Welcome to the USA the home of sugar, and sweet foods. Americans have a sweet tooth. 90% of stuff in the grocery store in the USA contains High Fructose Corn Syrup, and is even in drinks folks would not expect like alcoholic drinks. Watch the documentary movies That Sugar Movie, and King Corn.
Exactly carbohydrates are treated like sugar even if they don't taste sweet. Your body knows no difference, and processes them the same way especially if you are insulin resistant rather than insulin sensitive.
@Anthony ZaleskiEven whole food and complex carbohydrates can still be bad for folks especially if they are insulin resistant. The only saving grace for whole food and complex carbohydrates is that they contain fiber, which slows down the absorption of the sugar, and not spike insulin as fast. That makes a difference, and provides balance energy rather than a sugar crash.
Artificial sweeteners & non-impact sugar substitutes also have never seemed to impact my perception of sweetness or my appetite. Interestingly, the only sugar-substitute that subjectively seemed to effect my perception of sweetness is HFCS- which is caloric.
I use all kinds of sugar free sweeteners on my low carb diet and find regular sugar products super sweet. Bread tastes like a sweet dough to me and I just had some lemon juice that tasted sweet. Maybe depends on each individual.
Tracy Andrirs “Bread tastes like sweet dough to me” Haha, funny you describe it like that. :) Off topic but This reminded me of a conversation with a guy I met back in college. He and his family moved from Europe to the USA when he was a teenager. (Spain iirc, Idk the region) He mentioned bread was one of the “every day foods” that took him a long time to adjust to. To him American bread loaves “are almost as sweet as a plain cake.” That blew my mind at the time, but it made me aware that even basic staple foods sold in the USA/CA are unhealthier than what’s conventionally eaten in other countries. Its also the conversation that made me notice most bread has refined sugar or corn sweetener in the ingredients list - even many of the breads that are marketed at health conscious people (multigrain, wholewheat, 100% whole grain, organic, sprouted) will have some cane sugar, molasses or honey thrown in. I have really a time hard finding “light”/“thin” (reduced calorie) bread products that are also 100% whole grain AND completely unsweetened.
@@maenad1231 here in Finland the most "popular" bread is ryebread (vaasan ruispalat if you want to google it) and many foreigners that i've met have told me that they cannot stand rye bread or almost any white bread eather in Finland since they are not sweet as they are everywhere else. Finns then dont like that much of french bread because for us it tastes just like a bun! Its weird how different it is ☺️
Hi Abbey, just an idea... Review the diets of people from other countries. I've stumbled upon some very curious Korean what I are in a day, all subbed in English. Lots of different ingredients and dishes.
I love the balanced approach to nutrition information you share. No taking studies out of context, no unsubstantiated claims; just an honest perspective.
In my personal experience , switching most of my "sugar" intake to Splenda it helped me lose a lot of weight. 😅 Pro tip: if you find Greek yogurt too tart , add Splenda.... its so good !
Living in Germany, I would prefer more tart and sour yogurt ... But most yogurts are produced with a lactobacillus strain that doesn't make the yogurt really sour. Sometimes I can buy bulgarian yogurt (different strain), it is so good.
Seems like everyone is missing the big picture that it is about insulin response. This is all sugar. Sugar is bad. Avoid all of those and minimize them in your diet.
Two things: 1. Aspartame gives me migraine headaches. Is this just me? Or is there actually some reason for it? 2. Yes! I went 2 weeks without eating anything sweet at all, and the results blew my mind. I did not know that brocoli could taste sweet! Thank you so much for this video. It was so educational and well-made. I am always super impressed with how much research you do for your videos. It's awesome!
I used to be obese as a kid, but switching to artificial sweeteners was a great choice for me and it lead me to lose weight. Even though I had the mindset already to lose weight, the sweeteners really helped to curb those cravings. You should always aspire to drink water. But if you are craving for something sweet, the sugar-free option are often times much better than the sugary ones.
Good topic! The thing is Stevia is an herb, which I grow in my garden every year. You can buy it as a whole leaf or just grow it, then dry it or pick a fresh leaf to go in your tea/ coffee. I bake with stevia and a maple syrup blend. If you do a deep study on stevia...this is good for the blood sugar. God given herb for the diabetic!
Artificial sweeteners have lowered my tolerance for real sugar. I find sugar cloying. That said, the reason might be that I stopped consuming real sugar at the same time. These days I only eat no-sugar peanut and almond butters because the sweetened versions don't taste as good. The fruits I prefer are tart berries. I've always loved vegetables. No change there! So, I'd say I don't like sugar as much as I used to, which may have more to do with going off sugar than going on artificial sweeteners.
Same here! I drink diet soda everyday and have since childhood. I find fruit, regular soda, bread, and really anything sweetened with sugar to be overly sweet. It's odd that there are all of these arguments stating the opposite happens. A friend recently told me that she adds curry powder to fruit in order to cut the sweetness. Going to give this a try!
Same, omg! I drink artificially sweetened energy drinks like 2-3 times a week cause I like them. I recently had a normal, sugary one and it was waaaay too sweet for me!
I'm the same. If I have a glass of regular coke, I need to add sparkling water as it's super sweet. Sugar is addictive as is salt. So your baseline 'perfect level' goes down a lot. Saying that I still like chocolate, cakes and sweet stuff like baklava or halva, but less of it will make me satisfied. I reduced my sugar intake and carb intake over the last couple years, hence the change.
I’m not sure if you’ve already done this video or not, I’m a relatively new subscriber, but I would love to see a dedicated video on sugar eg how much is too much and how to reduce sugar intake
I'm an RD new to TH-cam and actually just posted a video on this: th-cam.com/video/uFMrva-XDaM/w-d-xo.html :D Enjoy Abbey as a fellow RD I LOVE your videos and always share them!
Hi Abbey! I’m an RD in Florida, absolutely love your channel. This was a fantastic video. I agree that we need more research on the topic, but I can share my anecdotal evidence as a dietitian who counsels primarily patients with diabetes. There is a HUGE difference in the difficulty of blood sugar management in people who consume aspartame/sucralose on a daily basis versus those who don’t. I have had so many patients come to me after years of routine diet sodas and “sugar free” everything and they’ll be eating literally zero carb diets and will still have blood sugars in the 200s. After a few months of cutting out artificial sweeteners their blood sugar becomes easier to control with much higher carb intake. It’s pretty amazing. It’s also downright scary how many foods contain artificial sweeteners these days. There are even tortillas and breads with sucralose.
Thank you so much for sharing this! I'm also a dietitian who counsels patients with diabetes. I'm a fairly new RD though, and I had never heard that artificial sweeteners could negatively affect glucose levels. I'll make use of that info with patients. 😊
I'm with you. I remember reading an article that talked about how some of us really taste a weird aftertaste that others do no because of the way the chemical can also fit into a bitter receptor on the tongue as well as sweet. So a weird taste is more pronounced.
The same thing happened to me, before I began to reduce my sugar intake, I could not handle the taste of foods like dark chocolate, or Greek yoghurt without any sugar, or even coffee. As I reduced my sugar intake I’ve found that I now love the taste and find sweetness in all of those things.
I've actually stayed away from them because I thought they may cause cancer... glad I watched this Abbey before I became a nurse with misinformation!:)
I started replacing artificial sweetener in my morning drink, while also cutting all to most added sugars in my daily diet. When I treat myself with ice cream some days, I find that I can’t eat near as much as I used to. It’s just too sweet
In my personal opinion, diet sodas were the nail in the head for helping me lose weight. People think diet sodas make you wanna eat more, but they don't take into account that satiety is food volume and low calorie beverages have the same effect as water aka giving extra stomach volume. If people claim you need calories for satiety then they would also have to accept that drinking water (no calories) is ineffective for weight loss. Also all the studies i have seen people eating more with diet soda are based on intuitive eating and intuitive eating is not perfect. If you ate based on a rough caloric goal instead of your gut feeling then you see that diet sodas actually help since you can drink a fair amount, because it barely adds to your daily total calories like water.
i have the same opinion with you. Diet pepsi was a part of my snack when i was in restrict diet, but just once every 2-3 days. Probably i am not a fan of sweet thing, however i find diet soda does help while trying to lose weight
She explained in the video that the problem with zero calories beverages is when they’re sweet, the brain doesn’t feel satisfied because there are no calorie and it makes you want to eat something else with calories so it can feel satisfied. Water is a different thing - yes, it’s a zero calories beverage, but it’s not meant to be sweet, so the brain doesn’t look for sweet satisfaction from it. I hope you can understand what I mean.
@@gabriellageorgieva4014 I don't understand, I think this is just in peoples heads that they use to justify their lack of self control. Zero calorie sweeteners don't have a fake sweet taste that fools the brain. Most people who say it makes them eat more are the ones who don't track calories.
My experience with sugar/sweetness tolerance: I never drink soda, but I do love ice cream, cakes/brownies, candies, etc. Several years ago I noticed that I was thinking about sugar all the time, so I decided to cut sugar out of my diet. I stopped eating dessert, candies, Cliff Bars (which had a lot of sugar), cranberry trail mix, sugary Peanut Butter, etc etc. It wasn't easy at first, and here and there I would eat some candy or a treat. Fast forward to a while later, I was traveling and there wasn't much at the gas station in terms of snacks. I grabbed a Cliff Bar because I needed to eat something and I noticed that it was wayyy to sweet for me to enjoy it. It didn't taste good. I'd rather just eat a slice of cake- it probably has the same amount of sugar anyways! That's when I gave up the no sugar diet- I noticed my sugar tolerance was much lower I later started studying at a coffee shop pretty regularly. I only really drink coffee/tea on occasion only, but I would buy a drink every time I studied there because I felt bad sitting there and not ordering anything. I would just pay for the cheapest and smallest drink on the menu, which was usually an iced coffee. I wouldn't add any syrup to sweeten it because I was being cheap. The only sugar they had at the sugar/milk station was the raw turbinado sugar and one variety of artificial sweetener that had a funny aftertaste. So I would use the turbinado sugar BUT THE SUGAR WOULDN'T DISSOLVE! (Drink was too cold, and the crystals would stick to the ice). So I would just end up taking a few sips of the bitter coffee (not a fan) and toss it. HOWEVER, I eventually got used to drinking iced coffee without sugar and started to enjoy it. All I need is milk. The same goes for black tea! I don't need sugar anymore, just milk. Overall my tolerance for sugar has lowered and I don't eat or want those sugary snacks I used to eat regularly (ahem Cliff Bars, overly sweet yogurt). But I'm not on a sugar-free diet anymore. If I want cake, I'll eat it! I just don't think about it all the time anymore, which was my goal.
Anything relating to food an nutrition is super hard to study in actual humans. This is especially true in the long term. The reason being...you can't completely control someones diet long term. So you have to rely on self reporting which is about as accurate as one might expect it to be. Plus correlation does not equal causation. This is exemplified by the meta study that found that people who ate french fries were more likely to die. Humans are complicated machines and we have no direct way of proving that variable A is the only variable in a study. So ya we can see some correlations that if Variable A is applied then outcome B is more likely. But we can't prove it. Because we just don't know all the other variables. Think about it this way. You are in a dark room with your eyes closed. You bump up against a solid object. Based on your experience, and your fingers touching the surface of that object, you think it's a wall with some weird wall paper. But really, what you don't realize is that just beyond your fingertips, the surface curves and you have actually been feeling up an elephant. Science is always looking for that place where you can shed enough light and get enough information to realize that hey this isn't a wall, it's an elephant. Long way to say...most diet related research is inconclusive.
truely evidence-based answers are rarely as sexy & black and white & final as we'd like them to be. from what we know non-nutritive sweeteners are safe and without side effects when used in moderation (even the FODMAP/diarrhea causing ones can be symptomless in small enough doses)
Finally a smart person on youtube. I worked as a personal trainer for years and people are really dumb about food. Just in general. There is no such thing as a "Detox" or "Cleanse". Make your calories count, eat nutrient -dense food, eat a smaller portion, and get some fresh air.
I used to use them way too much and ironically had gut issues for a little over 2 years. After stopping cold turkey, I now use them, just not as much and definitely taste natural sweet better now :)
I am thankful to see that many companies are putting warning labels especially noting children may have adverse side effects to sugar alcohols. Years ago when I was a freshman in college I was sick every day with gastrointestinal issues. Three doctors later finally the culprit was discovered to be the numerous amounts of sugar free gum that contained sugar alcohols I chewed daily. I use Swerve often & I don't notice any bad aftertaste or stomach problems.
