Sugar vs Artificial sweetners

[LilShenanigans]

I was having a talk with my sister about sugar intact and whats 'best'.

She swears black and blue to stick with white sugar, says raw and artificial are bad - Just do the research! (she of course yells at me)...
Of course the only 'research' she has done is what her friends tell her to do.

I've heard bad news about white, raw, natural and artificial, and have yet to find conclusive research that covers everything - from what each product is, does, how it is good/bad etc etc. And yes I've searched everywhere I could think of!

Now, I thought I'd throw it over to you guys...
What have you read, heard, seen, use or prefer?
Opinions and facts welcome, nastiness for either of these isn't (just incase :o )

[Lunar]

I always thought that raw was healthier but that was only by what family had told me. We use plain white sugar in our home and hubby sometimes uses artificial sweetener. Don't really think any sugar is good for you.
Sorry if I'm not much help.

[cosmic]

Erin, I can't say I've researched sugar in any depth :rolleyes:, but I was under the impression that any food is better the closer it is to its natural state (ie the less refining the better)... hence wholemeal pasta, brown rice... and raw sugar..??? That's what we use and that was part of my reasoning. Could be wrong though!

[aardvark]

I avoid aftificial sweeteners like the plague, and feel so much better for it.

I tend to sweeten things like jam etc with organic apple juice concentrate when I make it. I went cold turkey on sugar in coffee about 2 years ago, and now can't stand it sweetened.

When I do reach for sugar, I buy organic sugar only. Most of the food we eat in this house is organic, I feel much better for it, and my eczema, and DD#2's eczema has cleared up.

[tickle]

Hi there!
I'm pretty sure my aunty has liver problems due to certain foods she has eaten. I know she is definately not allowed any artificial sweetners. I'll have to check it out with her.
I'm with cosmic the closest it is to the real thing the better.
Also I always pick the product with the least ingredients and numbers.;)

[Shazbutt]

I thought i'd read somewhere about raw sugar having colour and stuff in it? Could be wrong though.....

We use plain white sugar in our household, and since hubby's triglyceride levels went up, he uses the Splenda artificial sweetener. I would use it but even though it says one tablet is the same as one teaspoon of sugar, i still reckon i'd need about 4 to taste as sweet as i like it! LOL I use the powdered splenda in cooking though and can't taste the difference.

I know this doesn't help any, but just thought i'd share.....:rolleyes:

[maybe1more]

Hey mum for one- i too debate over this, as after watching a program on artifical sweetners, it had some really bad things to say about it, after continue use of artifical sweetners especially the one in soft drinks eg;pepsi max, it can give smptoms of triedness and being lathargic, simarlar to the symptoms of m/s (mulitpel slorosis)S?? So nautral refine sugar is better for you as it can break down due to being a naturally grow product. I thought raw sugar would be better (probably due to so called being raw) but i dont know the facts on which one is better, so overall, even thought artifical sweetners claim to be better for us they arent healthy. How confusing though, we are trying to take a better alternative thats supose to be better for us, and doesnt make us put on too much weigh, yet if we have the one thats supose to be healther if makes us put on weight, have i confused you enough??? ;)

[OM]

Wasn't there reason why children are not meant to have diet products, didn't that have something to do with the artificial sweetner.

I can't remember what though! :confused:

[tickle]

Well looks like we've all confused you just that bit more.:p
Who has research on sugar?

[LilShenanigans]

not at all confused, I did ask for opinions as well as my research landed on nothing.

I did though find concern over artificial sweetners being used in products that claim "low in fat" "No sugar" etc etc, and there is stated somewhere that artificial should only be used in very small doses.
I've got to wonder about though the aspect that puts on people with illnesses such as diabetes and are told to use this 'unnatural' product.

I don't think anyone knows exactly what is right and wrong for them. Most dieticians say stay away from sugar altogether, but conclude the body craves it therefore choose which one you like?? WT!?

Oh and the other thing about using artificial in small doses - nobody labels how much of these ingredients they use on their products!

anyway, keep the posts coming... Im all too intrigued now..

[pegasus]

As far as I'm aware, all sugars (natural kind) are pretty much the same - pretty much anyway interms of chemical make up (and therefore nutritional content) anyway - fructose (from fruit), honey, golden syrup, white/brown/raw..., cane sugar. It's why I don't bother with 100% fruit juice - just buy the 35% one as it tastes better and costs less.

As far as artificial sweetners go, there's lots of bad press about them, but I use them anyway (only drink diet soft drinks). When I cook, I use whatever the recipe says in terms of sugar. Any of the research I've read about aspartame (sp?) is negative and there are a lot of websites devoted to dishing the bad dirt on it. The funny thing is that when you look at the studies that they've done where they say that it causes cancer (has done in laboratory rats), the doses of aspartame they've given the rats has been the equivalent of the rat drinking 300cans of drink a day. Given a rat's body size and compared to me (drinking one or two cans a day), I figure if I'm happy with the odds. ;)

[mummycloud]

After finding out information about brain tumours (my DD had one) I read the artificial sweetners can cause them. I had put my DD on artificial sweetners due to her behavioural problems, thinking that sugar was causing them. No-one really knows what caused the tumour, but we can't rule out the sweetners.

White sugar has been bleached, which can't be good for you could it :confused:
We use raw sugar here because it not only tastes a heap better, but it's more natural.
I've also come to realise that sugar isn't a problem for behaviour in kids, it artificial colours and flavours. The main problem with too much sugar, (too much of anything actually) is obesity.

