No more artificial sweeteners!?

I'm giving up artificial sweeteners?!!

Ok, the reason there is a question mark behind that sentence is because I've realized how difficult it is to give them up. Not only because they are RAMPANT but because the withdrawal effects are killer. So essentially, I am TRYING to give up artificial sweeteners as much as possible. I started this quest on February 16th.

First, I will tell you what artificial sweeteners I am talking about and then I'll tell you why!

Artificial Sweeteners:
Equal a.k.a. Aspartame, Nutrasweet


Splenda a.k.a. Sucralose



Sweet 'n' Low a.k.a. Sacchrin


Now I am really not a huge health freak by any means and believe that moderation is key for everything including food and alcohol, but I have recently starting having issues with the ridiculousness of the American food industry and the lies that many of us have given into. Some people would argue that its not even food but "food-like" substances that we are eating these days! I love Michael Bleecker's blog post on this and his attempt to better his family's health. I mean, I am sick to death of looking at ANY packaged food and seeing "high fructose corn syrup" on the ingredient list. I'm sick of not being able to pronounce half of the ingredients on the list. I'm mad to hear about how the beef that I love to eat so much is wrought with hormones and is from cows who stand on the pavement all day and are fed corn-based grain diets when God intended cows to be wandering in a field eating GRASS. And America seriously wonders why we are all getting so unhealthy and fat?! It makes absolutely no sense why we wonder why we are fat when its obvious we are being stuffed to the brim with modified corn products, artificial everything, and "food-like" substances that our bodies are unable to digest. Not to mention the fact that many Americans eat dairy at every single meal and I could go on and on about this one from my past "vegan" days.

Here's an example that really irked me: I was sick last week and my doctor told me to eat only bananas, rice, crackers, and applesauce for several days, so I went to buy some crackers. I bought Wheat Thin Multi-grain crackers. Heck, they had that little green "Smart Spot" checkmark/stamp of approval that says "Smart Choices Made Easy"! But even they contained a long list of ingredients that are hard to pronounce and included cornstarch and high fructose corn syrup on the list of ingredients! We are truly being deceived by the American food industry when it comes to listings like "Smart Spot" and "All Natural" and "No Added Sugar" and "Whole Grain".


Ingredients: WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT FLOUR, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), WHOLE GRAIN BARLEY FLAKES, SOYBEAN OIL, SUGAR, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WHOLE GRAIN MILLET, WHOLE GRAIN RYE, WHOLE GRAIN TRITICALE, MOLASSES, SALT, WHOLE WHEAT, LEAVENING (CALCIUM PHOSPHATE AND/OR BAKING SODA), ROLLED WHOLE GRAIN OATS, MONOGLYCERIDES, ONION POWDER, SOY LECITHIN (EMULSIFIER), CORNSTARCH. CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY.

I wanted the focus of this post to be the artificial sweeteners, but here are some other changes I am going to try to make as well:
-eating only organic "grass-fed" beef with no hormones added (this is tough! even Whole Foods has the tiniest section of this type of beef but its so worth it)
-not eating dairy at every meal
-when I drink milk, to only drink organic, pasteurized milk and NOT homogenized
-eating "cage free" eggs and "free range" chicken without hormones only
-trying to eat some fish from time to time (I hate fish, but will try this and the only fish that are on my list are "wild caught" fish; NO "farmed" fish and no shellfish because they are the trash cans of the sea)
-staying away from artificial sweeteners
-staying away from high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified corn ANYTHING

Obviously, this can't be 100% of the time. I am still going to go out to eat and cannot control everything I eat, but I can make of the change of better grocery shopping and choosing to put things in my body that God intended as much as possible.

Some facts about Aspartame:
Upon ingestion, aspartame breaks down into natural residual components, including aspartic acid, phenylalanine, methanol, and further breakdown products including formaldehyde, formic acid, and a diketopiperazine. It can also cause brain damage as well as insulin resistance which could lead to type II diabetes.

Some facts about Splenda:
Bottom line, splenda is made up of a molecule that contains chlorine. When digested, chlorine is cancer causing. Duh! Not to mention the fact that many reports show that Splenda is indigestible and absorbed by fat which increases your fat cells and makes you fatter! I have researched many sources and studies regarding the mal effects of Splenda and the best in my opinion include tuberose.com as well as Dr. Mercola's article.

Facts about Sacchrin:
I didn't even research it since its the most studied and research artificial sweetener of all and we've all heard the bad reports about it for years.

The newcomer - Stevia:
Stevia, also known as Truvia is the new kid on the block as far as artificial sweeteners go. Its supposed to be all natural and is already FDA approved, so I know many people who are switching to Stevia. I just feel like it's got to be in the same ballpark as other artificial sweeteners and that in the future, we'll find out some reason or another it could kill us, so I'm not switching to this one either...just in case anyone was wondering.

There’s overwhelming evidence that consuming artificial sweeteners will likely wreak havoc on your body. Previous news has centered mainly around artificial sweeteners’ ability to impair your appetite regulation and leading to weight gain. In reality, these diet foods and drinks can cause serious distortions in your biochemistry and ruin your body's ability to control calories. As a matter of fact, it’s been shown that diet soft drinks can double your risk of obesity! Nearly a decade ago, studies were already revealing that artificial sweeteners can:

-Stimulate your appetite
-Increase carbohydrate cravings
-Stimulate fat storage and weight gain


No thank you!

So have you decided to stop using artificial sweeteners yet? If so, withdrawal effects are a whole other ballgame and get ready! As far as withdrawal effects go, I think sucralose or "Splenda" causes the worst withdrawal effects. I'm pretty sure of this since sucralose was what I used the most because I had it in my coffee every morning. And my headaches for the first 3 weeks of giving it up were killer! I had to give in several times and have a little Splenda. It was AWFUL! I've never had a migraine, but I imagine it feels similar to how I felt when I was in withdrawal of Splenda. I felt completely incapacitated, couldn't read, think or function normally at all.

So now that I'm eliminating artificial sweeteners, here is the list of things I will stay away from(the crazy thing is that the majority of these foods are those I have taught myself are the "healthy choices" but now I know in truth, they are the most worthless, chemical, processed foods of all):

ANYTHING that says "sugar free" or "reduced sugar" or "low sugar"
Crystal Light
Diet Coke
sugar free yogurts
sugar free ice cream
any "diet" drink




So don't worry, I'm not turning into a huge health nut but I know I can do better for myself and for my family by refusing to give in to the American way of eating. Yes, I have to pay a little more now to get better foods, but I have to wonder - Will it save me big money on doctors and prescriptions in the future??