I have genuinely been thinking about this for months and keep meaning to research, I always add sweeteners to my tea (Think good old British cuppa) and I’m having to add more and more sweeteners for it to still taste good to me ...SO maybe time to reset or re-evaluate at least! Thank you Abbey!
I used to add 2 packets of stevia to my coffee but started cutting back voluntarily. In a couple weeks my taste buds adjusted and now I only use 2 packets per day and only one for my coffee
Wow, this is fascinating. I got really into artificial sweeteners when I lost a bunch of weight in 2016-2019 and I initially felt it was a great weight loss aid, especially because I was such an added-sugar addict before. But I've since started to experience signs of a massive sugar crash when I consume artificial sweeteners with meals/beverages before exercising. My appetite also seems to have become more "volatile" as well, where I'll suddenly feel the need to grab anything I can get my hands on in almost a frenzy when I experience these intense sugar crashes, even if I had a balanced meal relatively recently. I suspected that over time, regular consumption of artificial sweeteners has caused my body to treat it as regular sugar in an energy/metabolic way, but it was just a suspicion. This information from research is what I needed to feel more confident about that. It's what I needed to hear to dial it back, which is what I wanted to do anyway. I feel empowered with information! Thanks!
My and my husband’s experience with stevia hasn’t been great. For several years I was using stevia extract regularly and following a pretty low carb diet. I ended up with prediabetes (despite being thin/no family history). Stevia was an enabler low carb/clean eating issues. Eating more “normal” helped reversed my insulin issues. Low calorie sweeteners probably aren’t a good idea for people with disordered eating tendencies. My husband (he ate what I made) had been having dizzy spells and even passed out a few times. My father had previously had the same issues which went away after cutting diet soda. So, we experimented with him cutting stevia and the dizzy spells went away. The only time he has had it since was after accidentally having something with stevia in it at a get together. It turns out many artificial sweeteners can lower blood pressure, which was a bad thing for my husband since he already has low blood pressure. For us, real sugar is moderation is definitely the healthier option.
Wow you are SO thorough, clear, and easy to follow. Thank you so much for breaking all of this down for us in a straightforward yet scientific way! You're awesome!
Ell Dee Manuela Andriescu Ell Dee Manuela andriesca At 1:07 she says “a more accurate name would be “non-nutritive sweeteners” or “low calorie sweeteners” depending on which you’re referring to. But I will keep saying the artificial sweeteners most often in this video since that is the colloquial term”! How do you watch a 23 minutes video citing great amounts of research by a highly educated, registered dietician with a clear passion for nutrition and who clearly knows what the hell she is talking about and say she is not well informed?! Did you not listen to a minute of the video? She is clearly well informed. Also, as someone with a mathematics degree with a focus in statistics it is clear she knows how to draw conclusions from research. Explaining that correlations do not imply causation, that small sample sizes aren’t usually a good representation for a population, that observational studies are not ideal, and that confounding factors may be a validity concern when it comes to an observational study (such as a majority of people that drink diet soda may be doing so because they already have a higher weight and it’s not the soda that is causing that higher weight); I love how informed she is!
Love your content. Thanks for distilling this information for us laypeople to consume easily!! I've been using non-nutritive sweetened products for a while. Here is my ANECDOTAL experience: 1. I have not experienced significant changes in my bowel movements 2. I have lost weight 3. I have definitely not lost my love for veggies or fruits. 4. While I do love my coffee sweetened a little, I am not repulsed by black coffee. However, I do love me a sweet breakfast but let's be fair, who doesn't like pancakes or waffles? That being said, I do stick to the he following: 1. I eat fruits/veggies with nearly every meal 2. I use protein powder that contains non-nutritive sweeteners. 3. I generally don't drink any soda/pop. Not for health reasons. I just don't like the tingly feeling on my tongue. 4. I generally consume these sweeteners with other caloric sources to give it a sweet flavour. Not just for the sweetness (ex. With almond milk in my lattes, or with butter and/or flour in my baked food) 5. I don't stick to a single source of sweetness for everything (Stevia in my coffee, erythritol in my baking, fruits in my smoothies).
vinuthna v almost every company offers whey isolate as a neutral or unflavored option - those are typically without sweeteners! I buy this and then just blend with oat milk and half of a banana :)
I've bought hemp protein powder unflavoured plain from No Frills and plain grass fed cow whey protein at Sobey's both local grocer's in Ontario Canada. Bulk barn also sells plain pea protein powder, plain hemp protein powder, plain brown rice protein powder. You can pretty much find anything on amazon.
I'm glad you did this video, I've been so confused anytime I look up foods that contain artificial sweeteners and see reviews/comments saying they are poison. I honestly wasn't sure if it was true, and these people are so vocal about it. Seeing this video makes me feel better about choosing to consume these sweeteners. And I absolutely agree about consuming them in moderation just as you would with regular sugar. I still eat sugar as well! When I am baking or eating desserts I would typically use/eat sugar. But there's just a few select products I've found where the artificially sweetened versions simply fit into my diet better or even taste better to me. They aren't things I eat everyday or in large portions, so it feels good to confirm that eating them in moderation like this isn't known to have any detrimental effects.
sweetness tolerance is a thing for me!! A few years ago i tried to 'quit sugar' and gave up because when I wanted to drink ginger ale it was too sweet for me. At the time ginger ale was my favourite thing ever.
I know you touched on it at the end of the video (18:48), but I would have liked a little more explanation about the effect of low calorie sweeteners on insulin levels. I know most low calorie sweeteners are proven to have little to no effect on blood glucose, because, well, the body does not metabolize is as such. But I would think the sweet taste in our mouth would trigger some type of insulin response, no? It would explain the augmented cravings, alongside that pleasure pathway not being activated in the brain, and the fact that it's not satiating like you mentionned. Either way, I used to use some natural and artificial sweeteners, like a little bit of aspartame here and there, erythritol, stevia, monk fruit. Looking back I really did not like the effect it had on my apetite levels and my sweeteness tolerance. I felt like I never had enough dessert when it was sweetened with stevia or erythritol. I was done eating my portion and, next thing you know, I was up in the fridge, looking for my next fix of something, anything. And it was rather unconsious too, it's like my body knew something was missing. Being off of sweeteners now, and just enjoying desserts with maple syrup, coconut sugar, and white and brown sugar here and there, it's crazy the difference it makes. I eat a small portion and I know I'm done. Now I do tend to think anything too processed can have consequences on how we eat and how we metabolize foods, so I tend to err on the side of caution, especially with hyper-palatable foods. If I want to treat myself to something sweet I get the real thing and get it over with. Low-calorie sweeteners just created a kind of vicious cycle for me that was not worth it. Great video by the way!
Use a blood sugar monitor and compare all your favorite artificial sugars to know how each one affects you personally. No need to wonder. This is a very educational way to know. I learned that stevia is the only one that only raises my blood sugars less than 5 points. The rest raise it hugely. That’s me, what happens to your blood sugar? Take a before eating test then eat the artificial sugar, wait 30 minutes, test again. This was the smartest thing I ever did to know exactly which of these sugars to steer clear of.
My mother has type 1 diabetes as an adult, which is rare. They couldn't figure out why her sugars were so dangerously high all the time, despite changing her diet and dosages of her meds. I casually mentioned to her doctor that she drinks several sprite zeros per day, as its her favorite fizzy soda. The doctor suggested she try going a week without drinking or eating anything with artificial sweeteners in it, and we were surprised that her sugars went down to a completely normal level as if she wasn't even diabetic. So...apparently, in some people, the body treats artificial sweeteners exactly the same as real sugar. If you are having trouble with regulating your blood sugars, I would definitely try cutting out all artificial sweeteners....it was definitely a REAL life saver for my mom.
Oh I needed this info thank you Abbey!! My husband was concerned about this and I’ve been using a lot more of these products (monk fruit, aspartame) help with health (overall sugar intake bc it’s EVERYWHERE), ibs and slight prediabetes. Now I can just send him (and anyone else who wants to come for me and my choices) a link to this video. 💯‼️😍
I used to drink soda daily when I was in my teens/early 20's and when I started taking better care of myself, I cut back a lot but I never replaced sodas with diet sodas because I HATE how artificial sweeteners taste. I can tolerate Splenda so I would use that in my coffee but now I've just gone back to real sugar and not drink anything as sweet --- that coupled with eating food that's more satiating, I don't crave as much sweetness as I used to.
I don’t care about the calories. When I do enjoy a soda here and there, I prefer diet because I HATE the sugary feeling left on my teeth from sugar containing soda. That’s all. I don’t drink diet every day... or even every week. Moderation of anything is key.
I drink Coke Zero every day. Although I originally made the switch because I was noticing weight gain from regular Coke, part of the reason is now that I hate how quickly my teeth feel dirty after consuming sugary drinks. I definitely have a sweet tooth but my tolerance for sweetness has really dropped over time as I get older and I now find regular colas undrinkably sweet and syrupy.
I have eaten a zero carb diet for several years now, and have experimented with different artificial sweeteners and how they affect my body personally. I tried these while monitoring areas like my glucose levels, ketones, digestive issues, etc. For me personally, I could use stevia, monk fruit, and erythritol and saw virtually no negative impacts. The other sugar alcohols definitely gave me some digestive issues. The "manmade" sweeteners affected my glucose levels/insulin resistance. None of these seemed to affect my hunger or craving for sweets or carbs. I would agree with you Abbey, I feel a lot of these probably have very individual results. Great content!
I started to drink Zevia drinks last year as a way to try and cut back on beer (trying to give myself a fun beverage to have after dinner that wasn’t alcohol) and I do genuinely like the taste of them. Especially the cherry flavour! They taste less sweet to me than regular pop, which is too sweet for my personal taste. I did wonder for a while about these beverages being ‘too good to be true’ (how can something taste good with 0 calories?) so this was very helpful. I think for people who genuinely like the taste, they can be a good way to give yourself a fun treat in moderation.
I’ve experienced the opposite lol. I drink a lot of Diet Coke and I feel like regular sugar is sooooo sweet to me. I can’t drink regular soda it’s so sweet
Abbey love how these videos are not bias in anyway. All I see here are facts and well done research to inform the viewers instead of telling them how to eat. 😊 I personally have sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit instead of sugar alcohols as they cause a lot of stomach discomfort for me. When it comes to added sugar I just make sure to not over-do it and have it in moderation. I know that diabetes runs in my family so I’m always cautious about how much added sugar I have.
So heres the thing- I have an extreme sweet tooth and went on a very low sugar diet (was even counting sugars in fruit) and found a few substitutes that I personally think are worth it. Sugar free syrup in the morning on protein pancakes/waffles. I don't need all that sugar first thing in the morning, and I can't taste the difference, so it doesn't matter. I also don't use an excessive amount. Chai latte. I make my own concentrate and add the equivalent of a 1/4 of sugar in sugar alternatives (for like 8 1/2 cup servings). I also make the latte with Fairlife (I know their cancelled but I like it) which has more protein and less sugar than regular milk. And because you can't even taste milk sugars, and our body metabalizes them the same way, why waste your sugar intake on something you can't taste? And plan't based milks have little/no protein and I don't like the taste. Also, two good greek yogurt also has a lot of the lactose sugars filtered out and only has 2 g per serving compared to 9 in regular unsweetened greek yogurt. Sugar free chocolate pudding is really good and doesn't have an after taste. make it with Fairlife and its basically protein pudding. Finally- whipped cream- it doesn't actually have a lot of sugar but it can help sweeten pretty much anything/improves everything in my opinion. I don't drink diet soda regularly and prefer sparkling water. But yeah counting sugars was WAY to restrictive for me (which is probably evident in my slightly obsessive analysis of low sugar alternatives) but I still use these things. But if I want a cookie, Imma have a cookie. (or 2, or 3, were in a pandemic okay?)
I haven’t heard that about stevia or splenda before, but I know there have been a few studies showing a correlation between aspartame and headaches/migraines
I feel like in re: to the observation of ppl who drink 21 diet sodas per week are more likely to be obese than those who don't.....well, duh. i feel like anyone who drinks that much soda, sweet or artificial... would likely be on the overweight/obese side anyway. it just seems like a poor choice in beverage as opposed to drinking water, seems like they'd be drinking more soda than anything.
