Artificial sweeteners suck!!

[Sunbeam]

Polly, this is what I found:

Stevia Side Effects: Nervous System & Psychological | LIVESTRONG.COM

[paulywogg]

Thanks Sunbeam,that's one of the articles that I read,tbh I think for me the Stevia was doing more harm than the aspartame and here I thought it was the "safe" one, I think anyone having mood problems, stomach probs,aches,insomnia should try laying off of these before resorting straight to meds,thanks again

[paulywogg]

Stayed off aspartame and Splenda but decided to try my shake mix yesterday and today,instant headaches both times, low mood,a bit more anxious, stuffy nose? Anyways figured I'd try it just to be sure,now I know,finding a chewing gum is impossible, even mini altoids contain splenda,the regular ones don't though, read your labels!

[paulywogg]

Hmmm,I had started my shake again and snuck in a few diet cokes and relapsed on alcohol about a week after the last post here,I'm starting to see a connection here,maybe blood sugar,mood,etc changes? Anyways no mas artificial sweeteners!!!!

[SKendall]

I think there is a connection too. Many, many alcoholics are hypoglycemic.

[NoSugar]

I agree, Skendall. There is a great deal of evidence that disordered carbohydrate metabolism is involved for many people. A clue is if you were always a person who preferred starches and sweets above all else and especially if eating those foods was hard to control once you began (a similar broken off-switch mechanism) and then made you feel tired, foggy, grouchy, etc. I was always a carb-prefer-er and sometimes ate crap to the point of feeling awful. Then I developed the not so clever trick of making myself hypoglycemic on purpose by not eating so that first glass of wine was all the more rewarding. Add to that that chronic alcohol intake causes insulin resistance and it's not really surprising that I've got blood sugar issues now. This mess isn't one I'd choose but knowing that both alcohol and sugar/starches are essentially poison for me makes it not too hard for my rational brain, which is now calling the shots, to make the right decision. I think it's like with smoking, some people may be better served to get off all of it to facilitate not drinking rather than using sweets or smoking as ineffective substitutes that actually sabotage all of the person's efforts.

I am not saying this applies to everyone - I realize that many people successfully quit by eating sweets and starches instead but if that hasn't worked for you, or if smoking is keeping your addictions alive, it's something to consider.

Artificial sweeteners raise blood insulin, causing acute hypoglycemia, so there's good reason to avoid those as well.