycerin called "Stevia Glycerite" (it's a liquid). It doesn't take too much to get a sweet taste. Like any "alternative" sugar, it takes a little getting used to, but hubby took to it right away in making homemade lemonade with it; I use it in tea. It's more expensive at the health food store than I found it online at iherb.com, and it's in a larger container.
Tab
In Reply to: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Palpatine [100.1399] on July 18, 2005 at 11:31:38:
my only thin uncle used a lot of saccharin and died of pancreatic cancer, so I'd still steer away from it.
My family keeps a galon of cold herb tea in the fridge for everyday drinking. Some of the flavor are naturaly sweet and don't require any extra sweetening. Celestial Seasonings Black Cherry Berry and their Bengal Spice teas are two such naturally sweet drinks. A bulk tea called licorice root is VERY sweet and can be mixed with other teas (like black or green) for a sweet effect.
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Sapphire [422.1366] on July 18, 2005 at 13:27:58:
As I said in my original post, I know of it. I found some at the health-food store near where I live, but it's a bit expensive for the purposes for which I would use it.
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Ron [1928.1989] on July 18, 2005 at 12:36:13:
Another "Dr. Phil" wannabe. Wonderful. So it's incomprehensible to you that some people might simply be predisposed to be overweight? It's this sort of thick-skulled American simple-mindedness that makes life a lot more difficult for heavy people.
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Palpatine [100.1399] on July 18, 2005 at 14:44:46:
Ooops, didn't read the post closely... yes, stevia is a bit expensive..
In Reply to: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Palpatine [100.1399] on July 18, 2005 at 11:31:38:
Hi P -
I too drank a lot of that poison and I'm now having some pretty bad memory loss -- bad enough that it scares me into thinking I might have alzheimers because it does run in my family.
I'm trying to drink more water ( ICK ) but I also bought some Diet Coke that's sweetened with Splenda. Not sure how bad Splenda is for the body but it has to be better than that other poison.
I've tried different teas but I just don't like any of them.
Best of luck to you -- I feel your pain.
Melissa
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Palpatine [100.1399] on July 18, 2005 at 14:54:42:
Wow did he hit a nerve?
I personally am of the belief of except for some cases, being severely overweight is no one's fault but the person in their lack of true exercise and eating habit.
In Reply to: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Palpatine [100.1399] on July 18, 2005 at 11:31:38:
Hey Pal,
Could you tell me exactely which diet drinks Aspartame, or "Nutra Sweet" is in, or is it in all of them?? And what else is it in?? How about Splenda, do you know how safe that is? Good for you for getting healthier, I would really appreciate the information!!
Sally Fields
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Steven [280.62] on July 18, 2005 at 17:03:11:
Hi Steve,
Lets see if the other nerve is easily irritated.
Too many cliche's in her repertoir for my liking..
She is actually quite worried about her health, but doesn't want to become a fox either.
It sounds like she enjoys being overweight and possibly prefers not to attact evil men who want to take advantage of her. I do wonder what Dr Phil would say?
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Palpatine [100.1399] on July 18, 2005 at 14:54:42:
Hi Pal,
My name is Ron, and I am Canadian ;>)
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Dizzy M [1753.4] on July 18, 2005 at 16:44:07:
Hi Mel,
I switched from Pepsi to diet/caffeine free colas about two years ago and lost 15 pounds in the first six months..
I think my memory has actually improved and my feet no longer itch or burn.
In Reply to: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Palpatine [100.1399] on July 18, 2005 at 11:31:38:
Hi Palpatine:
NutraSweet, Splenda, Saccharin: Those are all poisons which belong in some test tube in a lab, not in your body.
And, you can forget the Splenda commercial. It's pure deception on the public. Splenda is just as dangerous as the other artificial stuff. Do not ingest it. It starts out as sugar, but then it is changed into a dangerous substance where it can no longer be recognized as sugar.
In Reply to: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Palpatine [100.1399] on July 18, 2005 at 11:31:38:
Thanks, Palpatine.
Walt
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Ron [2014.1989] on July 18, 2005 at 21:44:09:
Who cares! Is Dr Phil God now?
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Dizzy M [1753.4] on July 18, 2005 at 16:44:07:
I've been reading bad things online about Splenda too, but it's probably not as bad as Aspartame. Another thing about Aspartame is that it's the food additive with the single largest amount of complaints about it. I consumed in large quantities for four years with a "Well, I guess something will eventually kill me" mindset, but since my mind is the main asset I have going for me, I really do hope I didn't set myself up for brain cancer. Ugh.
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Ron [2014.1989] on July 18, 2005 at 21:44:09:
That's "he", that you assumed I'm a "she" indicates that you are apparently a mysoginist in addition to the very sort of squeaky-sphinctered zealot for which I have precious little use.
And Dr. Phil would likely say whatever would garner him the most attention or money, as usual.
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Ron [2014.1989] on July 18, 2005 at 21:46:30:
Well, you would fit in just fine here, I can tell that much.
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Steven [280.62] on July 18, 2005 at 17:03:11:
Thank you for displaying your ignorance in advance so that I can be saved the bother of reading any further postings of yours. :-)
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by PhillyLady [2051.1599] on July 18, 2005 at 22:10:47:
Well, if one would just as soon steer clear of all artificial sweeteners in pursuit of their idea of an optimally healthy lifestyle, I can certainly respect that, but I still don't think saccharin belongs in the same category as Aspartame and Splenda.
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by Palpatine [100.1399] on July 21, 2005 at 14:52:54:
Hi Palpatine:
I cringe when I think of any artificial sweetener. Maybe saccharin isn't as bad as the other two, but I still wouldn't use it. So what makes saccharin harmless, in your opinion? Thanks.
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame AKA "NutraSweet" posted by PhillyLady [1906.1536] on July 21, 2005 at 15:08:33:
I think I covered that in my original post. And I didn't say saccharin is completely harmless, just that it's not as awful as it was once thought to be.
In Reply to: Re: My experience with Aspartame .. try Stevia Glycerite for drinks posted by Tabby [6.1461] on July 18, 2005 at 13:35:04:
I sometimes put plain glycine (amino acid) powder in lemon water or tea, if I want a sweet edge to it. About 1/2 tsp. per glass. It tastes like a sugar but it's actually a protein. Zero toxicity because glycine is the most abundant amino acid in our body.
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