Do you have any tips for cutting out aspartame from my diet?

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   ElleBeeposted 11 years ago

   Do you have any tips for cutting out aspartame from my diet?
   
   I am trying to cut aspartame and other artificial sweeteners from my diet. I am wondering if anyone has cut these out from their diet and has any tips. I'm trying to cut out the artificial sweeteners without having a high-sugar diet.

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   CreatePerfectionposted 11 years ago

   Yes, there is a sweetener called Stevia which is natural and has no calories.  It comes from a plant I am actually growing in my garden, but you can buy it in either powder or liquid form.  It is a very concentrated sweetener so you only use a small amount.  I use lemon juice to make lemonade and I sweeten it with stevia.  You can make herbal sun teas such as berry or peach to add to the lemonade and it tastes so much better than sodas.  It is a great alternative to any drink containing aspartame and so much better for you.

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      artist101posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      great answer

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      ElleBeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I didn't even think of stevia! This could definitely be an option for me b/c it is natural.  I've been fairly good so far on the beverages luckily - I've been doing seltzers, and also water w/ lemon juice (unsweetned for me) as you said. I

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   Express10posted 11 years ago

   I agree with CreatePerfection and recommend avoiding processed foods and drinks. Aspartame is just one of many, many questionable or dangerous ingredients in processed foods.

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      ElleBeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes it definitely is just one of many dangerous ingredients. I'm starting w/ the aspartame because I think it is the biggest culprit for me, then I'm going to try to cut other "danger" items from my diet after that.

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   ExoticHippieQueenposted 11 years ago

   You just have to read labels and go cold turkey.  Especially diet soda's since they all  have aspartame in them.  Stevia in general has an aftertaste, but there is a new, better tasting one called Truvia. I use that.

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      ElleBeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Okay I've heard of Truvia also, I thought it was just a particular brand of stevia! Shows how (not) much I know. I'll have to look into this.

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   Neinahpetsposted 11 years ago

   I'm not an expert from what I've heard using a artificial sweetener you trick yourself, so getting away from aspartame is a great thing.  Eating raw or staying away from processed, bagged and boxed foods will GREATLY reduce your changes of running into that dreaded fake stuff. 
   
   I hear that Stevia is natural and the only "danger" is artificial sweeteners because they stimulate your appetite, increase carbohydrate cravings and stimulate fat storage and weight gain.
   
   From what I read the sweet Stevia extract is similar to other non-nutritive sweeteners, such as sucralose, in that it has zero calories, is 200-300 times sweeter than table sugar, is non-fermentable, and does not contribute to dental caries or plaque.
   
   And you only need like a couple tablespoons to hit the amount of a cup because the extract is soooo sweet.
   
   I have also read that there is a bitter aftertaste to foods baked with Stevia so you might want to look into that too.  Some don't notice it, some do.  I've heard mixed results. Stevia is a great way to cut out fake sweeteners.  You have to be VERY careful though with Stevia as a little goes a very long way.
   
   In the end, avoiding diet soda pop and processed, bagged and boxed goodies can greatly reduce your risk of encountering aspartame and other toxic things for your body. 
   
   Drink lots of water, eat raw fruits and veggies and cook light.  Nothing beats fresh.

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      ElleBeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      True that nothing beats fresh. I'm trying to go towards a "back-to-basics" real food diet, but it's been slow going.  Yogurt is by far the biggest challenge for me - the low fat ones all use aspartame for the flavor/sweetener

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      Neinahpetsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That's great!  Always nice to hear when people are taking better control of their lives by eating healthy and cutting out the fake product.  Yes, low fat yogurts can definitely be tempting, but low fat doesn't always mean the best thing.

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      ElleBeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      True. I eat a lot of yogurt, and since dairy is one of the few things that goes low fat simply by skimming off the fat instead of adding creepy chemicals I am definitely committed to lowfat, so I will be buying organic or plain unsweetened for now.

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   Jewelsposted 11 years ago

   Good for you to be doing this in the first place.  Firstly to get you off the artificial sweetener try increasing your fruit and water consumption for a week.  It may increase your sugar (natural fructose) but it will be temporary while you get off the aspartame.  You do not have to stop eating fruit, just decrease it to two serves a day.  Keep up the water because sugar cravings are often caused by dehydration.  You will be amazed how quickly you can detox from the sugar.
   
   Get off processed foods.  At least reduce this to 10% of your diet.  Don't cheat on this, it will only prolong the change in diet.  Processed foods are full of salt and sugar (in most cases artificial sugar). 
   
   To help you, think of your principles and get angry at the fact you are being fed crap!  This worked a treat for me.  I never drink sodas because of my principles - plus it's such a toxic substance that gains weight quicker than any other substance I know.  How dare they try to fool me using expensive advertising.  It's NOT cool to drink coke or pepsi!
   
   Taste buds are amazing, you may be surprised at how quickly they adjust to not being flooded with sweet things.  When you get off junk food (the name I have for anything packaged with numbers in the ingredients), your taste buds come alive.
   
   Pride is another thing to have.  Like when you give up smoking, to be able to say "I don't smoke" is a great feeling.  To say "I don't do junk food" is even better.
   
   Good luck.

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