Aspertame a staller. Carbs in dem dar packets?

[tcv]

So, I've been reading the site in preparation for my foray into Atkins nirvana and I've seen it stated over and over that Aspertame is a common staller.

I am a big aspertame junkie. Indeed, even when I was on other diets I never really curbed the sweet tooth. I just used more Aspertame.

Looking at the "Nutrition Facts" on the side of my NatraSweet box. It states that in one packet -- the little blue packet -- there is "less than" one carbohydrate.

So, does this mean that Equal and others have carbs in it? And what's this mean for diet drinks? If a Sprite Zero lists "0" carbs, and each packet of NatraSweet is, in reality "less than one," then doesn't that mean Sprite Zero has at least one carb? And how much aspertame goes into a single can of Sprite Zero? Who knows?

This means I gotta cut the Aspertame out, too. Don't I.

[DuchessOfDork]

Yeah, aspartame is really no good for anything. It's known to be really really bad for you, causing things like hair loss and stalled weight loss. Just google aspartame and you'll see all sorts of reports on why it's so terrible for your body.

[kate58]

Yes, you do. Or at the very least reduce it to an absolutle minimum. It isn't really about carbs, or at least not directly.

Think about this:

Indeed, even when I was on other diets I never really curbed the sweet tooth. I just used more Aspertame.

Do you think there is any connection between that and the fact that you are here now instead of happily maintaining at your ideal weight after all those diets???

If sweet things are a weakness for you, and they are for many, many people, then that is something you need to work on and means that sweet things are the thing to avoid and gain some control over. Even if they don't have sugar, eating sweet things just makes you want more of them, and there lies the road to more pounds!!

[not2late]

Originally Posted by tcv

So, I've been reading the site in preparation for my foray into Atkins nirvana and I've seen it stated over and over that Aspertame is a common staller.

I am a big aspertame junkie. Indeed, even when I was on other diets I never really curbed the sweet tooth. I just used more Aspertame.

Looking at the "Nutrition Facts" on the side of my NatraSweet box. It states that in one packet -- the little blue packet -- there is "less than" one carbohydrate.

So, does this mean that Equal and others have carbs in it? And what's this mean for diet drinks? If a Sprite Zero lists "0" carbs, and each packet of NatraSweet is, in reality "less than one," then doesn't that mean Sprite Zero has at least one carb? And how much aspertame goes into a single can of Sprite Zero? Who knows?

This means I gotta cut the Aspertame out, too. Don't I.

The packets, etc.of any artificial sweetener has carbs. I think the real number on the aspartame packets is something like 0.8 carbs per packet. That's because the aspartame packets have a bulking agent---read the ingredients carefully and you might see the words dextrose or dextrin or something along those lines.

Diet drinks might not have carbs from the artificial sweetener, but the other stuff they put in them might have carbs.

No matter what, on Atkins we can only have 3 servings of an artificially sweetened food/drink per day. So 1 packet of the sweetener = 1 serving. I serving of a soft drink is counted as 1 serving of the sweetener. 1 serving of the Splenda sweetened pickles counts as 1 serving of sweetener. This also applies to artificially sweetened condiments like the 1 Carb Ketchup, etc.

[Hudson]

It is possible to have success drinking the diet drinks. I have done it some. Even drinking a ton of them I can still lose weight sometimes. And completely cutting them out may not work for you. Maybe drinking one a day will keep you going.

However, I quit them about 2 months ago and everything is better. Better hunger control, weight loss, and overall health. My joints are even doing better.

So drinking a few diet sodas is better than regular sodas as far as weight management goes. But they are probably about the same as far as a good thing to drink. They are not.

[tcv]

I appreciate the comments about Asperatame. I honestly I will work on eliminating it. I recently read at the end of Taubes' book that even tasting something that's sweet could be enough to start the insulin reaction. Interesting.

For what it's worth, I have read a lot of stuff on Aspterame and have come to a single conclusion about its toxicity: I don't know. In fact, I find that if you search _any_ consumable substance upon the Intertubes you will find 1,000 people who say it's bad and another 1,000 who say it's good. As a lay consumer, I have no clue who is right. I figure that everything is bad for you in excess -- meat, aspertame, golf balls, whatever.

And in the end, water is the only best drink ... and even enough of that will kill you. Do _not_ hold your wee for a Wii.

[julirama723]

For me it's not neccessarily the aspartame itself, but just the sweet taste which sets off the Cephalic Insulin Response. I always wondered why I got fat drinking diet soda...it's because that sweet taste makes me want to eat more and more and more sweet things.

Even now I really have to be careful of that sweet taste. I will say that stevia seems to work really well for me--it's more of a natural sweetness, something I can handle. Granulated splenda is totally dangerous for me, and I only eat it if it can't be substituted in a recipe or something.

[Chicklady]

I was wondering as I gargled this morning if the sweetness in the moouthwash had the same effect too.

[tcv]

Well, if it's true that the mere sweet taste can induce insulin response, then it's possible. Have you tried trout-flavored mouthwash?

[Chicklady]

LOL. Nah. Trout is what my mouth tastes like when I get up in the morning