I agree in the sense that it’s somewhat of a binge behavior.. to have that many of anything in a week especially something non-essential for health. Fun foods are not staples, and most people know ( I hope) that they need to balance them with a more complete macronutrient/vitamin/mineral rich diet.
@@zukodude487987 artificial sweeteners, I think thats the big difference. Not knocking it though...I love soda and I feel like if you are trying to lose weight and can't give up soda go for the diet stuff.
I'm going to go with disagree here... Kind of. 21 a week isn't that much. That's one at every meal. Most people I know don't drink water with their meals, including the people I know who are fit and eat healthy. That's all they drink outside of meals, but water just doesn't do it for some people alongside food. I do believe there's a good chance this is a correlation vs causation issue, just not for the reason you're giving.
I was happy to see a video on this topic! I don’t consume a lot of refined sugars or artificially sweetened things. I do eat fruit and foods with natural occurring sugar obviously. However, I use a touch of Monk Fruit sweetener that also contains erythritol in my coffee every morning. Obviously I was drawn to the claims of it. I haven’t noticed any changes in the way I feel. I also haven’t found my tolerance for sweetness has gone up. That could be because I just naturally crave salt over sugar, the amount I use, or maybe it’s because I still eat other things that have natural occurring sugar in them. With Stevia and other sweeteners like Splenda, I noticed a lot of stomach discomfort, headaches and foggy brain. Monk fruit is a winner for me. I just wish I knew more about it. I used to use pure maple syrup in my coffee. Not a lot, but I was using it every morning. I would be curious to hear the research comparing pure maple syrup, agave nectar, date syrups, etc. There’s a lot of conflicting evidence out there and you seem to be one of the only ones who actually fact checks things and has the appropriate credentials to be speaking on it.
Personally, back when I was a major soda drinker, I switched to coke zero (my bf at the time drank it exclusively so I always had it around) and quickly noticed I was hungry constantly. I literally started eating all day, except when sleep and work got in the way. I switched back to regular coke and that symptom went away. I later found out that it's a potential symptom of artificial sweeteners and that's how I phrase it when talking to other people, especially when I have to ask/check the packaging. As far as the perception of sweetness, I can attest to shifting taste. After hearing a can of soda contains something like 8ft of sugarcane, I quite soda and sweetened tea and started checking packages for sugar content. After going back to tea, I now mix it about 50/50 with water to make it drinkable. Salt has the same impact on taste, and regularly consuming more or less will change your tolerance of the flavor.
I used to use truvia and Splenda in my tea and coffee in high school (I was also suffering from orthorexia...) I never really noticed any specific side effects from them, but that might be because I already felt exhausted and fatigued from over exercising, under eating and not sleeping enough, heh. I don’t eat a lot of sugar now, and mostly stick to honey or brown sugar when I need to add sweetness to something. I’ve noticed that when I’ve accidentally consumed artificial sweeteners in the past few years, my blood sugar feels like it plummets. I get extremely hungry, shaky, light headed and nauseous and don’t feel better until I eat something with actual calories. I’m not sure if they all cause this for me, or only specific ones do.
I still use stevia, but have completely stopped using artificial sweeteners like aspartame as it was causing headaches and even joint pain! I’ve noticed my sugar cravings have actually reduced since I allow myself to eat regular desserts whenever I want
@@eggnog3495 Diet Coke for Breakfast? I love Soda but I don't want a soda when I just woke up I either want coffee, juice or milk, i can't even really stand water for breakfast either
Hi Abbey, I had a very similar experience to you. When I was struggling with orthorexia, Coke Zero was my crutch. It was the only sweet thing I allowed myself and thus I was drinking 4-6 bottles a day too. I was addicted. And when I quit, I went through actual withdrawals and was sick in bed with nausea and headaches for a week. Once I started eating normally I didn’t want it anymore. I also would not drink nearly enough water and instead just drank coke. These days I drink water constantly. However, I don’t think I had any change in weight/bloating/general health. It was more a mental issue for me than physical. Great video as usual ☺️
FYI: Stevia is NOT artificial. Stevia is a plant that tastes sweet naturally, even in the whole green leaf taken straight off the plant. Also, Truvia IS NOT stevia. It is a patented and trademarked name for a combination of erythritol and stevia. It is MOSTLY erythritol even though CARGIL, it’s maker, tried to dupe the public into thinking it was only stevia. Unless you have a different formulation in Canada. So is it possible you meant to use the umbrella term of “ALTERNATIVE sweetener” which fits better to include ARTIFICIAL sweeteners like saccharine and aspertame, etc as well as sugar alcohols which aren’t naturally occurring like glucose sucrose or fructose?
cindland At 1:07 she says “a more accurate name would be “non-nutritive sweeteners” or “low calorie sweeteners” depending on which you’re referring to. But I will keep saying the artificial sweeteners most often in this video since that is the colloquial term”! Most people use the term “artificial sweetener” to group all so it would be the colloquial term, although yes some are not artificial. (If you google artificial sweetener, the first image includes stevia in the raw.)
cindland Also, at 19:55 Abbey says “I also want to mention that the majority of stevia products marketed as “natural” are actually stevia blends... so, for example, truvia contains a blend of erythritol and stevia leaf extract”.
I purchased some sugar free items(didn't know about sugar alcohols), long story short my 4 year old became very sick, he was screaming in pain, horrible diarrhea & sweating profusely. I made zero connection to the sugar free items.I was so concerned I took him to the hospital. Come to find out the doctor said it was due to the sugar alcohols in the sugar free foods. NEVER again.I found monk fruit & allulose to be great sugar substitutes.
Super interesting, I love this channel. I can't handle artificial sugars because they give me severe migraines. I can't even find gum that doesn't contain artificial sweeteners.
Most toothpaste and mouthwash have sugar alcohols as well -- my minty mouthwash tastes like liquid candy cane. I assume this is to not feed the sugar-loving bacteria in our mouths that cause cavities.
I totally agree with you, After I did a week long juice fast, I found fruit and vegies were what I craved instead of unhealthy junk food. It really helped regulate my cravings, and I lost 40kilos. Unfortunately I've gained most of it back now, so I'm waiting til after lockdown to restart a juice fast in hopes of cleansing my palate and resetting my flavour palate!
Great video! For some reason, artificial sweeteners have always been a major source of fascination for me. I did a project on them in high school, which sparked my interest in food and nutrition in general. Personally, I use Lakanto monkfruit sweetener, liquid stevia, and Swerve powdered sweetener. I'll use at least one of those almost every day. I also love the Lily's brand of chocolate, which is sweetened with stevia. I no longer use aspartame or Splenda because I believe their safety is dubious. A fitness coach friend told me once that when aspartame is heated (e.g., if Diet Coke is sitting on the back of a truck on a hot day), it turns into a substance similar to formaldehyde. I never got into using saccharine regularly because I didn't like the taste and because there used to be a warning label on the packets of Sweet 'N Low. I've definitely experienced the GI distress that comes with sugar alcohols. It seems like over time, I have built a tolerance. Once important point you didn't mention is that xylitol is deadly for dogs -- even if consumed in tiny amounts. Xylitol is hidden in so many products, such as chewing gums and even peanut butter, so it's important that dog owners are aware of that. Lastly, there were some artificial sweeteners you didn't mention. These include Tagatose and cyclamates. Cyclamates were eventually banned in the United States, although they're still allowed in other countries. Again, thank you for the great video! I would certainly be interested in seeing a 'Part 2' sometime soon!
I use liquid stevia in my coffee and cut sugar now when I have something with sugar the sweetness from the sugary food is overwhelming it’s gross and I find sugar makes my heart race
I have a minor sweet tooth, but I only eat a little bit of sweets at a time. Sugar generally makes me feel sick, this includes soda which is one of my favorites. I know soda is bad for tooth enamel because of the acids, so I've taken to drinking lightly artificially sweetened seltzer water lately. With this change I have only noticed that I don't have a sugar crash or any nausea/bloating. A win-win for me!
Hello! I really liked your honest and very non-bias approach towards sweetners! Love your channel and I'm a nutrition major as well, so I'm pretty glad I've found your channel! I had a very similar experience regarding cutting off sugar, I did that back in my in my late teens, ate sweets in moderation, and actually finally started to appreciate the sweetness coming from the natural foods.
I remember before when I was dieting I would drink diet coke and I would develop severe headaches and I quit drinking them. It was actually still hard to quit drinking them too even with the headaches because I had an addiction to them. It took a while to get myself off of diet coke
@@HatsuneTokisaki usually caffeine tightens the blood vessels and lessens headaches (because the dilated blood vessels around the brain/head is what actually makes it hurt). Suddenly decreasing caffeine intake or increasing it drastically can trigger migraines though. Or you could have withdrawal symptoms when you completely cut it out (say, 6 cups of coffee per day to zero caffeine). (I do have credible sources for that, but they're in German. I researched it a lot, because I have chronic headaches. Caffeine and sugar is really not all evil. I can stave off a coming migraine with a sweet coffee/non diet coke, because the mix of increasing brain activity with caffeine and energy boost from the sugar can give a kick to the "overworked" brain and might keep it from going into alarm mode until it can restore the balance of neurotransmitters and electrolytes in the brain enough to not devolve into a migraine. Sorry for the essay.)
T F maybe the only thing is I can enjoy having coffee and maybe a real soda once in a while or sweets and chocolate if I want those things and I don’t get headaches or migraines. I almost wonder if its an allergy response because I can handle a lot of foods and drinks with caffeine without getting migraines or headaches but I don’t really know
I don’t have a big sweet tooth but I use artificial sweeteners to avoid the calories. This only applies to my coffee sweeteners (which I rarely use bc I enjoy it black now) and energy drinks (I’m in physical therapy school , leave me alone lol) . I think the use of artificial sweeteners only affects people long-term if they use them in excess. If you’re drinking 5+ diet sodas/artificially sweetened foods a day, the sweeteners aren’t the problem... it’s the addiction to sweet flavors. When I WAS into sugary coffee, I slowly started incorporating black coffee to build my tolerance of it. Now that’s how I prefer it! I used to drink sodas occasionally, but I began drinking sparkling waters to give myself the carbonation kick and I love them now! I hope more strong evidence emerges on this topic, I am glad that you debunked some common misconceptions!
Why do they call stevia, monk fruit, and other plant sweeteners artificial? Artificial are chemical based in my opinion. I grew stevia plants ground my own sweetener. Sugar alcohols give me gastric problems. Have to watch them.
The sugar lobby (a surprisingly large lobby) has invested large amounts of "research funding" to ensure anything not sugar is listed as "artificial sweetener" because artificial has a subconscious negative connotation.
I was raised in the US with a family who drank cola like water, and then at 20 I moved to Japan, where the sugar levels in just about everything (particularly artificial sweeteners) are like half of what I was used to. I actually never liked sweet things as much as my friends growing up, so for me this was perfect. When I go back to the US to visit I can’t have most desserts because it is waaaay too much. I hardly ever cook with sugar, and when a recipe absolutely needs it I use honey or maple syrup and reduce the amount needed. I too have found fruit to be so much more wonderful ever since removing the overly sweet American diet from my daily life... I’m moving back to the US after 16 years if being away, though, so we’ll see how that goes! Will likely continue making most of my meals from scratch, haha...
Fruit can cause major blood sugar spikes for diabetics. Many would love to enjoy being able to just eat fruit, unfortunately that isn’t always possible.
@@stacilee7074 Eat fruit with a source of healthy fat or protein i.e. an apple with natural peanut butter or blueberries, bananas with Greek yogurt. The added fat or protein help to prevent the spike in blood sugar from the natural occurring sugars in the fruit. My husband is type 1 diabetic.
I thoroughly enjoy all of the scholarly research you put into your videos and the critiques you make regarding the strength of each sited scholarly resource. Also definitely increases your credibility regarding your opinions made on a platform such as TH-cam. As a disclaimer I am relatively new to your channel. As a viewer I want to let you know this type of content is very interesting.
Great content as usual, Abbey. I'd like to add that my oncology professor, who's an oncologist and an important european researcher in gut microbiota and cancer, taught us that there's actually some consistent evidence of a correlation between cyclamate and colorectal cancer through chemical transformation of cyclamate by specific strains of the gut microbiota. I think that's one of those many topics that will need further research to be fully understood!
