Talk about a hotbed of controversy! Yes, I list them as a helpful item. And I can justify my reasoning.

First of all, many sources that condemn artificial sweeteners are either defending the sugar industry, or individuals who are looking for an excuse to not have to stop having as much sugar as they want (some are naturalists who feel that anything chemical is bad, but that is another issue). I know a lot of people who become very nasty once you suggest that sugar ought not be consumed in the large amounts that many people use it in. It is almost tantamount to blasphemy to suggest that sugar might be harmful to some people!

Sugar was never meant to be eaten as a daily staple, but it is now considered to be just that. It is not until you try to eliminated it that you realize just how much is put into everything we eat.

Artificial sweeteners are also not meant to be consumed with every meal. Yes, they are chemicals, and yes, they can have adverse affects (in which case you can stop using them!). But get this:

Occasional servings of artificial sweeteners are a whole lot less harmful than sugar in the amounts that most people use!

One of the claims made by dieters against artificial sweeteners is that they may cause a release of insulin. The theory is that as the sweet taste hits your tongue, your body gets ready for a sugar load, and releases insulin in expectation, so they can cause a blood sugar low, causing cravings, and blow your diet. This is pretty much bilgewater. If such a reaction does occur, it resolves itself very rapidly. The human body adjusts easily to changes, and after two or three times of not getting the anticipated sugar, it stops releasing the insulin. After a few days, the issue resolves. It is not a significant reason to avoid these products, only a reason to monitor your sugars and see if something does happen, and make accommodations until your body adjusts, which it WILL do!

I use Splenda when I really need a sweet item and cannot afford the extra carbs for a sugar sweetened treat. My diet is so strict that most items with sugar are simply too high in carbs for me. I choose not to use Aspartame because I do not consider it to be safe for pregnancy or trying to conceive.

Sugar also has a negative affect that Splenda and Aspartame do not… It sets up a craving cycle in me that makes me want more sweet items. That craving is very hard to control! I find that if I have a sugar item, it is best late in the day, when it won’t make me crave sugar for the rest of the day. Some people say that aspartame makes you crave carbohydrates, but again, that is merely a limited reaction during the first few days of sugar withdrawal, and not a permanent affect.

When someone is first kicking the sugar habit (which can be an actual addiction in some people), it takes about a week for the cravings to subside. During that time, artificially sweetened items can be a lifesaver! They can get you over the hump without perpetuating the cravings – it helps if you avoid sugarfree items that have no calories during the first few days, since they do not satisfy your body’s need for carbohydrates.

Later, when the habit is kicked, but you still crave a treat now and again, they can help you to keep the good habits. But they should not be used on a daily basis any more than sugar should.

If you use sodas on a daily basis, soft drinks with artificial sweeteners more than a few times a week, or eat sugarfree candies all the time, then these sweeteners have a good chance of doing you harm long term. Regular high use of aspartame is what is responsible for the negative reports about its safety (yes, it really CAN contribute to male impotence, and can cause mood disturbances, but only when consumed in significant amounts), and I can almost guarantee that Splenda or Stevia would have similar negative affects if consumed regularly in high quantities.

Regular consumption means, more than one small serving a day of foods which contain the additive. One reason I use more than one type of artificial sweetener is so that I don’t overload on any single one. I don’t usually use them even once a day, and varying their use helps make sure that the long term affects of any of them are less.

Moderation is the rule, with either sugar, or artificial sweeteners. If you use them right, they can be a very helpful tool to ease some of the harder times of tightly controlling a diet, and there is no need to feel guilty or like you have to justify their use if you are using them wisely in your diet, it could be a good thing to try. It is readily available, and need not be expensive.

Remember, you don’t NEED a soda every day. If you have a soda every day, no matter WHAT it is flavored with, it is going to cause you harm! Save it for a rare treat on a hot day, and take bottled water with you instead!

If you prefer a natural alternative to artificial sweeteners, check out the page on Stevia.

Another hotbed of controversy, partly because it is tied in with the wrangle over artificial sweeteners. We cannot determine whether to class it as an herb, or a food! And neither can the FDA.

I am not an extremist. I generally believe the truth to be somewhere between what the proponents of each philosophy are claiming in most controversies. And that is how I feel about this one. I do not believe that stevia is without risks, nor do I believe that aspartame is the “most dangerous substance masquerading as food to ever be foisted off on the unsuspecting public” (though I do know from personal experience that it can be harmful). I do not believe that there is a conspiracy to keep people eating sugar or aspartame.

I DO believe that there are major profit motives at stake. But they are there on BOTH sides of the issues, whether the people promoting stevia admit it or not. They claim there is no profit in stevia, but there is. And brand names are EVERYTHING, so if someone got it approved by the FDA, and promoted brand recognition across the US, they’d have a sweet marketing deal the same as NutraSweet does. There are many brands of aspartame, but NutraSweet is THE brand, and it is what the fortunes have been made around.

So, motives aside, stevia is a powerful natural sweetener from the leaves of a plant that is native to South America. It comes in green leaf forms, or in white extract forms, or in a liquid extract. A little pinch goes a long way.

Because stevia is an herb, in the green leaf form, it may have other health affects. There are certainly some who claim that it not only eliminates the need for sugar, but that it, in itself, has the power to reduce blood sugar levels. In fact, someone out there is willing to claim that it can help just about every major condition from which a huge number of people are known to suffer. I am more than a bit skeptical about that, but feel that the jury is still out on any other benefits besides just being a calorie-free sweetener.

Too date, the FDA has denied approval of this as a food additive, and only allows it to be marketed as an herbal supplement, not as a sweetener. They say it fails to meet their safety guidelines, because it does not have a proven history of safety. Kind of funny they should say that, since coffee, caffeine, and even sugar itself would probably fail to meet those standards if tested today.

However the arguments resolve, you can find stevia in health food stores, and there is plenty of info on how to use it. Be aware though, that it is likely to have other affects, which are not well known, so as with all herbs, you should be on the alert for problems.

I have been using this to sweeten tea, and a little in baking. I use packets, which are stevia blended with maltodextrin (another simple sugar – not enough of it to have to count it unless you use a lot). I find that one packet will sweeten a large mug of tea, or a bowl of oatmeal. If I use too much of it, it gets a sickly sweet taste.

In cooking, we use about a third the amount that would normally be used in a sugar to stevia conversion. If you use the full amount, the flavor gets way too strong.

Stevia has the unusual effect of leaving a residual taste on your lips. If you get a bit on your lips, you can lick them several times and still taste a bit of sweet flavor.

I consider it to be a reasonable alternative to sugar, but still use it cautiously, just as I do all artificial sweeteners. Stevia is recommended as natural, but in the extracted form, is really not any different from other chemical sweeteners, and should be used with similar restraint.

We can now find it in our grocery store, next to the “natural” forms of sugar.