[cwsmum]

I had an article emailed to me a while ago the said that artificial sweetners can cause symptoms of MS and also systemic lupus :eek: It can also affect childrens behavior, cause seizures and other neurological disturbances, birth defects if used during conception and early pregnancy :eek: :eek:
It also says that almost all the symptoms can be reversed if you stop using the artificial sweeteners.

I don't know how true any of it is...I'm sure it says at the bottom of it where it came from tho...

It is way to long to post the whole thing, but I do still have it if anyone wants me to email it to them.

[Pixie]

Diet coke and other diet drinks artifical sweetners have a substance called aspartame it's addictive like MSG and is very bad for you, can cause tumors etc if you do a search on google on it you'll find a heap of reviews etc.

it's better to drink a full strength coke than a diet one apparantly due to aspartame levels.

I have like lots of others here go for the thing that is the closest to what nature made it.

[ThomasMum]

Read this articles:

From Dr Greene:

Dr. Alan Greene on Sugar vs. Artificial Sweeteners
Which is worse, artificial sweeteners or sugar?
By Alan Greene, MD, FAAP


Question
My son likes to drink soft drinks. I allow him one per day. I always buy the caffeine-free variety, but I'm wondering what your opinion is on artificial sweeteners and kids. Which is "less evil," artificial sweeteners or sugar?

Answer

The best research on NutraSweet (aspartame) has not shown any conclusive problems. In the body, it breaks down into two amino acids that are naturally a part of the diet. Sugar is loaded with calories and it puts stress on the body's mechanisms for regulating energy levels.

I have no problems with sugar when it comes with fiber. You may not want him to develop a taste for the sugar because the amounts may not stay small. In small amounts, neither choice is very harmful. But of course, neither has great benefits. Personally, I prefer water, milk, and flavored waters. If choosing between the two soda possibilities, I would opt for the artificially sweetened soda.

From the Dietnet Institute:
Sugar Versus Sweetner

What's the difference, why should you use one over another, make your choice right now.

Sugar Cane: This tall cane-shaped plant (Saccharum officinarum) is the main source of sugar in tropical countries.

Sugar Beet: The main source of sugar in temperate climates, known botanically as Beta vulgaris. The root, which is the main storage organ for the sugar, looks like a large white turnip.

Artificial Sweeteners: Natural sweeteners are prepared from natural materials, e.g., sugar from plants such as sugar-beet or sugar cane. Artificial sweeteners are designed by man, and usually prepared by a chemical process. They are designed to supply sweetness on its own, i.e., without the carbohydrate food values which are associated with sugar. They are used by consumers who may believe it disadvantageous to use sugars for sweetening foods and drinks.

Caster Sugar: This is usually produced by screening the finer crystals from ordinary granulated sugar. Its grain size is typically less than 0.3 mm in length, as against some 0.5 - 0.7mm for the usual granulated crystal.

Sucrose: This is the technical name for table sugar. Sucrose is the first storage molecule produced in all green plants. It is also the main carrier of energy from one part of the plant to another, in all plant life. In this way it fulfils a role in the plant similar to that of glucose in the animal. (See Glucose).

Glucose: A monosaccharide sugar originating in plants and used in animals to carry energy throughout the body, just as sucrose is the main carrier of energy throughout the plant. It is prepared industrially by the hydrolysis of starch. (See Sucrose).

Diabetes: Diabetes mellitus is a disease of the body's metabolism resulting from the inability of the pancreas to manufacture enough insulin, thus allowing a higher than normal level of glucose in the blood. Diet:

Insulin: This hormone is formed in the pancreas. It controls the uptake of glucose by body cells, particularly in muscles and in the liver. In this manner, it controls the level of glucose in the blood. Any deficiency in the insulin function will allow the glucose to accumulate in excess. If this excess becomes chronic, it leads to the condition known as diabetes mellitus.

Intensive Sweeteners: These are sweeteners which contain a very large amount of sweetness in a very small amount of sweetener. They are usually prepared by synthetic chemistry and they provide little or no energy. If used to excess they may displace sugar (which is a nutritive carbohydrate) from the diet bringing about an increased intake of fat. This can in turn lead to obesity and related disorders.

[Ky]

Just think about this one ... there is more phenylalanine in one egg than in one can of diet coke!

The majority of people that cannot use phenylalanine based sweetners and foods containing it are people who have been diagnosed with phenylketoneuria (pku) which is diagnosed through the heel prick test (Guthrie test) done on each newborn baby.

There are a lot of everyday foods that we use without thinking that contain this substance as a naturally occuring part (aka aspartame, nutrasweet etc).

Then again ... I would prefer to stick to natural sugar, but I am now type 2 diabetic and try to avoid it as much as possible!

[hippychick]

the more natural the sugar is the better.....Splenda etc etc Are not good for you at all.....They are GM (genetically modified) Which means it isnt natural. It has had foreign genes inserted into the product.
For more information ( I could talk for ages about about genetically modified food etc-for example Canola Oil) ...Google 'Genetically modified foods'
:)

[Peaceangels]

I'm with Cosmic on using foods that are close to their natural state, so this is a raw sugar household.

To me artificial sweetners are just that - artificial.

[reAllytee]

Artificial Sweeteners = BAD ! :p
Can cause problems as other have stated

Sugar = GOOD !!!! :D
Hahahah & dont we all know it ;)

Its a case of both being evil really i mean one can say give you cancer whereas the other can give you diabetes or heart disease. Take you pick !
Sorry but if im going to use sugar in something like say a cake then well i may as well considering its a cake !
Sorta like how it sh!ts me when people order a big mac meal or the likes then get a diet coke WTH ?!?!?!? Then again whats with going to Maccas these days for a "healthy" meal anyways ???? ITS MACDONALDS !!!! Ok sorry i will take my soapbox elsewhere LOL.