Is Sugar better for you than Aspartame

Discussion in 'Science' started by ryobi, Nov 30, 2016.

  1. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    True. Same with salt. When I went low carb I stopped eating things I love like pizza because of the crust. I don't eat pasta or breads or sugar or starches. But after about a year I found a recipe for cauliflower pizza crust. So I made it. And I couldn't eat the pizza. By avoiding carbs, I had also gone to almost all natural foods. This in turn drastically reduced my salt intake. By the time I made my pizza, it was like eating a salt lick. I had no idea how much I had inadvertently reduced my salt intake.

    My blood pressure also dropped quickly from 140-145/90, to 120/80. Looking back, I strongly suspect it was cutting out the salt that made my pressure drop so quickly. I remember it even shocked the doctor. It had dropped in something like 6 months without any meds.
     
  2. Johnny Brady

    Johnny Brady New Member

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    Yay for sugar..:)
    In my cycling club days it was the norm for most of us all to carry plenty of sugary stuff in our rucksacks to keep our energy levels up on long rides such as bananas, sticky cakes, candy bars and sweeties, fizzy pop drinks etc.
    On one 100-miler some people didn't want to carry the weight and thought they could beg food and drink off the rest of us. Not a chance, and they were dropping out like flies well before the finish..:)
     
  3. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I used to envy my brother-in-law for his low pulse rate - I understood that athletes always have a low one. Then one day he was told he needed a cardiac bypass because 'the blockage was slowing down his pulse (heart) rate'.
     
  4. Johnny Brady

    Johnny Brady New Member

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    I'm 68 and in good health and have always eaten and drank exactly what my stomach tells me it wants.
    For example yesterday it told me it wants a fryup of egg, chips, bacon and baked beans, so that's what i gave it.
    Tomorrow it might tell me it wants juicy steak and brussel sprouts, so i'll give it that, and the next day it might demand fish fingers, a cornish pasty, green beans and so on.
    I've never argued with my stomach and never will..:)

    PS- I hear there's a high incidence of Crohn's Disease (inflammation of the gut) among the jewish population, possibly because they don't eat pork. Personally my stomach can't get enough sausages and bacon and my guts are fine..:)
     
  5. ChrisL

    ChrisL Well-Known Member

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    I have no health issues and I hardly ever even get sick, and there are no foods I avoid unless I don't like them. I just don't eat a whole LOT of anything. That is when things are bad for you, when you overdo it.
     
  6. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    LOL!!! I'm sure I will lie awake worrying now, right after I lift weights and do five miles before my date with my 20 yo girlfriend,

    If I go it will be with a smile on my face.
     
  7. Aleksander Ulyanov

    Aleksander Ulyanov Well-Known Member

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    Including moderation, as Dr Franklin was the first to note
     
  8. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    Care for a cup of hemlock tea? :)

    The problem is, if you eat processed foods, there is no way to moderate. Everything you eat is essentially poison. And there are people who NEVER eat real food any more.
     
  9. ChrisL

    ChrisL Well-Known Member

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    You mean to tell me that eating a whole box of chocolates isn't moderation? :laughing:

    - - - Updated - - -

    I eat all kinds of food and never have had any health issues.
     
  10. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    Well we have a nation plagued with obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. In fact, bad diets result in a large part of the cost of health care. If you want to drastically reduce the burden on the health care system, ban fast food,mini marts, and sugary drinks. Some scientists even argue that sugar should be regulated like a drug due to its health consequences.

    I think we should impose a health tax on junk food as well as dangerous activities, as a way to pay for a single-payer health care system. We already tax cigarettes excessively, probably to the tune of 3 times the actual cost to society. We should tax junk food the same way and direct it all to a general fund for health care. Basically, it is a pay as you go form of health insurance. Then I don't have to pay for other people's choices.

    Some people get lucky. I got away with it for years. But then one day I started piling on the weight even though my diet hadn't changed.

    The oldest person in the world smoked for 90 years but that doesn't mean smoking makes you live a long life.

    I once did the calculation and estimated that a $2 per pack tax on cigarettes pays for all smoking related health consequences.
     
  11. ChrisL

    ChrisL Well-Known Member

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    I think it's because people in America tend to overdo it with everything.
     
  12. ChrisL

    ChrisL Well-Known Member

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    Maybe because our body chemistries are a little different, different things are going to affect certain people more than others?
     
  13. Bowerbird

    Bowerbird Well-Known Member

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    Although the role of salt in hypertension has been challenged the original research still holds some validity and interest. It was on Papua New Guinea natives - they simply examined three groups - highlanders who had little contact with "white civilisation" groups that had some contact and those who were assimilated. Now PNG highlands salt is very very scarce. In fact mostly they used Potash instead of salt to flavour foods and if anyone has ever tasted potassium chloride you will quickly understand why they started trading for salt. Point is that until that time we had thought blood pressure naturally rose with age - in fact we had tables and calculators for age and blood pressure. What we found was that the PNG highlanders with "normal" salt intake - BP rose with age, the ones with little access to salt - BP stayed stable - those from the highlands BP FELL with age. Now even back then when this research was done it was acknowledged that there was more than salt intake affecting this physiological response but it was a game changer as far as dietary advice was concerned. Until that point there had been increasing amounts of salt added to a lot of processed foods - then we started to cut back. Considering the serious consequences of hypertension (high blood pressure) it does not hurt to keep salt intake down.

