What is your opinion about Artificial sweetners?

Are they worth it? I've heard that they have bad side effects, even if they're sweet.

do you use them or just use regular sugar?

Sweetners are OK in moderation.  The foods they tend to appear in are not essential for a healthy diet by and large.  Some people can have bad reactions to sweetners, other people don't think they taste very nice.   Most people won't notice they're there.   I'm someone that doesn't have much of a sweet tooth but enjoy the occasional glass of sugar-free squash quite happily.

If you aim to eat fewer sweetened foods in general - whether they contain sugar or something more artificial  - that's not a bad thing.

I did quite a bit of research on specifically aspartame--used a lot, for example, in diet soda and sugar free gelatin.  Some sites suggested that aspartame is synonymous with poison; but I found enough reputable sites with more recent evidence that maintain aspartame is safe to consume. I did find several sites that suggest, however, that  consuming artificial sweetners can actually encourage people to want to eat more sweets.  Apparently, eating foods that contain artificial sweetners is not going to necessarily aid in weight loss.

my personal opinion is that aspartame is evil (it triggers my migraines) and that splenda is probably evil too but it doesn't trigger anything so I have it occasionally.

They trigger headaches for me, so I don't eat them at all.  But it wasn't very hard to give them up because I never drank very many sodas, and I don't like sweet coffee or tea, and I do like to drink water and (unsweetened) iced tea.

Philosophically, I am opposed to the concept of "food" that doesn't contain nutrition of any kind -- I mean, what is the point of consuming things that don't give any nutritional benefit, either calories, or vitamins, or fiber, or minerals, or phytochemicals that aid in promoting health?  I think it is a bad habit in wealthy western countries that we "eat" "food" when we aren't hungry that doesn't satisfy our bodies in any real way.  Far better to eat less, only when hungry, and move more to achieve our healthy weight.

That said, I don't think the occasional artificial sweetener will kill anybody, and if it replaces eating too much sugar, may be a help for some people.

I prefer to eat natural and unprocessed food and avoid chemicals, additives and artificial ingredients, so sweeteners are a no for me.

I use them (light yogurt is my biggest source) but if I consume too much I get extremely cold and can't stop my hands from trembling.  This tends to happen when I am at a restaurant and drink a ton of diet soda (4 or 5).  This dons't happen with water so I have to think it's the diet soda.

Personaly, I can't stand the taste and I get hungrier with artificial sweeteners, also.

I prefer the moderation approach to foods. I like natural sugar and less processed foods. Example: I've learned to like my coffee black.  On occassion with a tea spoon of sugar (15 cals/4grams) or a couple tbls of skim milk. After a while, I've learned to enjoy the natural taste.

I don't drink diet beverages. I'd rather have no pop/soda at all for a couple weeks or so and have an occassional regular soda instead (which doesn't even taste good after awhile either...but it's good for when I'min the mood for a cocktail).

I really believe our body is meant to consume whole, natural foods. I'd rather be fat and eat all whole foods than skinny while eating junk and "fake" highly processed foods. 

Use honey or the real sugar (not the white stuff). 

If it weren't for artificial sweeteners, I wouldn't be able to stick to my diet.  I drink Crystal Light every day, and if I want something sweet I'll have sugar-free pudding cups or sugar-free Fudgsicles or sugar-free Jell-O.  I have Splenda in the cupboard, but don't use it more than a couple of times a month.  When I eat cereal (two-three times a week), it's the pre-sweetened kind, i.e., Life cereal, Special K, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, or peaches and cream oatmeal.  I rarely, if ever, put sugar in anything.

I don't really have much of a sweet tooth, just occasionally.  The artificial sweeteners in some of the things I eat have not increased my desire for sweets at all.  But, of course, everyone is different.

I dont know about the long term effects of using artifical sweeteners and that kinda scares me, but obviously not enough because I use them alot. I use them in coffee, oatmeal, cottage cheese, etc. I am definitely not as bad as I used to be though.

There is tha argument that using artificial sweeteners increases cravings for real sugar. Not so, for me atleast. I went 6 months with no diet soda and I never noticed a change in my desires for sugar. Then when I started drinking diet soda again, I didn't notice a change.

I am an addict for splenda and the only downfall for me is the price. Otherwise, it works well for me. If you are that concerned, maybe try truvia or stevia.

I think just like anything else it's moderation.  I try to stay with unprocessed foods and for things like flavored yogurt, I choose the type that is flavored with cane juice rather than artificial sweetner.  When I want  a soda however (maybe once or twice a week at this point) I choose splenda or aspartame over anything with HFCS any day. 

I have figured out over the last 6 months that artificial sweeteners give me horrible stomach pains - bloating, loud noises, pain, etc...so I avoid them as much as possible.  I do have diet soda every now and then as a mixer with alcohol.  You would not believe some of the stuff I have found artificial sweetener in - I am still surprised every time I find a new one!  (yogurt, cocoa, protein bars!)

Can't stand the way they taste, it's super sweet with a bad after taste. I like the taste of regular sugar and will continue using it. Seems cheaper too.

They taste metallic to me so I instinctively avoid them. I prefer sugar but I'm trying to limit especially the white sugar consumption and I'm experiencing some positive effects from that. My sweet cravings go down when I willfully consume less sweet food.

I think we as Americans consume way too much products containing excess sugars or calories in general. Do you mean like Nutella? My yogurt used to come with fructose syrup and when I found this out through my dad and sister, I stopped eating dairy (except for milk and thin cheese slices) altogether, preferring real bananas, strawberries, and apples over those "yogurt" things.

Besides that, it seems like most people have an issue with the "fake sugar" backfiring because it never fills them up enough.

I think one should stay away from them as much as possible because you miss the true taste and sweetness of food. Unless your adding it to make something like lemonade.

An occasional diet soda or similar product is perfectly safe to consume.  And finding all-natural foods with no "additives" of any kind in any form is much more difficult than places that sell such foods making those claims would have one believe.  Moderation in all things, especially with foods containing artificial sweeteners, makes sense.  But despite what the alarmists would have you believe, occasional consumption of foods containing artificial sweeteners will cause the typical person no ill effects.

pilgrimdude, I know it is hard to find "all natural", but I suppose I'm rather lucky because I think the diet sodas, Nutella, etc, don't even taste half as good as the original. Rather have the calories with the goodness (literally) than a fake substitute that won't even satisfy me (both ways).

I realize some people have adverse reactions to artificial sweeteners, but then some people have adverse reactions to dairy and nuts.  The scientific consensus is that artificial sweeteners are safe to consume, although there are mixed results in terms of being useful in weight loss.

I agree with the stance all things in moderation.  I try to keep my diet as clean as possible, but I indulge in the occasional diet soda and sweeten my coffee each day with a little splenda.  I will use splenda or honey in place of sugar, where the sugar is only there to sweeten, like my homemade teriyaki sauce and I find that it tastes just as good as sauce with sugar.  But, where sugar is actually apart of the structure of the food, well there's really no substitute. 

Personally, I avoid it like the plague. It's just my personal opinion, but I don't like the way it tastes. Especially in deserts. Too sickly sweet and it just seems unnatural. Fortunately I have been able to break my sweet tooth pretty well, but on the occasions it returns I just indulge in the real thing. Indulging is a lot better now though, since I don't eat too much sugar anymore, a low amount of it satisfies me and isn't really bad. But here I am beginning to ramble!