Artificial Sweeteners

[Deezah82]

I'm on Day 29 and planning out my reintroduction. Starting on Day 31, I'll reintroduce a different item into my diet and see how it affects me over the next few days. The plan is to have at least 2 days eating Whole 30 compliant between each item that is reintroduced before introducing the next thing. If I am still reacting after day 2 of being compliant, I'll extend it until I'm not before trying the next item. 

 

I want to be as specific as I can about what affects me and how it affects me so I'm breaking each category into smaller steps. I'm also only testing things that I may want to eat. For instance, I don't miss or care for peanuts, but I do occasionally want black beans in my Chipotle salad. When I test legumes, I'll test black beans specifically because they are pretty much the only one I can see myself wanting. 

 

My main question is about reintroducing sugar. I am going to do a separate reintroduction for sugar because I know there are instances where it will be prevalent in my meals (holidays with family have some strong traditions that I don't want to buck if it's not going to affect me too terribly.) Plus, when I go home to NC, I will probably want to indulge in a Diet Cheerwine ("It's a Carolina Thing!") for nostalgia purposes. 

 

I know I'm going to want to treat myself on occasion and would like to know how stringent I need to be when choosing to treat myself. (Like, should I choose the diet cheerwine with artificial sweetener or the sweet tea with real sugar?) If there is the possibility for different reactions to real sugar vs. artificial sweeteners, then I'd like to know how I react to each so I can make a better choice. If there's not much difference, then I'll just go by what is more appealing at the time!

 

Here's the question--is it worth it to do separate re-introductions of real sugar and artificial sweeteners? (I'm asking more from a science standpoint. I.e. Am I going to be taking unnecessary days testing two items that could be tested at the same time.)

 

 

 

[ShannonM816]

It's definitely possible to have different reactions to sugar and artificial sweeteners. 

 

For me, sugar mostly causes me to crave more sugar, although if I eat enough of it over the course of several days, I may also be moodier than normal. Some artificial sweeteners cause digestive issues, although how much you have to consume to experience that seems to vary from person to person -- some people are super sensitive to it, and even just small amounts send them sprinting to the bathroom, others can eat a typical dessert sized serving and be fine.

 

My personal take on this is, neither sugar nor artificial sweeteners are good for you, so if you're going to have something once or twice a year, have the version that tastes better -- for me, this is always the real one, not the diet one, but choose based on your own preferences.

[NY2LA2MONTREAL]

It's definitely possible to have different reactions to sugar and artificial sweeteners. 

 

For me, sugar mostly causes me to crave more sugar, although if I eat enough of it over the course of several days, I may also be moodier than normal. Some artificial sweeteners cause digestive issues, although how much you have to consume to experience that seems to vary from person to person -- some people are super sensitive to it, and even just small amounts send them sprinting to the bathroom, others can eat a typical dessert sized serving and be fine.

 

My personal take on this is, neither sugar nor artificial sweeteners are good for you, so if you're going to have something once or twice a year, have the version that tastes better -- for me, this is always the real one, not the diet one, but choose based on your own preferences.

Thanks again for your post. I only used stevia before starting the program and also a believer in the real sugar -- I am leary of all sugar now but know I will have to deal with it