How bad are artificial sweeteners?

[pheenyx1]

I am trying to add some bulk, without gaining too much bf. To deal w/ cravings for sweets I started trying sugar free jello, and occasionally I have a diet mt dew. My protein powder and energy drink also have artificial sweetener. Aside from causing cancer in rats, does artificial sweetener have any negative impact on fat loss or muscle building?

[Str8Jakked]

does artificial sweetener have any negative impact on fat loss or muscle building?

Since it contains Zero calories, no- it does not.

[First6]

Since it contains Zero calories, no- it does not.

Not so fast....

No cals is true. But there are studies that show it to negatively affect the bodies ability to burn fat.
Also a VERY small % of people will gain fat as the sweet taste plays a trick on the brain and triggers insulin spike resulting in fat storage.
A small amount wont hurt you but when you really get serious try to stay away from it.

[Str8Jakked]

Not so fast....

No cals is true. But there are studies that show it to negatively affect the bodies ability to burn fat.
Also a VERY small % of people will gain fat as the sweet taste plays a trick on the brain and triggers insulin spike resulting in fat storage.
A small amount wont hurt you but when you really get serious try to stay away from it.

You can have your studies, I am speaking from personal experience AND that of others as well- up to and including Contest Prep, never have I seen it affect anyone negatively at all.

[First6]

You can have your studies, I am speaking from personal experience AND that of others as well- up to and including Contest Prep, never have I seen it affect anyone negatively at all.

I can have my studies?? WTF is that?
I supported your comment by saying it was true. Then I just supplemented it with an alternative view based on science and fact. Sure I know plenty of guys who drink diet soda all the time with no negative. I also know some who swear that it screws up their diet (which includes my personal exp). I also do a ton of reading about diet and know that my statement in my previous post is correct.
Bottom line... Did not say you were wrong / just added to your comment with something to think about.

Before you spout off and tell someone they can have their studies you should think about the fact that the world is not based on YOUR exp and what YOU have seen. There is a whole lot more out there.

[Windex]

I am somewhat developing into a diet nazi so I personally think they are not acceptable. If I feel I'm craving juice or whatever I just curb the craving with BCAA's as they taste like juice to me. Alternative, you can just take a huge pitcher of ice & water and add some orange / lemon wedges or strawberries and give it that flavored water essence without really adding calories or chemicals.

However, if the diet coke or splenda or whatever is going to prevent you from dropping $20.00 at a waffle house or guzzling a 2L bottle of pop then go ahead and use them as the alternative would be more detrimental.

[MastaMan]

I dislike the idea of artificial sweeteners, which are only present in my diet in the form of protein shakes. They add shitt like waxy maize and maltodextrin for and insulin spike but then add acelsulfame potassium like they're worried about carbs or diabetes or some bullshit? it's retarded. I'd like to find a artifical sweetener free protein shake.

[Str8Jakked]

I also do a ton of reading about diet and know that my statement in my previous post is correct.

Well, I truly feel sorry for you if you believe everything you read because all of my knowledge is based on REAL WORLD EVIDENCE and FACT- both of which CANNOT be disputed.

Before you spout off and tell someone they can have their studies you should think about the fact that the world is not based on YOUR exp and what YOU have seen. There is a whole lot more out there.

No one was spouting off, I was stating a FACT.

I'm pretty sure EVERYONE will agree with me that REAL WORLD evidence trumps what you find between the pages of a book ANY DAY.

Show me concrete proof to support your argument via your "Study" and I will have at least 10 people contact you to let you know that they are supporting mine with REAL WORLD proof- which any individual that I know will prefer over any study any day.

There is not a "whole lot more out there" than Fact, you cannot dispute Facts.

[First6]

HaHa.
I'm done with you. Your clearly an idiot.

[PK-V]

Lot's of sugar free soda will make you feel like shit

That's all im going to add

[pheenyx1]

Windex, is there any particular reason you are cutting out artificial sweeteners?

[MR-FQ320]

Sugar free soda tends to be sweetened with Aspartame. Aspartame is made up of two amino acids, the Foods standard agency in 2008 deemed this(after extensive trials) to be safe enough for wholesale consumption, and only warned of heath issues if you drank 14 cans a day of soda.

Here is my thread on Aspartame, which i copied from an article at lovefood.com, i dont quite agree with the end stuff i just thought it best to leave the article whole and unedited, remember to take into account that we are BB's.

http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...ight=aspartame

[Sgt. Hartman]

I'm not gonna get caught up in this argument as I don't drink enough of it to make a difference, but for every study you can find that show that artificial sweeteners cause an insulin spike or affect the bodies ability to burn fat for fuel, you'll find 10 other studies in direct contradiction.

Try telling a diabetic that a sweet taste can "trick" the body into producing an insulin response.

[Windex]

First I want to clarify I'm not cutting them out, as I never used them to begin with. I agree there's too many studies / arguments / discussions about aspartame and sweeteners in generals. It's not exactly something easy to prove like more calories in = gain weight, less cals in = lose weight. I had two physicians tell me their personal thoughts about aspartame and they both despise it. Regardless, the main reason I dislike sweeteners is because one of the ingredients is benzyl-somethingsomething. I'd know the exact name if I had the can infront of me. The point is one of the chemicals they use has a benzyl group attached to it (Benzene). Benzene is carcinogenic and can be fatal given the correct circumstances/dose. Obviously the companies have manufactured these diet sodas in a way that would allow their biochemical nature to stay intact otherwise death by diet soda would be problematic and awkward to say the least. With that being said, I would never trust any product that would have a benzene derivative in it's ingredients list.

