DO. NOT. USE. ASPARTAME. please read this...

Do you use aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal, etc) in an effort to reduce calories and lose weight? The fact is, Aspartame makes you crave carbohydrates and eat more food resulting in weight gain. 

This makes me wonder. I consumed a lot of Diet Coke (between one and three 2-liter bottle/week) and other aspartame-containing products between 1983 and 2003. I ended up gaining 145 lbs. While I do not think it was the single cause, I wonder how much aspartame was a contributing factor.

Here's the double whammy... The toxic long-term effects of aspartame are often dismissed as a "hoax" by the sweetener industry. However, Aspartame's FDA approval and its effect on public health are extremely well-documented. Please take this moment to educate yourselves on the shocking truth about Aspartame by reading this article, Aspartame: Sweet or Misery.

Honestly, I was outraged and appalled when I did the research for the article. There was a tenacious and scandalous 14-year battle with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) around safety concerns. In part, aspartame was considered a chem-warfare agent. The product never should have been approved as a food additive.

Former FDA Investigator on the Aspartame case, Arthur Evangelista, resigned after bearing witness to the misconduct and lawsuits and distortion of clinical data behind the product's approval. He now fights to make consumers aware of the dangers of Aspartame. “Educate yourselves. It’s your body, your health, your life.” -  Arthur Evangelista

thanks for your information!  Tamilynn

What sweeteners do you use? I typically use Stevia. However, I also can use raw honey, real maple syrup, dried figs, mejool dates, and coconut sugar without dumping.

The use of artificial sweeteners messes up digestion.  There was this study as well:

Why do people get more intoxicated when they go for diet instead of regular soda with their booze? It has to do with digestion. The diet soda mixture passes quickly through the stomach, putting alcohol into our bloodstream faster.

That's not the case with regular soda and liquor. Experts say the stomach treats this combination as if it's food. Digestion slows everything down, delaying the release of alcohol into our system, and spreading it out over a longer period of time.

I developed skin issue when I have splenda.  The more and the longer I "get" that - the worse my skin looks and feel... Dermatitis... some reversible - some - I probably will have for the rest of my life... 

Now other stuff - it gets even more  "fun".  

I get incontinent when I drink diet Pepsi or Pepsi max.  Yes - that means that I can't hold my pee after I drink that diet drinks.. (that are the only diet that I can tolerate taste wise).  My BF calls it " you can give her Pepsi and make her laugh... but she can't do both at the same time.   Something in the diet Pepsi irritates my bladder so much and paralyze my muscles that I can't hold it.   First I thought it was age, losing the weight, too much exercise... but after I got complete clean from artificial sweeteners - I realized that I no longer needed the pad.... But a few serving of Pepsi max - and the problem returns and is there for 2-3 days... long enough as my body is trying to get rid of the toxins...

THANK YOU for posting this!  I have been saying this for YEARS. FInally got the docs to add it to my allergies list so they don't bring it to me in the hospital. Saccarine also. There is a book By Kevin Trudeau that explains about this in detail, and how this item is linked to perpetuating diabetes. 

I personally don't use sweetener. My body has come to detox off of it, the way that an alcoholic detoxes off alcohol. I don't use any. I drink water.....when I am sick I drink a little orange juice, diluted. The white part of the peel of an orange settles nausea just as fast as soda. 

I can new tell if I am hungry or thirsty...most of the time it is thirsty. 

Most importantly when I stopped this item, saccarine and splenda, I DROPPED 75 pounds.   See my blog for the four month process i used to detox off soda. 

It was THE Hardest thing to do, and well worth it. 

Great blog! I enjoyed reading all that you had to say. I too get very ill from artificial sweeteners. I get migraine headaches and terrible body aches from eating them- Splenda being the worst of them all.I eat fairly clean with the exception of sugar. After having RNY back in 2005 I ended up with a fistula so I am having a revision done on March 19th so I am a day after you. Good luck on your surgery. You have prepared well. 

 I use a protein isolate called Primal Fuel- its all natural but not organic. It s sweetened with Stevia and evaporated cane juice. it has 5 grams of sugar. I was always told f you can keep your sugars under 8 grams its ok. You can also find non GMO organic at Super Supplements.

Wishing you well.

Sharon

I am very inspired by your blog post and I hope that you get everything that you expect form your surgery.

Bravo on your massive weight loss before surgery. OA is a good program because it deals with what is under the eating -- the emotional aspect, whereas the surgery addresses the physical.I highly recommend it for all WLS patients.

Thanks for posting this!

Wow, thanks everyone for sharing your experience with artificial sweeteners. I keep learning more and more, and one thing is clear, this should not be in our food. I am angry with the food industry!

Have you seen the new campaign from Coke to fight obesity? What a joke. It is an exceedlingly well done commercial -- the kind that makes you want to thank Coke for bringing us diet sodas and vitamin water. But, of course, the reality is that diet soda will not help fight obesity. In fact, it increases obesity. You can check out my POV on it here: http://www.healthcentral.com/obesity/c/276918/159203/launches-obesity 

I am going to read your blog. I am very interested in your detox journey and 75lb weight loss.

Thank again, everyone. Have a great weekend!!

Oh, BTW, there is a new Tweet Chat called #GettingStarted at 9pm ET on Wednesday 2-27-13. It is about weight loss and healthy eating. I am going to be there and I hope you will, too!