I think I'm using waaay too much artificial sweetener

[Jainarayan]

I usually have 2-3 16 oz. coffees per day, using 4 pkts of Splenda or Equal in each one, and in my oatmeal in the morning. I can't stand the taste of plain oatmeal, so another 4 pkts. go in. I could be upwards of 15-20 pkts. per day.

All the broscience aside about the pros and cons of artificial sweeteners, just on principle I think I'm using too much. I do believe they have some effects. Someone told me the sweet taste sends a signal to your body that some sugar substance is coming so its starts getting ready to process it and turn it into fuel. Your body doesn't get it so it sends another signal to send it down. This is why people get sweet cravings. He said so you are really fooling your body every time you use the artificial stuff. The body needs to readjust itself every time.

I could try to wean myself off the sweetener, and not even use sugar. Aspartame is something like 200x sweeter than sugar. I didn't know that, I only knew that if I did use sugar I'd have to use a ton to make the coffee taste like it does with the phony stuff. I read that Truvia is not much better because it's highly processed, agave syrup is not much better than hfcs, and pure stevia is almost impossible to find.

So from this point on, I'm off the artificial sweeteners.

 

[Caladan]

Congrats. I have done the same. I didn't use to drink my coffee with a sweetener in the past, but then I fell into that sweet trap, quite addictive trap.
It came to a point that I constructed a pretty healthy diet overall and it just didn't make sense to keep using sweeteners so I decided to drop them. I didn't use that much, mostly when I drank a cappuccino, but once you are used for your hot drink to be sweet its takes adjustment to go back to plain taste.

 

[Reverend Rick]

Does it have to be all or nothing? I start the morning with splenda, (three packs) with my first coffee. If I want more coffee, I drink it black.

 

[Jainarayan]

Well actually I am going to wean off. My morning coffee will be less Splenda and a little sugar. Then I'll taper off.

 

[Vinayaka]

I can't stand the taste of plain oatmeal,

Neither can I, so I add a banana, and apple, some raisins, a few nuts, some cinnamon, some cardamom, and then some yoghurt at the end. No sugar or artificial sugar. Trust me, it doesn't taste like plain oatmeal.

 

[Caladan]

Does it have to be all or nothing? I start the morning with splenda, (three packs) with my first coffee. If I want more coffee, I drink it black.

Of course not. But it's always good to take things we can easily do without off the list and work to improve our overall quality of life.

 

[Jainarayan]

I can add a little bit of dried fruit and nut mix, maybe an oz. or 1/4 cup to punch it up. I've done that before. Fresh fruit is good too. I usually add cinnamon too.

 

[Caladan]

And of course my bowl of glory, or oatmeal looks like this:

The oats are one component, some of the others are Brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachio, grounded coconut, cranberries, date honey, and of course the yogurt. That bowl is insanely refreshing and I often fix one of those during fieldwork.

 

[Reverend Rick]

Of course not. But it's always good to take things we can easily do without off the list and work to improve our overall quality of life.

LOL, you don't actually live longer, it just seems that way.

Balance is the key, too much or little of anything is bad IMO.

 

[Reverend Rick]

And of course my bowl of glory, or oatmeal looks like this:

The oats are one component, some of the others are Brazil nuts, almonds, walnuts, pistachio, grounded coconut, cranberries, date honey, and of course the yogurt. That bowl is insanely refreshing and I often fix one of those during fieldwork.

Date Honey sounds awesome. FYI, all honey is not good stuff. Most non-local honey should be suspect. International honey comes mostly from China, not good stuff.

 

[Caladan]

LOL, you don't actually live longer, it just seems that way.

I am not sure why you define quality as a time frame. Living to old age doesn't have to be a positive experience. Living a life with less health concerns and more physical capabilities is however positive and is part of an overall quality of life.

Balance is the key, too much or little of anything is bad IMO.

Of 'anything'?. I beg to differ. As far as sweeteners or sugar goes I don't feel that strongly about them to feel a lack in my life. To be honest once I drink plain coffee (as in sweetness free) I'm reminded of how much I like the taste of coffee in a more neutral way. So its more of good habits Vs. bad habits. Even a little of crack cannot possibly be said to be good if you insist to put it like that. Balance is very good indeed. But the idea of balance is to build a wholesome way of life, one which works in the long run.
I can eat very healthy, and enjoy it. I can 'give up' many things, which essentially I do not need in my diet, nor do I have a major craving for. It's not like we are discussing turning vegan in a day, all we are talking about (well at least what I was replying to) are sweeteners.

 

[Caladan]

Date Honey sounds awesome. FYI, all honey is not good stuff. Most non-local honey should be suspect. International honey comes mostly from China, not good stuff.

It is not actually honey, it is just popularized as such in the English language. So I decided to use the term most readers would be familiar with. This is locally produced Silan. While it doesn't contain as much health benefits as 'raw' dates, I mostly use it to upgrade flavor.