Hi! I really enjoyed tihs video! I'm a dental student and wanted to let you know that chewing gum with sugar alcohols (like sorbitol) are actually better for your teeth. Dentists don't recommend gum with regular sugar at all. It's because the bacteria that causes caries can only eat regular sugars and sweetners like sorbitol don't rise the pH in your mouth.
Anyone drinking any soda 3 times a day 7 days a week is drinking too much. There a lot better drinks but like teas, flavored milks etc. Nutritionally lacking. Bad for your teeth.
@@berchyzgb4423 50 might not even be too big of an exaggeration, I remember seeing one guy in the show that used to eat 3 meat pizzas with 2 fries covered in cheese sauce, a tray of brownies and a soda for breakfast.
I sometimes use the whole Earth stevia/Monk fruit blend...not daily, but frequently. I can enjoy more foods without adding the calories from sugar. I also don't drink diet sodas or flavored drinks much. The sweetener only goes in some of the things I'm eating that would be bland or bitter without a bit of it. I still eat stuff with sugar in it, too. it just seems like so many recipes call for sweeteners, whether it's needed or not. I have a ton of smoothie recipes I've saved to my iPad that call for honey or maple syrup. This boggles my mind, as 90% of these smoothies are sweet enough because of the sweetness of the fruit. I always taste my smoothies first, and I only add some stevia if it needs it. I think using sweeteners in a balanced way is the best idea, as you said.
When I was clueless about nutrition, and almost overweight, I was eating lots of sugar, as most people do around here. I felt ugly and unnattractive every time I would take a look to my belly. Soon I decided to lose weight, as I did, by no longer eating more than once or twice a day. Later I cut the most sugar possible from my diet, and something happened. I started feeling disgusted by how sweet most desserts are. At that time I was being fed lots of paleo diet bullshit; I would fear sugars and carbs, and believe that saturated fat was the best thing ever. All of that also made me realize that diet culture could better be called diet cult, because it's is very cult-like; only they are right, and everyone else is wrong, the big companies are covering everything, etc. You only realize you are on a cult once you leave it behind, and you know what made me leave this behind? My compassion for animals. Once I started searching for vegetarian nutrition, I got shocked by how much bullshit I was believing in, and didn't want to believe otherwise, therefore I didn't change right away ("they must be wrong" I thought). It look me months thinking about it and a traumatic experience whose effects still last, to burst the bubble I was in. You Abbey, and Unnatural Vegan, both helped me a lot to open my eyes, and I am very thankful. Kudos to veganhealth.org as well. Although I am not completely vegan, I feel like a balanced vegetarian diet (including sugar) saved me from that creepy paleo cult. Regarding sugar, I still can't tolerate most sugary stuff from my country (Brazil), so I make my own, or buy imported desserts from Europe or Asia (American desserts are too sweet too). I hope this comment can help someone.
The gist of that sorry to say, is paleo is a cult but vegetariansim/veganism isn't. Sorry you just swapped one for another. A balanced diet is what has worked for ever. Nothing can change that. If you care about animals, lobby to change the way they are farmed.
I'm allergic to aspartame, the rest though are fine for me. I'm pretty sure it's safe, but some people can have intolerances to them. I'm only allergic to one of them, the others are fine. I can't taste the difference between them and real sugar in truth. Mind you, I can't taste the difference between decaff and regular coffee either.
@@gabriellageorgieva4014 many people believe this, but there is no scientific evidence to support that. There is some evidence that its bad for the environment, but not for the body.
I do enjoy stevia in my cold brew coffee. I did a allcat test, which is basically a blood test that shows food sensitivities and inflammation and they suggest I limit my sugar. I brushed it off in the beginning, but a few months later and getting more comfortable with the other results of my test, I figured I’d try stevia because I enjoy the taste and flavor of whole fruit stevia and monk fruit, or stevia in the raw. I’m glad you posted this- I was curious but didn’t want to look it up myself since I tend to look on the negative.
Thank you for this! I've cut out artificial sweeteners from my diet because I find it triggers cystic acne for me. I've been really happy to sub diet drinks for sparkling waters.
I recently started using 1 1/2 teaspoons of erythritol in my French toast (4 eggs, 3 slices wholegrain bread, vanilla extract, cinnamon) for breakfast. I now also have one 10 calorie portion of jelly (sugar free that contains aspartame) to get some gelatin/collagen in my diet. Before that I never used artificial sweeteners, never drank soda let alone diet soda and I almost never eat candy or sweets. It's probably not the healthiest thing in the world but I see people who drink tons of sugar free energy drinks, diet sodas, splenda ridden coffees every day that comparatively my usage of it isn't that bad.
Erythritol's only real biological effect could be loose stools or dehydration in excessive amounts. Unlike stevia or monkfruit, it's a single chemical that isn't absorbed by the body, it just passes through the GI tract.
I’ve used stevia for years due to a health scare where a nutritionist told me to stop eating sugar. I still love how sweet things like strawberries and watermelon. I don’t need overly sweet foods, and vegetables are amazing and I normally have those only steamed. I think like most things it’s all about moderation. I still drink tea unsweetened and a little bit of stevia in my iced coffee.
Found your channel through that Greg Doucette controversy. I still think that vid you made was pretty bad, but this one is great, it's probably the most comprehensive video on artificial sweeteners on TH-cam!
Thank you for this information. I am diabetic(controlled by diet) and do not ingest much sugar. I do substitute with swerve. But I don't use it often. If I do cook something with swerve I find myself more hungry. Not insatiable. But also since switching from sugar to swerve I've lost 50 lbs. I feel like I'm craving more protein and veggies.
@@AbbeysKitchen I would love to see more videos on what diabetics shouldn't eat vs what they should. In rural areas like my own we do not have enough info. I've pretty much had to research all on my own. My doctor and dietian wasn't knowledgeable enough to give me any helpful information. Rural areas are really slacking on information unfortunately. My own parents are suffering from diabetes as well. But they won't listen to me when I suggest minor changes here and there. They are in their 50s and I worry about them. 😭
I definitely had the same experience as you with sweeteners. I used to constantly crave sweets ALL THE TIME! and I could hardly ever satiate the craving. Once I cut back, and limited my sugar and completely cut out natural and artificial sweeteners, I began enjoying foods that are more nutritionally dense and I am able to feel satiated and eat less than I once did. I do take on a more intuitive style of eating and if I want a piece of cake or chocolate at some point, I do not deprive myself of it, but if it has any unnatural sweeteners then I do my best to avoid it now. I am now able to get my sweet fix by eating half to a third of the size of cake that I once did and I can even satiate my sweet cravings with fruit quite often. I don’t even crave sweet things that often anymore and I am more satisfied with simply eating more fruits and vegetables rather than digging into the cookies or cake all of the time. I love watching your videos. There are so many great nuggets of information and you deliver it in such a fun and educational way.
Hi Abbey! Nice video. I LOVE SWEETS! Cakes, cookies, cupcakes.. all of it! Lol.. I slowly started decreasing my sugar intake a few months ago and now, I only eat it occasionally. I like stevia with my coffee. I have found that now when I do decide to eat a lot of sugar, like a cupcake or a slice of cake, I'm totally disgusted by the taste! It honestly makes me kind of sick and it's way too sweet. It's crazy to think about the way our body becomes accustomed to certain foods (especially if they're not good for us.) Once you cut it out, your body almost rejects it.
I recently moved to the US and everything is horribly sweet 😭😭😭😭😭😭
Who puts sugar in bread? Bread!!!
Welcome to the USA the home of sugar, and sweet foods. Americans have a sweet tooth. 90% of stuff in the grocery store in the USA contains High Fructose Corn Syrup, and is even in drinks folks would not expect like alcoholic drinks. Watch the documentary movies That Sugar Movie, and King Corn.
@@ThePsiGhost What's your point? Rice, Potatoes and pasta are carbs none of them are sweet.
Exactly carbohydrates are treated like sugar even if they don't taste sweet. Your body knows no difference, and processes them the same way especially if you are insulin resistant rather than insulin sensitive.
@Anthony ZaleskiEven whole food and complex carbohydrates can still be bad for folks especially if they are insulin resistant. The only saving grace for whole food and complex carbohydrates is that they contain fiber, which slows down the absorption of the sugar, and not spike insulin as fast. That makes a difference, and provides balance energy rather than a sugar crash.
Even tomato sauces.
In other parts of the world, added sugar is not used to make bread, sauces , alcoholic drinks
I’ve been using artificial sweeteners for years and I still find honeycrisp apples super sweet. And carrots are still sweet to me, too.
Glad that works for you!
Artificial sweeteners & non-impact sugar substitutes also have never seemed to impact my perception of sweetness or my appetite.
Interestingly, the only sugar-substitute that subjectively seemed to effect my perception of sweetness is HFCS- which is caloric.
I use all kinds of sugar free sweeteners on my low carb diet and find regular sugar products super sweet. Bread tastes like a sweet dough to me and I just had some lemon juice that tasted sweet. Maybe depends on each individual.
Tracy Andrirs
“Bread tastes like sweet dough to me”
Haha, funny you describe it like that. :)
Off topic but This reminded me of a conversation with a guy I met back in college. He and his family moved from Europe to the USA when he was a teenager. (Spain iirc, Idk the region) He mentioned bread was one of the “every day foods” that took him a long time to adjust to. To him American bread loaves “are almost as sweet as a plain cake.”
That blew my mind at the time, but it made me aware that even basic staple foods sold in the USA/CA are unhealthier than what’s conventionally eaten in other countries.
Its also the conversation that made me notice most bread has refined sugar or corn sweetener in the ingredients list - even many of the breads that are marketed at health conscious people (multigrain, wholewheat, 100% whole grain, organic, sprouted) will have some cane sugar, molasses or honey thrown in.
I have really a time hard finding “light”/“thin” (reduced calorie) bread products that are also 100% whole grain AND completely unsweetened.
@@maenad1231 here in Finland the most "popular" bread is ryebread (vaasan ruispalat if you want to google it) and many foreigners that i've met have told me that they cannot stand rye bread or almost any white bread eather in Finland since they are not sweet as they are everywhere else. Finns then dont like that much of french bread because for us it tastes just like a bun! Its weird how different it is ☺️
Hi Abbey, just an idea... Review the diets of people from other countries. I've stumbled upon some very curious Korean what I are in a day, all subbed in English. Lots of different ingredients and dishes.
I'll have a look!
Uuuh that’s interesting!
Alexandre Andrejow What did you say ?
Abbey Sharp HYEMI
Yes! Also Korean diet culture
I love the balanced approach to nutrition information you share. No taking studies out of context, no unsubstantiated claims; just an honest perspective.
In my personal experience , switching most of my "sugar" intake to Splenda it helped me lose a lot of weight. 😅
Pro tip: if you find Greek yogurt too tart , add Splenda.... its so good !
But obviously its not the only thing I did to lose weight lol
Glad that works for you!
@Elle D too tart for me. The only one I love is the dannon fit and light strawberry cheesecake flavor 😋
Living in Germany, I would prefer more tart and sour yogurt ... But most yogurts are produced with a lactobacillus strain that doesn't make the yogurt really sour. Sometimes I can buy bulgarian yogurt (different strain), it is so good.
Hey Abbey, could you do a video comparing sweeteners like maple syrup, agave, honey, date syrup and other non artificial sweeteners?
On the list!
Yes this would be great! I use a little bit of honey in tea once a day and also wonder how it compares x
yesss this would be fab!
raw honey is the only thing you'll need, everything else is detrimental
Seems like everyone is missing the big picture that it is about insulin response. This is all sugar. Sugar is bad. Avoid all of those and minimize them in your diet.
Two things:
1. Aspartame gives me migraine headaches. Is this just me? Or is there actually some reason for it?
2. Yes! I went 2 weeks without eating anything sweet at all, and the results blew my mind. I did not know that brocoli could taste sweet!
Thank you so much for this video. It was so educational and well-made. I am always super impressed with how much research you do for your videos. It's awesome!
I used to be obese as a kid, but switching to artificial sweeteners was a great choice for me and it lead me to lose weight. Even though I had the mindset already to lose weight, the sweeteners really helped to curb those cravings.