Moreover, I'm a firm believer of anything too good to be true usually is. Your getting the sweet taste for free essentially [Zero calories] (as far as your body is concerned, though your wallet may beg to differ).

Is it going to cause a problem in the long run ? Maybe. How much better/worse would your body physically look given you chose to either go with diet soda, drink regular soda, or did natural sweetening via fruit / sucking it up and just drinking water ? Who knows.

From a health perspective, neither type of soda (diet or not), nor sweeteners are healthy to begin with so why bother. There is literally zero beneficial reason to be drinking them in my opinion (The only pseudo-logical rebuttal to that statement is if drinking soda would indefinitely keep a person in check and prevent them for drinking alcohol - as it's poison as far as I'm concerned).

At the end of the day it's your life so do whatever you choose. You could never eat a single "unhealthy food" (soda, fast food, cake, basically anything not optimal for bodybuilding) in your entire life, and wake up one morning with cancer because of a random, unexplainable genetic mutation that occurred during DNA Transcription or any other of the thousand procedures your body goes through by the minute.

[calstate23]

I am trying to add some bulk, without gaining too much bf. To deal w/ cravings for sweets I started trying sugar free jello, and occasionally I have a diet mt dew. My protein powder and energy drink also have artificial sweetener. Aside from causing cancer in rats, does artificial sweetener have any negative impact on fat loss or muscle building?

Well you have to really know what is considered an "Artificial Sweetener"...Many people can confuse "Sugar Alcohols" as being artificial, which they are not..You see a lot of sugar alcohols in protein bars and other types of supposedly Healthy foods etc etc...Unfortunately these are not true artificial sweeteners, which can raise blood glucose levels (But definitely not as much as real sugar. Sugar alcohols have about half the calories of real sugar and are considered to be a separate type of carbohydrate.)

Anyhow, true artificial sweeteners such as Sweet N' Low and Equal WILL NOT raise blood sugars and are FDA approved for diabetic nutrition. They have 0 calories and will not raise blood sugars bottom line. So they are fine to use during dieting. Some studies claim it could have an impact on ones metabolism but have NO ABSOLUTE proof to back their study or prove it is true. My good buddy is diabetic and artificial sweeteners will have no impact on his blood glucose levels...Tested and tried

[jimmyinkedup]

I am trying to add some bulk, without gaining too much bf. To deal w/ cravings for sweets I started trying sugar free jello, and occasionally I have a diet mt dew. My protein powder and energy drink also have artificial sweetener. Aside from causing cancer in rats, does artificial sweetener have any negative impact on fat loss or muscle building?

I see nothing wrong with what you are doing whatsoever. The choice over artifical sweeteners is a personal one but based on your concerns (neg impact on fat loss) i think they are fine. I myself use stevia or splenda in my coffee and green tea. I have done the sugar free jello trick before. As far as insulin respopnse and cravings and so on ive found these points are pretty moot when it comes to real world results. Many dont know it but the mere act of chewing illicts SOME insulin response in the body and cravings are merely a discipline issue. If these things are helping you - then by all means continue. JMO

[pheenyx1]

Thanks guys. Good info.

[SlimmerMe]

Bump!

[BBrian]

You can have your studies, I am speaking from personal experience AND that of others as well- up to and including Contest Prep, never have I seen it affect anyone negatively at all.

I wonder if being on incredible amounts of gear could have an impact on how artificial sweeteners are metabolized...

[--->>405<<---]

i usually drink 3-6 12oz diet dews per day and have been for my entire 4 month cut.. have had pretty good results with diet.. shoot diet dew and stevia r how i make it thru the diet gotta have my coffee and diet dew man!

[SlimmerMe]

^^ whew! that's a lotta dew......but can't argue with success

[FireGuy]

Well you have to really know what is considered an "Artificial Sweetener"...Many people can confuse "Sugar Alcohols" as being artificial, which they are not..You see a lot of sugar alcohols in protein bars and other types of supposedly Healthy foods etc etc...Unfortunately these are not true artificial sweeteners, which can raise blood glucose levels (But definitely not as much as real sugar. Sugar alcohols have about half the calories of real sugar and are considered to be a separate type of carbohydrate.)

Anyhow, true artificial sweeteners such as Sweet N' Low and Equal WILL NOT raise blood sugars and are FDA approved for diabetic nutrition. They have 0 calories and will not raise blood sugars bottom line. So they are fine to use during dieting. Some studies claim it could have an impact on ones metabolism but have NO ABSOLUTE proof to back their study or prove it is true. My good buddy is diabetic and artificial sweeteners will have no impact on his blood glucose levels...Tested and tried

Ah, a voice of reason! I prefer Stevia, natural sweetener. I run it all the way until maybe 5 days out from a contest.

[Times Roman]

^stevia works. i first found about it when doing some research on my netti pot. supposed to kill sinus infection. but i digress.
but i don't really use that much for it to be a concern.
there were some rumors flying around that the "pink" sweetner, (damn! can't remember what it's called) has caused heart problems in people that are ordinarily healthy. so i try to stay away from that, and use either splenda (mostly) or stevia (sometimes... very expensive!)

[oatmeal69]

A few of us were talking about this over in another thread. Seems the general consensus from a couple members who've done some reading is that Stevia/Truvia is best, but that Splenda isn't bad either.

[Gym_]

However, if the diet coke or splenda or whatever is going to prevent you from dropping $20.00 at a waffle house or guzzling a 2L bottle of pop then go ahead and use them as the alternative would be more detrimental.

I have to agree with this ... doing something a little naughty sometimes is better then a full on fuk feast at the servo at 3am