    Personally I am more worried about the inadvertent ingestion of BPA more than artificial sweeteners

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A

    - - - Updated - - -

    That is more true than you realise but there are overall guides that will help a majority ;)
     
  14. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    No doubt. I have blood sugar issues [an odd variety at that] which is what motivated me to go low carb. Apparently some people do better on low fat diets, and others do better on low carb diets. And now there is significant evidence that ketogenic diets [low carb] are anti-cancer. Ketones are toxic to most cancers. Additionally, insulin is critical in the spread of cancer. It is thought that ketogenic diets suppress insulin levels and reduce the ability of cancers to spread. Also, cancers need glucose, which ketogenic diets minimize. This is all preliminary but really exciting stuff. I was reading an online academic lecture recently, One researcher commented that low carb diets might be best for people with a strong history of cancer in the family. And low fat might be best where heart disease is the biggest concern.

    Beyond that, some cancer treatments are now being customized for each individual based I believe on the persons DNA.

    I can tell you this. Going ketogenic gave me a whole new life. No carbs, exercise, and lots of sex; that's my medical plan. :D

    PS. You never want to go no carb. NEVER less than 25 grams a day. People have really messed themselves up by going overboard and not doing their homework first! I did that [25 grams a day] for about nine months and it is grueling! Less than 25 is dangerous and can be lethal. In order to maintain I now keep it around 100 grams of carbs a day, which is generally considered to be safe in the long term. You don't want to remain highly ketogenic for extended periods of time. I actually went three months on, took a break and bumped it up to about 100, 3 months on, another break, 3 more months on, and then started a maintenance program. But the weight loss for the first six months was dramatic!!! I was losing 5 pounds a week at first. Slowly it tapered off to two to three pounds a week. That last 20 pounds took almost another year at maintenance levels.
     
  15. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    I would argue that the food industry has also sabotaged our health by giving us what we want. For example, there are milk shakes sold that have about 2000 calories! Add that to a 1400 calorie burger [some are as high as 2000 as well] and 500 calories for fries, and one lunch has enough calories to last about 2 days...easily!

    I had to stop going to 7-11s. There is almost nothing in the store that I can eat. Try to find processed foods that are not loaded with carbs and salt, never mind the chemicals used as preservatives . I couldn't even buy nuts [cashews, peanuts, trail mix] without added sugar.

    The other thing is bliss point engineering. Food companies engineer foods that bypass our natural urge to stop eating. IIRC, Doritos were the first product made this way but now its a science.The have engineered foods to be addictive. No one can eat just one! Also, by adding both sugar and fat, it is assured that not all of the food energy will be used. It is best to limit foods to sugary or fatty, but not both. Food companies add both [salt too] until it becomes too much, and then back it off just a little. And viola! You have a perfectly addictive snack.

    Oh yes, and protein bars! Watch out. Some brands are just candy bars with protein added.
     
  16. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    * voila.

    I really need to wear my glasses when posting. I couldn't fix that with diet. :)
     
  17. Bowerbird

    Bowerbird Well-Known Member

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    And don't even mention "fruit" drinks. So many mothers buy fruit juice for kids thinking it is better than soft drink but most have added sugar which puts them at a sugar rating higher than many soft drinks

    My beef is cafe's and restruants. Try getting a low carb drink there. My choices are usually Diet Coke (gag!!) water, if I am lucky soda water, or if I am REALLY lucky tomato juice

    Have taken to ordering "lemon lime and soda" which more and more bars here will sell - just soda water with a slice of lemon and lime - really really refreshing but what is wrong with more low carb drinks being available?

    Many de-alcoholised drinks are low carb. Coopers "ultra light" is 0.5 alcohol virtually no sugar or carb but smells like beer, tastes like beer and looks like beer. Have to admit to going to a party or two with a "Coopers" and no-one is aware that I am not only keeping the carbs and sugar down but am staying sober
     
  18. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    We have really been sold a bill of goods with bread. When I stopped eating bread, the degree to which bread accounts for wasted calories became all too clear. Every now and then I had to grab something while on the run. So I might stop and get a sandwich from a mini mart or a burger. Then I remove the bread and eat the real food inside. I started noticing that the weight of the bread often accounted for most of the weight of the food! It is especially shocking with some burger joints. The bread is made to be excessively heavy; presumably to make it feel like you're getting more food than you are. Bread has almost no food value. It is junk food.
     