You should always aspire to drink water. But if you are craving for something sweet, the sugar-free option are often times much better than the sugary ones.
Glad that works for you!
Good topic! The thing is Stevia is an herb, which I grow in my garden every year. You can buy it as a whole leaf or just grow it, then dry it or pick a fresh leaf to go in your tea/ coffee. I bake with stevia and a maple syrup blend. If you do a deep study on stevia...this is good for the blood sugar. God given herb for the diabetic!
Even herbs can be hazardous in excessive amounts.
@@Magnulus76 so can water - stevia is better than sugar and other alternatives
Artificial sweeteners have lowered my tolerance for real sugar. I find sugar cloying. That said, the reason might be that I stopped consuming real sugar at the same time.
These days I only eat no-sugar peanut and almond butters because the sweetened versions don't taste as good. The fruits I prefer are tart berries. I've always loved vegetables. No change there! So, I'd say I don't like sugar as much as I used to, which may have more to do with going off sugar than going on artificial sweeteners.
Glad that works for you!
Same here! I drink diet soda everyday and have since childhood. I find fruit, regular soda, bread, and really anything sweetened with sugar to be overly sweet. It's odd that there are all of these arguments stating the opposite happens. A friend recently told me that she adds curry powder to fruit in order to cut the sweetness. Going to give this a try!
Same, omg! I drink artificially sweetened energy drinks like 2-3 times a week cause I like them. I recently had a normal, sugary one and it was waaaay too sweet for me!
I used to be able to drink a lot of sugar soda at once, but now I would get nauseous after just a little bit, being used to zero versions.
I'm the same. If I have a glass of regular coke, I need to add sparkling water as it's super sweet. Sugar is addictive as is salt. So your baseline 'perfect level' goes down a lot. Saying that I still like chocolate, cakes and sweet stuff like baklava or halva, but less of it will make me satisfied. I reduced my sugar intake and carb intake over the last couple years, hence the change.
I’m not sure if you’ve already done this video or not, I’m a relatively new subscriber, but I would love to see a dedicated video on sugar eg how much is too much and how to reduce sugar intake
I'll have a look
I'm an RD new to TH-cam and actually just posted a video on this: th-cam.com/video/uFMrva-XDaM/w-d-xo.html
:D Enjoy
Abbey as a fellow RD I LOVE your videos and always share them!
Uncommon RD great, I’ll have a look!
Siera Ballerina yes! Deffo
Abbey Sharp thank you! Love your videos :)))
Love this video! I would love to see a breakdown of natural cane sugar replacements such as coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup etc.
On the list!
Hi Abbey! I’m an RD in Florida, absolutely love your channel. This was a fantastic video. I agree that we need more research on the topic, but I can share my anecdotal evidence as a dietitian who counsels primarily patients with diabetes. There is a HUGE difference in the difficulty of blood sugar management in people who consume aspartame/sucralose on a daily basis versus those who don’t. I have had so many patients come to me after years of routine diet sodas and “sugar free” everything and they’ll be eating literally zero carb diets and will still have blood sugars in the 200s. After a few months of cutting out artificial sweeteners their blood sugar becomes easier to control with much higher carb intake. It’s pretty amazing. It’s also downright scary how many foods contain artificial sweeteners these days. There are even tortillas and breads with sucralose.
Thank you so much for sharing this! I'm also a dietitian who counsels patients with diabetes. I'm a fairly new RD though, and I had never heard that artificial sweeteners could negatively affect glucose levels. I'll make use of that info with patients. 😊
I don’t consume artificial sweeteners because they have never tasted good to me 🤷🏽♀️ they seem to all have that funky aftertaste...
Yah they do have an aftertaste
I agree. Ever since I started reducing my sugar intake gradually, my tolerance for sugar has greatly diminished as well.
It was so simple to do too.
Me too
I'm with you. I remember reading an article that talked about how some of us really taste a weird aftertaste that others do no because of the way the chemical can also fit into a bitter receptor on the tongue as well as sweet. So a weird taste is more pronounced.
Kristen Cyr interesting!
The same thing happened to me, before I began to reduce my sugar intake, I could not handle the taste of foods like dark chocolate, or Greek yoghurt without any sugar, or even coffee. As I reduced my sugar intake I’ve found that I now love the taste and find sweetness in all of those things.
Glad that works for you!
I've actually stayed away from them because I thought they may cause cancer... glad I watched this Abbey before I became a nurse with misinformation!:)
I would love to hear more about taking care of your gut microbiome! It would be great to hear how to eat it!
On the list!
check out jessiehoffman_phd on insta! she's a dietitian and an expert
Eat a variety of polyphenols and fibre. Drink different teas
Yes please!
@@RobertWadlow292 the more fiber you eat, the more irritated your gut will become. That's bad advice.
And teas contain heavy metals don't they?
I started replacing artificial sweetener in my morning drink, while also cutting all to most added sugars in my daily diet. When I treat myself with ice cream some days, I find that I can’t eat near as much as I used to. It’s just too sweet
In my personal opinion, diet sodas were the nail in the head for helping me lose weight. People think diet sodas make you wanna eat more, but they don't take into account that satiety is food volume and low calorie beverages have the same effect as water aka giving extra stomach volume. If people claim you need calories for satiety then they would also have to accept that drinking water (no calories) is ineffective for weight loss.
Also all the studies i have seen people eating more with diet soda are based on intuitive eating and intuitive eating is not perfect. If you ate based on a rough caloric goal instead of your gut feeling then you see that diet sodas actually help since you can drink a fair amount, because it barely adds to your daily total calories like water.
i have the same opinion with you. Diet pepsi was a part of my snack when i was in restrict diet, but just once every 2-3 days. Probably i am not a fan of sweet thing, however i find diet soda does help while trying to lose weight
She explained in the video that the problem with zero calories beverages is when they’re sweet, the brain doesn’t feel satisfied because there are no calorie and it makes you want to eat something else with calories so it can feel satisfied. Water is a different thing - yes, it’s a zero calories beverage, but it’s not meant to be sweet, so the brain doesn’t look for sweet satisfaction from it.
I hope you can understand what I mean.
@@gabriellageorgieva4014 I don't understand, I think this is just in peoples heads that they use to justify their lack of self control. Zero calorie sweeteners don't have a fake sweet taste that fools the brain. Most people who say it makes them eat more are the ones who don't track calories.
My experience with sugar/sweetness tolerance: I never drink soda, but I do love ice cream, cakes/brownies, candies, etc. Several years ago I noticed that I was thinking about sugar all the time, so I decided to cut sugar out of my diet. I stopped eating dessert, candies, Cliff Bars (which had a lot of sugar), cranberry trail mix, sugary Peanut Butter, etc etc. It wasn't easy at first, and here and there I would eat some candy or a treat. Fast forward to a while later, I was traveling and there wasn't much at the gas station in terms of snacks. I grabbed a Cliff Bar because I needed to eat something and I noticed that it was wayyy to sweet for me to enjoy it. It didn't taste good. I'd rather just eat a slice of cake- it probably has the same amount of sugar anyways! That's when I gave up the no sugar diet- I noticed my sugar tolerance was much lower
I later started studying at a coffee shop pretty regularly. I only really drink coffee/tea on occasion only, but I would buy a drink every time I studied there because I felt bad sitting there and not ordering anything. I would just pay for the cheapest and smallest drink on the menu, which was usually an iced coffee. I wouldn't add any syrup to sweeten it because I was being cheap. The only sugar they had at the sugar/milk station was the raw turbinado sugar and one variety of artificial sweetener that had a funny aftertaste. So I would use the turbinado sugar BUT THE SUGAR WOULDN'T DISSOLVE! (Drink was too cold, and the crystals would stick to the ice). So I would just end up taking a few sips of the bitter coffee (not a fan) and toss it. HOWEVER, I eventually got used to drinking iced coffee without sugar and started to enjoy it. All I need is milk. The same goes for black tea! I don't need sugar anymore, just milk.
Overall my tolerance for sugar has lowered and I don't eat or want those sugary snacks I used to eat regularly (ahem Cliff Bars, overly sweet yogurt). But I'm not on a sugar-free diet anymore. If I want cake, I'll eat it! I just don't think about it all the time anymore, which was my goal.
Do basically almost everything is inconclusive when it comes to research on these sweeteners.
Anything relating to food an nutrition is super hard to study in actual humans. This is especially true in the long term. The reason being...you can't completely control someones diet long term. So you have to rely on self reporting which is about as accurate as one might expect it to be. Plus correlation does not equal causation. This is exemplified by the meta study that found that people who ate french fries were more likely to die. Humans are complicated machines and we have no direct way of proving that variable A is the only variable in a study. So ya we can see some correlations that if Variable A is applied then outcome B is more likely. But we can't prove it. Because we just don't know all the other variables. Think about it this way. You are in a dark room with your eyes closed. You bump up against a solid object. Based on your experience, and your fingers touching the surface of that object, you think it's a wall with some weird wall paper. But really, what you don't realize is that just beyond your fingertips, the surface curves and you have actually been feeling up an elephant. Science is always looking for that place where you can shed enough light and get enough information to realize that hey this isn't a wall, it's an elephant. Long way to say...most diet related research is inconclusive.
truely evidence-based answers are rarely as sexy & black and white & final as we'd like them to be. from what we know non-nutritive sweeteners are safe and without side effects when used in moderation (even the FODMAP/diarrhea causing ones can be symptomless in small enough doses)
@@KitarraChaosWeaver ohh wow! Got it. An Perfect analogy! That makes so much sense now. Thank you so much for taking the time to explain! ☺️
@@katiemalas268 I think people who get digestive issues with sweeteners are just drinking very little water to help with hydration.
Nutrition research is inherently flawed bc humans are hard to control and food / eating doesn’t happen in isolation
Finally a smart person on youtube. I worked as a personal trainer for years and people are really dumb about food. Just in general. There is no such thing as a "Detox" or "Cleanse". Make your calories count, eat nutrient -dense food, eat a smaller portion, and get some fresh air.
I used to use them way too much and ironically had gut issues for a little over 2 years. After stopping cold turkey, I now use them, just not as much and definitely taste natural sweet better now :)
I am thankful to see that many companies are putting warning labels especially noting children may have adverse side effects to sugar alcohols. Years ago when I was a freshman in college I was sick every day with gastrointestinal issues. Three doctors later finally the culprit was discovered to be the numerous amounts of sugar free gum that contained sugar alcohols I chewed daily. I use Swerve often & I don't notice any bad aftertaste or stomach problems.
Thanks for sharing your experience
I have genuinely been thinking about this for months and keep meaning to research, I always add sweeteners to my tea (Think good old British cuppa) and I’m having to add more and more sweeteners for it to still taste good to me ...SO maybe time to reset or re-evaluate at least! Thank you Abbey!
Glad it is helpful!
I used to add 2 packets of stevia to my coffee but started cutting back voluntarily. In a couple weeks my taste buds adjusted and now I only use 2 packets per day and only one for my coffee
I haven't started the video yet. I'm really trying to leave my biases at the door, but I am very much a splenda addict, so I make no promises.
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Wow, this is fascinating. I got really into artificial sweeteners when I lost a bunch of weight in 2016-2019 and I initially felt it was a great weight loss aid, especially because I was such an added-sugar addict before. But I've since started to experience signs of a massive sugar crash when I consume artificial sweeteners with meals/beverages before exercising. My appetite also seems to have become more "volatile" as well, where I'll suddenly feel the need to grab anything I can get my hands on in almost a frenzy when I experience these intense sugar crashes, even if I had a balanced meal relatively recently. I suspected that over time, regular consumption of artificial sweeteners has caused my body to treat it as regular sugar in an energy/metabolic way, but it was just a suspicion. This information from research is what I needed to feel more confident about that. It's what I needed to hear to dial it back, which is what I wanted to do anyway. I feel empowered with information! Thanks!
What artificial sweeteners did you mainly have?
When u hit a low enough body fat ur body can freak out and tell you to binge .
My and my husband’s experience with stevia hasn’t been great. For several years I was using stevia extract regularly and following a pretty low carb diet. I ended up with prediabetes (despite being thin/no family history). Stevia was an enabler low carb/clean eating issues. Eating more “normal” helped reversed my insulin issues. Low calorie sweeteners probably aren’t a good idea for people with disordered eating tendencies.
