IMO artificail sweeteners are okay, I only consume them in my crystal light packets. when i drink pop or sweets I prefer the real thing. I'd rather have to count the calories and have it be worth it than get the fake stuff and have a weird taste in my mouth.

also, I read that artifical sweeteners trigger the release of insulin, and that insulin floating around makes you crave more sweet foods. interesting, no?

OMG, no more artificial sweetners for me!!!

I had 3 little packets of crystal light today. As the nght wore on I started getting heart palpitations......chest pain......sweaty then cold.......and really confused and panicky. I've drank a whole bunch of water and taken a bath and I feel better. These are the exact same symptoms of aspartame side affects. If any of these symptoms come back or continue, I'm going to go to the doctor obviously.

I'm going to jump in and agree with most people on this board: I'm also on the whole foods band wagon, and avoid artificial sweeteners. Maybe I'm crazy, but I swear my anxiety goes up when I consume them. I'm also leary of the long term affects, and it just makes sense that humans eat whole foods that our ancestors ate. That's what we're supposed to eat! AS to me belong in that "too good to be true" category. I have slowly weaned myself off putting sugar in my coffee (i use half and half and don't need sugar), don't put anything in my tea, and when I bake (rarely), I use good ole sugar. My friend made some chocolate chip cookies with Splenda the other day, and honestly, I thought they were awful! She's a great cook/baker, but the Splenda was just wrong, wrong, wrong. I wasted those calories on a cookie I didn't like, when I should have just used them on a treat I found really delicious and left satisfied. In general I'm against all the "fake food" movement: the fake butter, fake sweeteners, etc.

My one weakness? Diet Dr. Pepper. It's been tough but I've managed to basically cut it out of my diet completely (maybe once a month... in fact, I started drinking one yesterday, drank half and tossed it. Maybe it was mental but I swear I could sense its effects on me already).

I used to be a Diet Coke addict! I still crave it though but really limit myself. I have been making iced green tea by the pitcher and sweeten with Stevia. It is sooo delish! Now I am a green tea addict and it has a billion health benefits.

I didn't know Fiber One had aspartame! Ugh and I have a big box of them in my cupboard!

Hi there, I say everything in moderation! I buy cubed sugar - that way I know exactly how much I am putting into my tea and coffee, as I find just using a regular spoon I can lose count. I'm not organized enough to carry a tbsp around with me! I also use Crystal Light. Walmart sells a plastic water bottle that measures your 8 glasses per day. There's a sticker right on it that says "Get your 8 Glasses!" I toss in a packet of Crystal Light and store it in the fridge. I have no problem drinking it all over the course of the day. I just find plain old water doesn't interest me unless I'm incredibly thirsty. In a perfect world there would be no chemicals in our food - but alas there is is most products. So moderate and good luck!