  19. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4215472/

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4371612/

    http://www.npr.org/sections/health-...hting-cancer-by-putting-tumor-cells-on-a-diet
     
  20. JakeJ

    JakeJ Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    But there are different forms of sugar. The sugar most people consume is from corn, most often in soda pop. The different is taste between a corn syrup soda and a sugar soda is dramatic. The later is so sweet that you'll only want 8 ounces. But corn syrup soda is far less sweet per sugar content. Of course, many fruits and veggies contain sugar too, which you body also processes correctly. In short, it is isn't just sugar versus artificial, but what kind of sugar versus what kind of artificial?
     
  21. Bowerbird

    Bowerbird Well-Known Member

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    yes there are many forms of sugar - even honey is a form of sugar containing sucrose, fructose and glucose. Of all of those glucose is the "simplest" sugar and easiest to digest. Honey is also much sweeter than ordinary sugar so if you are looking to cut back your sugar intake you could do worse than substitute with honey as long as you do not do a "spoon for spoon" substitution
     
  22. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    From my end of the world, the glycemic index is as important as the total calories consumed. This tells you how it affects blood sugar levels, which in turn determine insulin levels, which are both critical. This also suggests the degree to which sugar goes right to fat.

    Beer contains maltose, which has a glycemic index of 105. So even though beer doesn't list any sugar on the label, the maltose is worse than glucose! Even worse, each maltose molecule immediately breaks down into two glucose molecules. So beer is really bad. I drink about twice a year, but never beer. It sends me right into a blood sugar crisis. The last time I had two beers in as many days, it put me down hard for two days. I can tolerate pure sugar better than beer.

    My preferred artificial sweetener is sucralose [Splenda].

    Maltodextrin Sugar 110
    Maltose Sugar 105
    Dextrose Sugar 100
    Glucose Sugar 100
    Trehalose Sugar 70
    HFCS-42 Modified Sugar 68
    Sucrose Sugar 65
    Caramel Modified Sugar 60
    Golden Syrup Modified Sugar 60
    Inverted Sugar Modified Sugar 60
    Refiners Syrup Modified Sugar 60
    HFCS-55 Modified Sugar 58
    Blackstrap Molasses Sugar Extract 55
    Maple Syrup Natural Sugar 54
    Honey Natural Sugar 50
    Sorghum Syrup Natural Sugar 50
    Lactose Sugar 45
    Cane Juice Sugar Extract 43
    Barley Malt Syrup Modified Sugar 42
    HSH Sugar Alcohol 35
    Coconut Palm Sugar Natural Sugar 35
    Maltitol Sugar Alcohol 35
    HFCS-90 Modified Sugar 31
    Brown Rice Syrup Modified Sugar 25
    Fructose Sugar 25
    Galactose Sugar 25
    Agave Syrup Modified Sugar 15
    Xylitol Sugar Alcohol 12
    Glycerol Sugar Alcohol 5
    Sorbitol Sugar Alcohol 4
    Lactitol Sugar Alcohol 3
    Isomalt Sugar Alcohol 2
    Mannitol Sugar Alcohol 2
    Erythritol Sugar Alcohol 1
    Yacon Syrup Natural Sweetener 1
    Oligofructose Sugar Fiber 1
    Inulin Sugar Fiber 1
    Brazzein Natural Sweetener 0
    Curculin Natural Sweetener 0
    Glycyrrhizin Natural Sweetener 0
    Luo Han Guo Natural Sweetener 0
    Miraculin Natural Sweetener 0
    Monellin Natural Sweetener 0
    Pentadin Natural Sweetener 0
    Stevia Natural Sweetener 0
    Thaumatin Natural Sweetener 0
    Acesulfame K Artificial Sweetener 0
    Alitame Artificial Sweetener 0
    Aspartame Artificial Sweetener 0
    Cyclamate Artificial Sweetener 0
    Neotame Artificial Sweetener 0
    Saccharin Artificial Sweetener 0
    Sucralose Artificial Sweetener 0
    http://www.sugar-and-sweetener-guide.com/glycemic-index-for-sweeteners.html
     
  23. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    It is reasonably argued that before the advent of grain farming, about 5000 years ago, humans lived mainly on ketogenic diets. If ketogenic diets are indeed anti-cancer diets, if carbohydrates [-> gluclose] provide the fuel, and through insulin, the pathway for the spread of cancer, and given that ketones stress and even kill cancer cells, then one has to wonder if the advent of high carb diets, and especially the consumption of foods with a high glycemic index, are related to or even driving the cancer rates.

    Could the Pritikin [high carb low fat] diet be a great diet for promoting the growth and spread of cancer?
     
  24. Aleksander Ulyanov

    Aleksander Ulyanov Well-Known Member

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    "Processed" essentially means "cooked", nothing more. Organic food makes me sick, should I eat it even though it makes me feel bad and throw up?
     
  25. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

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    With added salt, sugar, fat, preservatives, and often processed meat made from the lowest quality sources - hooves, lips, ears... Processed foods are engineered to maximize sales. It's not what you would make at home,

    Consider the 10 oz burrito from 7-11. It has 32% of the fat and 63% of the sodium intake for an entire day, but very little nutritional value.
    https://www.nutritionix.com/i/7-11/bean-cheese-burrito-10-oz/529e7f88f9655f6d3500a42e
     

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