My husband (he ate what I made) had been having dizzy spells and even passed out a few times. My father had previously had the same issues which went away after cutting diet soda. So, we experimented with him cutting stevia and the dizzy spells went away. The only time he has had it since was after accidentally having something with stevia in it at a get together. It turns out many artificial sweeteners can lower blood pressure, which was a bad thing for my husband since he already has low blood pressure.
For us, real sugar is moderation is definitely the healthier option.
Thank you for sharing your experience. Glad that works for you!
Wow you are SO thorough, clear, and easy to follow. Thank you so much for breaking all of this down for us in a straightforward yet scientific way! You're awesome!
So glad it was helpful!
I think the closing remarks summarized the video well and overall she offered very practical advice.
Stevia, monk fruit, and erythritol are not artificial sweetners. Low-calorie, yes. But they are food based, not chemicals.
yes, not artificial , she is not well informed .
Artificial and chemical do not mean the same thing, they are still chemical compounds, just not derived in a lab.
Ell Dee Manuela Andriescu Ell Dee Manuela andriesca At 1:07 she says “a more accurate name would be “non-nutritive sweeteners” or “low calorie sweeteners” depending on which you’re referring to. But I will keep saying the artificial sweeteners most often in this video since that is the colloquial term”! How do you watch a 23 minutes video citing great amounts of research by a highly educated, registered dietician with a clear passion for nutrition and who clearly knows what the hell she is talking about and say she is not well informed?! Did you not listen to a minute of the video? She is clearly well informed. Also, as someone with a mathematics degree with a focus in statistics it is clear she knows how to draw conclusions from research. Explaining that correlations do not imply causation, that small sample sizes aren’t usually a good representation for a population, that observational studies are not ideal, and that confounding factors may be a validity concern when it comes to an observational study (such as a majority of people that drink diet soda may be doing so because they already have a higher weight and it’s not the soda that is causing that higher weight); I love how informed she is!
They are still extracted by chemical and physical process tho. And everything is made by chemicals btw.
@@karlabuch6586
When you pick up the apples from a tree, is a physical process as well
Love your content. Thanks for distilling this information for us laypeople to consume easily!! I've been using non-nutritive sweetened products for a while. Here is my ANECDOTAL experience:
1. I have not experienced significant changes in my bowel movements
2. I have lost weight
3. I have definitely not lost my love for veggies or fruits.
4. While I do love my coffee sweetened a little, I am not repulsed by black coffee. However, I do love me a sweet breakfast but let's be fair, who doesn't like pancakes or waffles?
That being said, I do stick to the he following:
1. I eat fruits/veggies with nearly every meal
2. I use protein powder that contains non-nutritive sweeteners.
3. I generally don't drink any soda/pop. Not for health reasons. I just don't like the tingly feeling on my tongue.
4. I generally consume these sweeteners with other caloric sources to give it a sweet flavour. Not just for the sweetness (ex. With almond milk in my lattes, or with butter and/or flour in my baked food)
5. I don't stick to a single source of sweetness for everything (Stevia in my coffee, erythritol in my baking, fruits in my smoothies).
What about protein powders??
They are almost always sweetened with artificial sweeteners..
Hard to find the one without it...
vinuthna v almost every company offers whey isolate as a neutral or unflavored option - those are typically without sweeteners! I buy this and then just blend with oat milk and half of a banana :)
Whey protein isolate and pea protein isolate are the two I keep in my kitchen. They are super easy to find without sweeteners.
I've bought hemp protein powder unflavoured plain from No Frills and plain grass fed cow whey protein at Sobey's both local grocer's in Ontario Canada. Bulk barn also sells plain pea protein powder, plain hemp protein powder, plain brown rice protein powder. You can pretty much find anything on amazon.
I'm glad you did this video, I've been so confused anytime I look up foods that contain artificial sweeteners and see reviews/comments saying they are poison. I honestly wasn't sure if it was true, and these people are so vocal about it. Seeing this video makes me feel better about choosing to consume these sweeteners. And I absolutely agree about consuming them in moderation just as you would with regular sugar. I still eat sugar as well! When I am baking or eating desserts I would typically use/eat sugar. But there's just a few select products I've found where the artificially sweetened versions simply fit into my diet better or even taste better to me. They aren't things I eat everyday or in large portions, so it feels good to confirm that eating them in moderation like this isn't known to have any detrimental effects.
the real question is : what about real sugar? Cause i feel that on that side the evidences are much more conclusive!
Anouka Tremblay real sugars, including "added sugars" are a healthy part of a balanced diet in moderation.
Sugar is an anti-nutrient. It takes more to digest and it gives none. Natural sweeteners are okay in modest amounts.
@@madisonmsky4612 what part of sugar is an anti nutriant and hard to digest?
@@SunSooTae Sugar isn't an anti nutrient, but still you shouldn't add added sugars to your diet.
Katie Malas a healthy part of a balanced diet for people WITHOUT diabetes.
RD student here! Thank you for doing this video. It was very informational! :)
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Thank you for summarizing a lot of the research done on the topic, and a non-bias approach to critiquing studies.
sweetness tolerance is a thing for me!! A few years ago i tried to 'quit sugar' and gave up because when I wanted to drink ginger ale it was too sweet for me. At the time ginger ale was my favourite thing ever.
I know you touched on it at the end of the video (18:48), but I would have liked a little more explanation about the effect of low calorie sweeteners on insulin levels. I know most low calorie sweeteners are proven to have little to no effect on blood glucose, because, well, the body does not metabolize is as such. But I would think the sweet taste in our mouth would trigger some type of insulin response, no?
It would explain the augmented cravings, alongside that pleasure pathway not being activated in the brain, and the fact that it's not satiating like you mentionned.
Either way, I used to use some natural and artificial sweeteners, like a little bit of aspartame here and there, erythritol, stevia, monk fruit. Looking back I really did not like the effect it had on my apetite levels and my sweeteness tolerance. I felt like I never had enough dessert when it was sweetened with stevia or erythritol. I was done eating my portion and, next thing you know, I was up in the fridge, looking for my next fix of something, anything. And it was rather unconsious too, it's like my body knew something was missing.
Being off of sweeteners now, and just enjoying desserts with maple syrup, coconut sugar, and white and brown sugar here and there, it's crazy the difference it makes. I eat a small portion and I know I'm done.
Now I do tend to think anything too processed can have consequences on how we eat and how we metabolize foods, so I tend to err on the side of caution, especially with hyper-palatable foods. If I want to treat myself to something sweet I get the real thing and get it over with. Low-calorie sweeteners just created a kind of vicious cycle for me that was not worth it.
Great video by the way!
Use a blood sugar monitor and compare all your favorite artificial sugars to know how each one affects you personally. No need to wonder. This is a very educational way to know. I learned that stevia is the only one that only raises my blood sugars less than 5 points. The rest raise it hugely. That’s me, what happens to your blood sugar? Take a before eating test then eat the artificial sugar, wait 30 minutes, test again. This was the smartest thing I ever did to know exactly which of these sugars to steer clear of.
My mother has type 1 diabetes as an adult, which is rare. They couldn't figure out why her sugars were so dangerously high all the time, despite changing her diet and dosages of her meds. I casually mentioned to her doctor that she drinks several sprite zeros per day, as its her favorite fizzy soda. The doctor suggested she try going a week without drinking or eating anything with artificial sweeteners in it, and we were surprised that her sugars went down to a completely normal level as if she wasn't even diabetic. So...apparently, in some people, the body treats artificial sweeteners exactly the same as real sugar. If you are having trouble with regulating your blood sugars, I would definitely try cutting out all artificial sweeteners....it was definitely a REAL life saver for my mom.
Oh I needed this info thank you Abbey!! My husband was concerned about this and I’ve been using a lot more of these products (monk fruit, aspartame) help with health (overall sugar intake bc it’s EVERYWHERE), ibs and slight prediabetes. Now I can just send him (and anyone else who wants to come for me and my choices) a link to this video. 💯‼️😍
Glad it was helpful!
I used to drink soda daily when I was in my teens/early 20's and when I started taking better care of myself, I cut back a lot but I never replaced sodas with diet sodas because I HATE how artificial sweeteners taste. I can tolerate Splenda so I would use that in my coffee but now I've just gone back to real sugar and not drink anything as sweet --- that coupled with eating food that's more satiating, I don't crave as much sweetness as I used to.
Glad that’s working for you!
I’d rather drink water than diet sodas, they are the worst omg
Finally someone doing this vid. 😘
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Unnatural Vegan talks about this also.
I don’t care about the calories. When I do enjoy a soda here and there, I prefer diet because I HATE the sugary feeling left on my teeth from sugar containing soda. That’s all. I don’t drink diet every day... or even every week. Moderation of anything is key.
Same. I like the taste of Diet Coke vs the regular. It's about flavor for me.
I went sugar free for a year for my health and fruit started tasting amazing! Strawberries were dessert level sweet and delicious
Yum!
I drink Coke Zero every day. Although I originally made the switch because I was noticing weight gain from regular Coke, part of the reason is now that I hate how quickly my teeth feel dirty after consuming sugary drinks. I definitely have a sweet tooth but my tolerance for sweetness has really dropped over time as I get older and I now find regular colas undrinkably sweet and syrupy.
Glad that works for you
I have eaten a zero carb diet for several years now, and have experimented with different artificial sweeteners and how they affect my body personally. I tried these while monitoring areas like my glucose levels, ketones, digestive issues, etc. For me personally, I could use stevia, monk fruit, and erythritol and saw virtually no negative impacts. The other sugar alcohols definitely gave me some digestive issues. The "manmade" sweeteners affected my glucose levels/insulin resistance. None of these seemed to affect my hunger or craving for sweets or carbs. I would agree with you Abbey, I feel a lot of these probably have very individual results. Great content!
I started to drink Zevia drinks last year as a way to try and cut back on beer (trying to give myself a fun beverage to have after dinner that wasn’t alcohol) and I do genuinely like the taste of them. Especially the cherry flavour! They taste less sweet to me than regular pop, which is too sweet for my personal taste. I did wonder for a while about these beverages being ‘too good to be true’ (how can something taste good with 0 calories?) so this was very helpful. I think for people who genuinely like the taste, they can be a good way to give yourself a fun treat in moderation.
Xylitol upsets my stomach like CRAZY. A lot of protein powders seem to have sugar alcohols, and I think they taste really gross too.
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Phew! Im a baker and planned to choose between xylitol and erythritol.. luckily i picked the latter to purchase and try
Same! I tried “low sugar” protein bars (i think premier they werr called) and was soooo sick 🤢🤢
I’ve experienced the opposite lol. I drink a lot of Diet Coke and I feel like regular sugar is sooooo sweet to me. I can’t drink regular soda it’s so sweet
And it makes spit more viscous and leaves a gross aftertaste, so I hate reg Coke
Abbey love how these videos are not bias in anyway. All I see here are facts and well done research to inform the viewers instead of telling them how to eat. 😊 I personally have sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit instead of sugar alcohols as they cause a lot of stomach discomfort for me. When it comes to added sugar I just make sure to not over-do it and have it in moderation. I know that diabetes runs in my family so I’m always cautious about how much added sugar I have.
Thanks for sharing! So glad they are helpful
She's right about being careful when buying stevia, you must find a pure product... the one I use is Pyure, it has no maltodextrin filler.
Ty
So heres the thing- I have an extreme sweet tooth and went on a very low sugar diet (was even counting sugars in fruit) and found a few substitutes that I personally think are worth it. Sugar free syrup in the morning on protein pancakes/waffles. I don't need all that sugar first thing in the morning, and I can't taste the difference, so it doesn't matter. I also don't use an excessive amount. Chai latte. I make my own concentrate and add the equivalent of a 1/4 of sugar in sugar alternatives (for like 8 1/2 cup servings). I also make the latte with Fairlife (I know their cancelled but I like it) which has more protein and less sugar than regular milk. And because you can't even taste milk sugars, and our body metabalizes them the same way, why waste your sugar intake on something you can't taste? And plan't based milks have little/no protein and I don't like the taste. Also, two good greek yogurt also has a lot of the lactose sugars filtered out and only has 2 g per serving compared to 9 in regular unsweetened greek yogurt. Sugar free chocolate pudding is really good and doesn't have an after taste. make it with Fairlife and its basically protein pudding. Finally- whipped cream- it doesn't actually have a lot of sugar but it can help sweeten pretty much anything/improves everything in my opinion. I don't drink diet soda regularly and prefer sparkling water. But yeah counting sugars was WAY to restrictive for me (which is probably evident in my slightly obsessive analysis of low sugar alternatives) but I still use these things. But if I want a cookie, Imma have a cookie. (or 2, or 3, were in a pandemic okay?)
