Splenda - Not So Splendid

From Natala - pulled from the comments

yeah splenda is actually worse - they are being sued right now by a bunch of organizations and companies (including of all people nutrisweet!). They completely lied to the consumer.  Go with agave or stevia - both from natural plants.

or... go with out, I started adding tea bags (the ones with out caffeine) to my water bottles - the flavored kinds... and I love it! Keep in mind that diet soda (and artificial sweetener) causes major addiction, so it won't be easy at first, but I promise if you stick to it, and rid yourself of it you will start feeling A LOT better.

for anyone who wants to hear the boring part of this - my endocrinologist explained it this way:
When your taste buds taste something sweet (fake, real, doesn't matter) Insulin releases from the pancreas - it doesn't matter if it's fake sugar, it automatically says "OH! SUGAR! I NEED INSULIN!"
and then because it's fake, the insulin has nothing to attach itself to.
So the insulin says - damn it I need something to attach myself to.
And then you go eat a bag of chips, or cookies, or pull up to a dairy queen and murder the person in line in front of you till you get your blizzard. Why? Because the insulin needs to attach itself to something, and if it doesn't? Insulin is a growth hormone, and it attaches to things like your ASS.
On the flip side, you eat, and eat and eat, to satisfy the insulin that is floating around your body, and it still has a devastating impact on your ass.

I had NO idea about any of this till I became a severe diabetic (like almost lost my life) and found out how bad the artificial crap is, and don't get me started on processed foods. There are a ton of new studies of how all of that is linked to diabetes... and for me, I kicked those habits and am successfully kicking diabetes. So I can tell you first hand (even if you don't want to hear it) :) Kick it now - because NOTHING no food, no drink, no dairy queen trip is worth getting diabetes, and it's certainly not worth losing your life, a limb, or eye site one day over - I'm only 30, it's not about being old anymore.... Every one here is doing something amazing - change it now, your body, your family, and yourself will thank you later :)

Comments

[Dorothy]

OK, you have my attention! But as someone who has started every day with a Dt Coke for 30+ years I just don't know if I can cut them out completly. What do you drink besides water? I use sweet & low for tea, kool-ade, etc., so I guess that is out too. Is it even possible to avoid all artificial sweetners? Seems like they are in everything! Help!

[natala to dorothy]

I mainly do water and tea - even cold water and add tea. It's SO hard at first to kick the diet drink thing - there are a lot of addictive things in it. You could try making spritzers - natural juice (small amount) and seltzer water. I know it's not diet coke, but it will at least give you something bubbly.
Try taking vitamin B - a lot of my addiction was caffeine based, and vitamin B helps with energy.
Occasionally I will have coconut water (plain) It's got a lot of potassium in it. I enjoy "Honest Tea" from time to time as well.

After the addiction is gone, I promise you will start feeling a lot better, and you won't have cravings for junk food, or sugar (well not as many)... and that causes weight loss. I had to reward myself For every day with out a diet drink I bought a song on I-tunes .

[Eileen in MD]

Natala, are you insulin dependent or not? I always thought non-dependent was so much harder because it's all in the food. I can just add more insulin but, that makes it easier to overeat. It's always something!

[natala to eileen]

I was insulin dependent - I was on 100 units per day (and short acting) - and after the diet changes/working out I managed to get off of it.
Now I have to be really careful, because I can't rely on the insulin - it's been the best thing and most terrifying thing I've done.

[Toni in Dallas]

Holy crap, I had no idea about the artificial sweetener. Thank you a million times.