Ranking Sweeteners

[UseoForce]

Which sweetners (frutose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, Splenda, etc...) are best and which are worst?

[Sohan]

What is your definition of "best"?

All sweeteners have pros and cons. Tell me what your criteria are, and I'll try to help.

Respectfully,

Sohan

[UseoForce]

What is your definition of "best"?

All sweeteners have pros and cons. Tell me what your criteria are, and I'll try to help.

Respectfully,

Sohan

for general health for an active person.

[Sohan]

Here's my take on sweeteners:

---I would avoid high fructose corn syrup if I were you, just because it's a cheap concentrated source of calories, mostly used byu manufacturers in food.

---Sucrose (table sugar) is fine in small amounts. Add it to your food instead of buying it pre-sweetened. You'll use less sugar.

---Fructose is simply fruit sugar. It converts to blood glucose more slowly, but causes stomach upset in some people.

---Glucose is the most basic sugar that all other sugars are made from. It is taken up rapidly by the system, particularly during exercise. Great for post-workout recovery.

If you're trying to cut calories, any of the artificial sweeteners are fine:

---Aspartame seems OK, despite the hysteria about it. The research doesn't support the anti-aspartame folks out there, but I am still being cautious.

---Splenda is made from sugar, and seems like a pretty good sugar substitute. You can cook with it too, unlike aspartame. Good, but expensive.

---Saccharin, as found in Sweet and Low, has recently been shown to have no link to any cancer, against what was previously thought. It's one of my favorite sweeteners, though it has a little bit of an aftertaste.

Hope that helps.

Respectfully,

Sohan

[Aodhan]

I'm with Sohan right down the line, with two exceptions. I avoid aspartame, and saccharine gives me headaches, so I don't use it much.

Take a look at your labels. You would be extremely surprised to find out how many packaged foods use high fructose corn syrup. Lot of empty calories.

Aodhan

[Sohan]

I'm with Sohan right down the line, with two exceptions. I avoid aspartame, and saccharine gives me headaches, so I don't use it much.

Take a look at your labels. You would be extremely surprised to find out how many packaged foods use high fructose corn syrup. Lot of empty calories.

Aodhan

That's funny that you say that. I've always thought aspartame gave me headaches, and I had avoided saccharine until recently.

Respectfully,

Sohan

[Aodhan]

Yeah, it's wierd. I can eat MSG just fine, and it gives my dad migraines for days.

(Not that he really ever eats oriental food, my dad is one of the most boring eaters on the planet.)

Aodhan

[Whitefeather]

The studies on aspertame that one always hears about, the ones where the rats all get cancer and die, are not quite totally applicable, since they pratically fed the rats nothing but aspertame to get that to happen. That being said, if you do a bit of research on aspertame, it actually is quite nasty stuff. When it gets to around 90 degrees (I think), it breaks down into three chemicals, one of which is a carcinogen (carcinogens cause cancer), and another is basically the same chemical as rat poison. I am not quite a hundred percent sure about those facts, but I am reasonably confidant that they are correct. Henceforth, I tend to like to stay away from aspertame, if for no other reason than it is kind of disgusting tasting. It is probably just a rumor, but supposedly the Air Force does not even allow its pilots to even chew sugarless gum before flying, because the aspertame in it has been known to cause dizzyiness and vertigo.

David

[Aodhan]

disgusting tasting. It is probably just a rumor, but supposedly the Air Force does not even allow its pilots to even chew sugarless gum before flying, because the aspertame in it has been known to cause dizzyiness and vertigo.

Not that I ever heard, and I worked an Air Force ER for 4 years active duty, and 2 years reserves.

Aodhan

[Sohan]

Here's an interesting item on CNN.com about aspartame:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/diet.fitness/05/05/eu.aspartame.ap/index.html

With respect,

Sohan