I’ve tried stevia, Splenda and other ones. All of them give me severe headaches/ migraines so they are not for me.
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@@AbbeysKitchen is there any research on why it would cause headaches?
I haven’t heard that about stevia or splenda before, but I know there have been a few studies showing a correlation between aspartame and headaches/migraines
I have a friend who is allergic to ALL these artificial sweeteners. She’s not allergic to regular sugar, honey and maple syrup.
Sucralose give me instant headaches too
Thank you for your work. Would love an updated version now that more research has surfaced!
I feel like in re: to the observation of ppl who drink 21 diet sodas per week are more likely to be obese than those who don't.....well, duh. i feel like anyone who drinks that much soda, sweet or artificial... would likely be on the overweight/obese side anyway. it just seems like a poor choice in beverage as opposed to drinking water, seems like they'd be drinking more soda than anything.
Katie Lee agreed
I agree in the sense that it’s somewhat of a binge behavior.. to have that many of anything in a week especially something non-essential for health. Fun foods are not staples, and most people know ( I hope) that they need to balance them with a more complete macronutrient/vitamin/mineral rich diet.
Disagree, how is water any different to diet soda ouside of hydration?🤨
If i drank water with my food as opposed diet soda what is the difference? 🤨🤔
@@zukodude487987 artificial sweeteners, I think thats the big difference. Not knocking it though...I love soda and I feel like if you are trying to lose weight and can't give up soda go for the diet stuff.
I'm going to go with disagree here... Kind of. 21 a week isn't that much. That's one at every meal. Most people I know don't drink water with their meals, including the people I know who are fit and eat healthy. That's all they drink outside of meals, but water just doesn't do it for some people alongside food. I do believe there's a good chance this is a correlation vs causation issue, just not for the reason you're giving.
I was happy to see a video on this topic! I don’t consume a lot of refined sugars or artificially sweetened things. I do eat fruit and foods with natural occurring sugar obviously. However, I use a touch of Monk Fruit sweetener that also contains erythritol in my coffee every morning. Obviously I was drawn to the claims of it. I haven’t noticed any changes in the way I feel. I also haven’t found my tolerance for sweetness has gone up. That could be because I just naturally crave salt over sugar, the amount I use, or maybe it’s because I still eat other things that have natural occurring sugar in them. With Stevia and other sweeteners like Splenda, I noticed a lot of stomach discomfort, headaches and foggy brain. Monk fruit is a winner for me. I just wish I knew more about it.
I used to use pure maple syrup in my coffee. Not a lot, but I was using it every morning. I would be curious to hear the research comparing pure maple syrup, agave nectar, date syrups, etc. There’s a lot of conflicting evidence out there and you seem to be one of the only ones who actually fact checks things and has the appropriate credentials to be speaking on it.
Personally, back when I was a major soda drinker, I switched to coke zero (my bf at the time drank it exclusively so I always had it around) and quickly noticed I was hungry constantly. I literally started eating all day, except when sleep and work got in the way. I switched back to regular coke and that symptom went away. I later found out that it's a potential symptom of artificial sweeteners and that's how I phrase it when talking to other people, especially when I have to ask/check the packaging.
As far as the perception of sweetness, I can attest to shifting taste. After hearing a can of soda contains something like 8ft of sugarcane, I quite soda and sweetened tea and started checking packages for sugar content. After going back to tea, I now mix it about 50/50 with water to make it drinkable. Salt has the same impact on taste, and regularly consuming more or less will change your tolerance of the flavor.
I have lost 115 lbs, I still have wt. to loose, but I think with your videos I'm making better or more informed choices, thank you for all you do.
I used to use truvia and Splenda in my tea and coffee in high school (I was also suffering from orthorexia...) I never really noticed any specific side effects from them, but that might be because I already felt exhausted and fatigued from over exercising, under eating and not sleeping enough, heh.
I don’t eat a lot of sugar now, and mostly stick to honey or brown sugar when I need to add sweetness to something.
I’ve noticed that when I’ve accidentally consumed artificial sweeteners in the past few years, my blood sugar feels like it plummets. I get extremely hungry, shaky, light headed and nauseous and don’t feel better until I eat something with actual calories. I’m not sure if they all cause this for me, or only specific ones do.
I still use stevia, but have completely stopped using artificial sweeteners like aspartame as it was causing headaches and even joint pain! I’ve noticed my sugar cravings have actually reduced since I allow myself to eat regular desserts whenever I want
21 diet drinks a WEEK???
My gosh, that's a lot!
xAlbinopiratex I’m guessing a drink every meal in a day (most likely 3 meals per day) which would result to 21 drinks a week
I down about a litre bottle a day between coffee and water so that's roughly 28 servings a week.
@@eggnog3495 Diet Coke for Breakfast?
I love Soda but I don't want a soda when I just woke up I either want coffee, juice or milk, i can't even really stand water for breakfast either
Hi Abbey, I had a very similar experience to you. When I was struggling with orthorexia, Coke Zero was my crutch. It was the only sweet thing I allowed myself and thus I was drinking 4-6 bottles a day too. I was addicted. And when I quit, I went through actual withdrawals and was sick in bed with nausea and headaches for a week. Once I started eating normally I didn’t want it anymore. I also would not drink nearly enough water and instead just drank coke. These days I drink water constantly. However, I don’t think I had any change in weight/bloating/general health. It was more a mental issue for me than physical. Great video as usual ☺️
FYI: Stevia is NOT artificial. Stevia is a plant that tastes sweet naturally, even in the whole green leaf taken straight off the plant. Also, Truvia IS NOT stevia. It is a patented and trademarked name for a combination of erythritol and stevia. It is MOSTLY erythritol even though CARGIL, it’s maker, tried to dupe the public into thinking it was only stevia. Unless you have a different formulation in Canada.
So is it possible you meant to use the umbrella term of “ALTERNATIVE sweetener” which fits better to include ARTIFICIAL sweeteners like saccharine and aspertame, etc as well as sugar alcohols which aren’t naturally occurring like glucose sucrose or fructose?
cindland At 1:07 she says “a more accurate name would be “non-nutritive sweeteners” or “low calorie sweeteners” depending on which you’re referring to. But I will keep saying the artificial sweeteners most often in this video since that is the colloquial term”! Most people use the term “artificial sweetener” to group all so it would be the colloquial term, although yes some are not artificial. (If you google artificial sweetener, the first image includes stevia in the raw.)
cindland Also, at 19:55 Abbey says “I also want to mention that the majority of stevia products marketed as “natural” are actually stevia blends... so, for example, truvia contains a blend of erythritol and stevia leaf extract”.
I purchased some sugar free items(didn't know about sugar alcohols), long story short my 4 year old became very sick, he was screaming in pain, horrible diarrhea & sweating profusely. I made zero connection to the sugar free items.I was so concerned I took him to the hospital. Come to find out the doctor said it was due to the sugar alcohols in the sugar free foods. NEVER again.I found monk fruit & allulose to be great sugar substitutes.
Thanks for sharing your experience
Super interesting, I love this channel. I can't handle artificial sugars because they give me severe migraines. I can't even find gum that doesn't contain artificial sweeteners.
Glad that works for you
Most toothpaste and mouthwash have sugar alcohols as well -- my minty mouthwash tastes like liquid candy cane. I assume this is to not feed the sugar-loving bacteria in our mouths that cause cavities.
How much artificial sweetener would you have to consume thought to produce the headache effect?
I never thought about that. But the last week's I have this horrible migraines. I introduced swerve and monkfruit in my diet.
Problem is, finding gum without the artificial sweeteners🙄 I would love if they would do one with stevia or erythritol?
I totally agree with you, After I did a week long juice fast, I found fruit and vegies were what I craved instead of unhealthy junk food. It really helped regulate my cravings, and I lost 40kilos.
Unfortunately I've gained most of it back now, so I'm waiting til after lockdown to restart a juice fast in hopes of cleansing my palate and resetting my flavour palate!
I’ve been dying to research more about it lately! Right on time, time to grab some tea and watch Abbey’s new video❤️
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Great video! For some reason, artificial sweeteners have always been a major source of fascination for me. I did a project on them in high school, which sparked my interest in food and nutrition in general.
Personally, I use Lakanto monkfruit sweetener, liquid stevia, and Swerve powdered sweetener. I'll use at least one of those almost every day. I also love the Lily's brand of chocolate, which is sweetened with stevia. I no longer use aspartame or Splenda because I believe their safety is dubious. A fitness coach friend told me once that when aspartame is heated (e.g., if Diet Coke is sitting on the back of a truck on a hot day), it turns into a substance similar to formaldehyde. I never got into using saccharine regularly because I didn't like the taste and because there used to be a warning label on the packets of Sweet 'N Low.
I've definitely experienced the GI distress that comes with sugar alcohols. It seems like over time, I have built a tolerance. Once important point you didn't mention is that xylitol is deadly for dogs -- even if consumed in tiny amounts. Xylitol is hidden in so many products, such as chewing gums and even peanut butter, so it's important that dog owners are aware of that.
Lastly, there were some artificial sweeteners you didn't mention. These include Tagatose and cyclamates. Cyclamates were eventually banned in the United States, although they're still allowed in other countries.
Again, thank you for the great video! I would certainly be interested in seeing a 'Part 2' sometime soon!
I use liquid stevia in my coffee and cut sugar now when I have something with sugar the sweetness from the sugary food is overwhelming it’s gross and I find sugar makes my heart race
I have a minor sweet tooth, but I only eat a little bit of sweets at a time. Sugar generally makes me feel sick, this includes soda which is one of my favorites. I know soda is bad for tooth enamel because of the acids, so I've taken to drinking lightly artificially sweetened seltzer water lately. With this change I have only noticed that I don't have a sugar crash or any nausea/bloating. A win-win for me!
I never clicked on a video so fast! Could you make a video on natural flavors?
I'll have a look
Hello! I really liked your honest and very non-bias approach towards sweetners! Love your channel and I'm a nutrition major as well, so I'm pretty glad I've found your channel! I had a very similar experience regarding cutting off sugar, I did that back in my in my late teens, ate sweets in moderation, and actually finally started to appreciate the sweetness coming from the natural foods.
I remember before when I was dieting I would drink diet coke and I would develop severe headaches and I quit drinking them. It was actually still hard to quit drinking them too even with the headaches because I had an addiction to them. It took a while to get myself off of diet coke
Thanks for sharing
Its probably the caffeine, not the artificial sweetners themselves
@@HatsuneTokisaki usually caffeine tightens the blood vessels and lessens headaches (because the dilated blood vessels around the brain/head is what actually makes it hurt).
Suddenly decreasing caffeine intake or increasing it drastically can trigger migraines though. Or you could have withdrawal symptoms when you completely cut it out (say, 6 cups of coffee per day to zero caffeine).
(I do have credible sources for that, but they're in German. I researched it a lot, because I have chronic headaches. Caffeine and sugar is really not all evil.
I can stave off a coming migraine with a sweet coffee/non diet coke, because the mix of increasing brain activity with caffeine and energy boost from the sugar can give a kick to the "overworked" brain and might keep it from going into alarm mode until it can restore the balance of neurotransmitters and electrolytes in the brain enough to not devolve into a migraine. Sorry for the essay.)
I got crazy headaches from it... Still drink it tho 😂
T F maybe the only thing is I can enjoy having coffee and maybe a real soda once in a while or sweets and chocolate if I want those things and I don’t get headaches or migraines. I almost wonder if its an allergy response because I can handle a lot of foods and drinks with caffeine without getting migraines or headaches but I don’t really know
I don’t have a big sweet tooth but I use artificial sweeteners to avoid the calories. This only applies to my coffee sweeteners (which I rarely use bc I enjoy it black now) and energy drinks (I’m in physical therapy school , leave me alone lol) .
I think the use of artificial sweeteners only affects people long-term if they use them in excess. If you’re drinking 5+ diet sodas/artificially sweetened foods a day, the sweeteners aren’t the problem... it’s the addiction to sweet flavors.
When I WAS into sugary coffee, I slowly started incorporating black coffee to build my tolerance of it. Now that’s how I prefer it! I used to drink sodas occasionally, but I began drinking sparkling waters to give myself the carbonation kick and I love them now!
I hope more strong evidence emerges on this topic, I am glad that you debunked some common misconceptions!
Why do they call stevia, monk fruit, and other plant sweeteners artificial? Artificial are chemical based in my opinion. I grew stevia plants ground my own sweetener. Sugar alcohols give me gastric problems. Have to watch them.
The sugar lobby (a surprisingly large lobby) has invested large amounts of "research funding" to ensure anything not sugar is listed as "artificial sweetener" because artificial has a subconscious negative connotation.
I was raised in the US with a family who drank cola like water, and then at 20 I moved to Japan, where the sugar levels in just about everything (particularly artificial sweeteners) are like half of what I was used to. I actually never liked sweet things as much as my friends growing up, so for me this was perfect. When I go back to the US to visit I can’t have most desserts because it is waaaay too much. I hardly ever cook with sugar, and when a recipe absolutely needs it I use honey or maple syrup and reduce the amount needed. I too have found fruit to be so much more wonderful ever since removing the overly sweet American diet from my daily life... I’m moving back to the US after 16 years if being away, though, so we’ll see how that goes! Will likely continue making most of my meals from scratch, haha...
Eat fruit!! At first, it can be tough but it is a delicious dessert. My favorite is bananas and blueberries.
Yum!
I drink diet soda AND eat fruit. Diet soda has not increased my tolerance for sweetness
Fruit can cause major blood sugar spikes for diabetics. Many would love to enjoy being able to just eat fruit, unfortunately that isn’t always possible.
@@stacilee7074 Eat fruit with a source of healthy fat or protein i.e. an apple with natural peanut butter or blueberries, bananas with Greek yogurt. The added fat or protein help to prevent the spike in blood sugar from the natural occurring sugars in the fruit. My husband is type 1 diabetic.
I was just reading about this topic the other day! Came to the same conclusion: more research is needed. Thank you for a great video Abbey!
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My issue with artificial sweeteners is that they trigger headaches for me 🤷
Roll0112358 me too
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Real sugar triggers headaches for me.
I notice that effect with erythritol
Agree! I get migraines so I stay away!
I thoroughly enjoy all of the scholarly research you put into your videos and the critiques you make regarding the strength of each sited scholarly resource. Also definitely increases your credibility regarding your opinions made on a platform such as TH-cam. As a disclaimer I am relatively new to your channel. As a viewer I want to let you know this type of content is very interesting.
So glad it is helpful!
what’s your thoughts on dairy causing acne? also could you talk about pre&pro biotic foods like kombucha and Greek yogurt
Would love a video on the acne vs dairy thing.
@@ladylizcreates7719 On the list!
I have a video on prebiotics and probiotics: th-cam.com/video/GnYne5QDd9U/w-d-xo.html - but thank you for the other suggestion!
Great content as usual, Abbey. I'd like to add that my oncology professor, who's an oncologist and an important european researcher in gut microbiota and cancer, taught us that there's actually some consistent evidence of a correlation between cyclamate and colorectal cancer through chemical transformation of cyclamate by specific strains of the gut microbiota. I think that's one of those many topics that will need further research to be fully understood!
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Abbey, I'm coincidentally reading about artificial sugars this week in my Nutrition class. I'm sharing with my professor :)
Thanks for sharing!
Hi! I really enjoyed tihs video!
I'm a dental student and wanted to let you know that chewing gum with sugar alcohols (like sorbitol) are actually better for your teeth. Dentists don't recommend gum with regular sugar at all. It's because the bacteria that causes caries can only eat regular sugars and sweetners like sorbitol don't rise the pH in your mouth.
Thank you for sharing!
Anyone drinking any soda 3 times a day 7 days a week is drinking too much. There a lot better drinks but like teas, flavored milks etc. Nutritionally lacking. Bad for your teeth.
That's just about everybody on TLC 600lb life
@@7abetaain yeah but they also eat 50 pizzas a week or something 😂 but Dr. Now doesn't take any crap from them 😁
@@berchyzgb4423 50 might not even be too big of an exaggeration, I remember seeing one guy in the show that used to eat 3 meat pizzas with 2 fries covered in cheese sauce, a tray of brownies and a soda for breakfast.
how about water
I sometimes use the whole Earth stevia/Monk fruit blend...not daily, but frequently. I can enjoy more foods without adding the calories from sugar. I also don't drink diet sodas or flavored drinks much. The sweetener only goes in some of the things I'm eating that would be bland or bitter without a bit of it. I still eat stuff with sugar in it, too. it just seems like so many recipes call for sweeteners, whether it's needed or not. I have a ton of smoothie recipes I've saved to my iPad that call for honey or maple syrup.
This boggles my mind, as 90% of these smoothies are sweet enough because of the sweetness of the fruit. I always taste my smoothies first, and I only add some stevia if it needs it. I think using sweeteners in a balanced way is the best idea, as you said.
When I was clueless about nutrition, and almost overweight, I was eating lots of sugar, as most people do around here. I felt ugly and unnattractive every time I would take a look to my belly. Soon I decided to lose weight, as I did, by no longer eating more than once or twice a day. Later I cut the most sugar possible from my diet, and something happened. I started feeling disgusted by how sweet most desserts are. At that time I was being fed lots of paleo diet bullshit; I would fear sugars and carbs, and believe that saturated fat was the best thing ever. All of that also made me realize that diet culture could better be called diet cult, because it's is very cult-like; only they are right, and everyone else is wrong, the big companies are covering everything, etc. You only realize you are on a cult once you leave it behind, and you know what made me leave this behind? My compassion for animals. Once I started searching for vegetarian nutrition, I got shocked by how much bullshit I was believing in, and didn't want to believe otherwise, therefore I didn't change right away ("they must be wrong" I thought). It look me months thinking about it and a traumatic experience whose effects still last, to burst the bubble I was in. You Abbey, and Unnatural Vegan, both helped me a lot to open my eyes, and I am very thankful. Kudos to veganhealth.org as well. Although I am not completely vegan, I feel like a balanced vegetarian diet (including sugar) saved me from that creepy paleo cult. Regarding sugar, I still can't tolerate most sugary stuff from my country (Brazil), so I make my own, or buy imported desserts from Europe or Asia (American desserts are too sweet too). I hope this comment can help someone.
The gist of that sorry to say, is paleo is a cult but vegetariansim/veganism isn't. Sorry you just swapped one for another. A balanced diet is what has worked for ever. Nothing can change that. If you care about animals, lobby to change the way they are farmed.
I'm allergic to aspartame, the rest though are fine for me. I'm pretty sure it's safe, but some people can have intolerances to them. I'm only allergic to one of them, the others are fine. I can't taste the difference between them and real sugar in truth. Mind you, I can't taste the difference between decaff and regular coffee either.
I always recommend stevia, monk fruit or xylitol (non gmo). Pretty safe!
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Safe for humans. It it worth knowing that xylitol is deadly to dogs, so isn't a great choice for people with pets.
Why the non gmo?😒
H. F maybe because GMO is not good for your health and body?
@@gabriellageorgieva4014 many people believe this, but there is no scientific evidence to support that.
There is some evidence that its bad for the environment, but not for the body.
I do enjoy stevia in my cold brew coffee. I did a allcat test, which is basically a blood test that shows food sensitivities and inflammation and they suggest I limit my sugar. I brushed it off in the beginning, but a few months later and getting more comfortable with the other results of my test, I figured I’d try stevia because I enjoy the taste and flavor of whole fruit stevia and monk fruit, or stevia in the raw. I’m glad you posted this- I was curious but didn’t want to look it up myself since I tend to look on the negative.
Glad it was helpful
Thank you for this! I've cut out artificial sweeteners from my diet because I find it triggers cystic acne for me. I've been really happy to sub diet drinks for sparkling waters.
Glad that works for you!
I recently started using 1 1/2 teaspoons of erythritol in my French toast (4 eggs, 3 slices wholegrain bread, vanilla extract, cinnamon) for breakfast. I now also have one 10 calorie portion of jelly (sugar free that contains aspartame) to get some gelatin/collagen in my diet.
Before that I never used artificial sweeteners, never drank soda let alone diet soda and I almost never eat candy or sweets.
It's probably not the healthiest thing in the world but I see people who drink tons of sugar free energy drinks, diet sodas, splenda ridden coffees every day that comparatively my usage of it isn't that bad.
Erythritol's only real biological effect could be loose stools or dehydration in excessive amounts. Unlike stevia or monkfruit, it's a single chemical that isn't absorbed by the body, it just passes through the GI tract.
I’ve used stevia for years due to a health scare where a nutritionist told me to stop eating sugar. I still love how sweet things like strawberries and watermelon. I don’t need overly sweet foods, and vegetables are amazing and I normally have those only steamed. I think like most things it’s all about moderation. I still drink tea unsweetened and a little bit of stevia in my iced coffee.
which brand do you use? Its hard to find pure stevia here
@@ghadeera7004 Pyure is a great brand, no maltodextrin like most of them! I get it at Walmart for the best price!
Found your channel through that Greg Doucette controversy. I still think that vid you made was pretty bad, but this one is great, it's probably the most comprehensive video on artificial sweeteners on TH-cam!
I’ve been waiting for this video forever thank you!🙌🏻 btw I made your carrot cake baked oatmeal and omg 😍 soo good!
Jocelyn Foxworth yay so glad! Pls leave me a nice review and rating on my blog - it helps a lot!!
Thank you for this information. I am diabetic(controlled by diet) and do not ingest much sugar.
I do substitute with swerve. But I don't use it often. If I do cook something with swerve I find myself more hungry. Not insatiable.
But also since switching from sugar to swerve I've lost 50 lbs. I feel like I'm craving more protein and veggies.
Glad that works for you!
@@AbbeysKitchen I would love to see more videos on what diabetics shouldn't eat vs what they should. In rural areas like my own we do not have enough info. I've pretty much had to research all on my own. My doctor and dietian wasn't knowledgeable enough to give me any helpful information. Rural areas are really slacking on information unfortunately. My own parents are suffering from diabetes as well. But they won't listen to me when I suggest minor changes here and there. They are in their 50s and I worry about them. 😭
Can you please do a video about the different forms of folate? And the potential harms of folic acid in people with certain genetic mutations?
I'll have a look
Lutheran Ninja yes specifically MTHFR
I definitely had the same experience as you with sweeteners. I used to constantly crave sweets ALL THE TIME! and I could hardly ever satiate the craving. Once I cut back, and limited my sugar and completely cut out natural and artificial sweeteners, I began enjoying foods that are more nutritionally dense and I am able to feel satiated and eat less than I once did. I do take on a more intuitive style of eating and if I want a piece of cake or chocolate at some point, I do not deprive myself of it, but if it has any unnatural sweeteners then I do my best to avoid it now.
I am now able to get my sweet fix by eating half to a third of the size of cake that I once did and I can even satiate my sweet cravings with fruit quite often. I don’t even crave sweet things that often anymore and I am more satisfied with simply eating more fruits and vegetables rather than digging into the cookies or cake all of the time.
I love watching your videos. There are so many great nuggets of information and you deliver it in such a fun and educational way.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad that works for you!
Even if they're safe, artificial sweeteners taste like ****.
Jennifer Leduc I like Splenda honestly
@@portigoza To each their own, of course. I'm not a fan of Splenda or even stevia ; they just have a strange aftertaste to me.
Pat I like Splenda too.
Truvia is so good it taste like normal sugar
I have consumed so many artificially sweetened things that I hate the taste of normal sugar now🤷🏻♀️
Hi Abbey! Nice video. I LOVE SWEETS! Cakes, cookies, cupcakes.. all of it! Lol.. I slowly started decreasing my sugar intake a few months ago and now, I only eat it occasionally. I like stevia with my coffee. I have found that now when I do decide to eat a lot of sugar, like a cupcake or a slice of cake, I'm totally disgusted by the taste! It honestly makes me kind of sick and it's way too sweet. It's crazy to think about the way our body becomes accustomed to certain foods (especially if they're not good for us.) Once you cut it out, your body almost rejects it.
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