2009 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

[Sherri]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Great job Chiloe!!!!!

Day 8 Sweetner -free for me!

[Alexa]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Hey everyone

Day 1 here.

[Sherri]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Great to see you Alexa!

[Sherri]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Day 9 No Sweetners

[Sherri]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Day 10 No Sweetners!
How's everyone doing?

[Sherri]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Day 11 Sweet Free

[Sherri]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Day 12 NO SWEETNER!!!!

[Sherri]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Day 13 Sweetner free
I'm feeling so much better without the sweetners. I'm so happy that I cut them out of my woe. One day at a time.

[ckiwis]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Hi everyone,

I'm gonna try this challenge. Sherri, I read that story about that lady with the...uh. I had no idea about artificial sweeteners might have caused her brain tumor. I think maybe it did. Anyway, I use Splenda in my decaf coffee twice a week sometimes 3 days/wk. It got me thinking, too, I need to stop taking a bite of this and that is sweet at my Small Groups because I've been having headaches for a few days now. It could be stress headaches, I don't sleep very long (4-5 hours/night) either. I like the idea of no sweets challenge and I need to be faithful to myself. The support here is awesome, very positive.

Day 1 sweetener free

[Sherri]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Hi Cindy,
Welcome to the sweetfree challenge. I'm happy you've joined me here. I was getting lonely. LOL
You can do this. Just remember, one day at a time.
Sherri

[Sherri]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Day 14 2 weeks No Sweetners.

[ckiwis]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Don't you worry, Sherri. I know that feeling too, I'll be coming in here every day. You and this group are my accountability, support and encouragement.

I received an email from another source about Splenda but it is a little long. Would it be okay to copy & paste the info to this thread? I subscribe to FormerFatGuy and it has a lot of good information but it's mostly for anyone who is vegetarian and believes in organic living. Well, I'm not a total vegetarian, I'm semi-vegetarian but I do believe in eating organically (good for my health issues) and I try to be eco-friendly, too. There is also information about muscle-building which I had a problem with. It was affecting my walking program.

Well, I'll check with you tomorrow about your answer, and post you then.

[Sherri]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Hello Cindy,
Yes, feel free to share any information regarding sweetners here. Would love to read about it.
Sherri

[Sherri]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Day 15 No Sweetners

[ckiwis]

Re: 2008 How Long Can You Go? "No Sweet" CHALLENGE

Day 2 Sweetener Free

Stevia is nutritional supplement; an herb in the Chrysanthemum family which grows wild as a small shrub in parts of Paraguay and Brazil; its leaves, including up to 10% Stevioside, account for its incredible sweetness, making it unique among the nearly 300 species of Stevia plants. I hope to use Stevia in my decaf coffee, herbal teas and any other foods that requires sweetness. I normally don't use it with coffee or tea. Does it count as sweetener Sherri?

I didn't know that sucralose and possibly fructose is not good for you. I'm giving up Desert Swirl frozen yogurt, it's sugar-free/fat-free and a non-dairy dessert. I think if you have it every day it's not good, maybe once every 3 or 6 months is not going to hurt me. It would be bad for anyone for 3 reasons:

1. High blood triglycerides are a risk factor for heart disease,
2. Fructose ends up circumventing the normal appetite signaling system, so appetite-regulating hormones aren't triggered--and you're left feeling unsatisfied. This is probably at least part of the reason why excess fructose consumption is associated with weight gain,
3. There is growing evidence that excess fructose consumption may facilitate insulin resistance, and eventually type 2 diabetes.


Here's the email message I received from Rob "FormerFatGuy" I get twice a month. It's about Splenda and other artificial sweeteners:

Many people have been misguided into believing Splenda, or sucralose, is a healthy alternative to sugar. They are just not aware of some of the questionable science that went into the marketing of this product. There are an amazing number of similarities to a previous harmful artificial sweetener, Nutrasweet.
The problem: Deceitful marketing ploys are working. However, the truth is there is no "magic" alternative to sugar when it comes to sweeteners. You simply cannot have your cake and eat it too when it comes to this area.
Can You Handle The Truth About Splenda?
So if you are among those who continue to use Splenda because you think it is a safe alternative to sugar or other artificial sweeteners, then I am about to give you a rude awakening. This artificial sweetener is not natural at all. Although they start with a sugar molecule they add chlorine molecules do it. This is a similar chemical in many respects to pesticides like DDT, and no one can even guess the long term consequences of ingesting this substance over many years.
Research in animals provides us with some concerns at it has already shown that consuming sucralose comes hand-in-hand with a plethora of health problems:
* Shrunken thymus glands (up to 40 percent shrinkage)
* Enlarged liver and kidneys
* Atrophy of lymph follicles in the spleen and thymus
* Reduced growth rate
* Decreased red blood cell count
* Extension of the pregnancy period
* Aborted pregnancy
* Diarrhea

---------------
The comment above is from Dr Mercola, http://www.mercola.com, a source of natural health information that I use. In my experience, I find that I agree with about 85% of his information.
Dr Mercola recommends some things that I have found a better source for. As for what it is that I recommend, I'll leave that for another time.
Until then, here's the piece on Splenda


12 Questions you need to have answered before
you eat Splenda:
Q: What exactly is Splenda?
A: In a simple sentence, you would just as soon have a pesticide in your food as sucralose because sucralose (Splenda) is a chlorocarbon. The chlorocarbons have long been known for causing organ, genetic, and reproductive damage. It should be no surprise, therefore, that the testing of sucralose reveals that it can cause up to 40 percent shrinkage of the thymus: a gland that is the very foundation of our immune system. Sucralose also causes swelling of the liver and kidneys, and CALCIFICATION of the kidney. Note: if you experience kidney pain, cramping, or an irritated bladder after using sucralose in Splenda, stop use immediately.
11 More Questions asked and answered here:
http://www.formerfatguy.com/articles/splenda-questions.asp

The Mercola site also has some great information about Splenda and artificial sweetener dangers,
Splenda: here we go again:
http://www.mercola.com/2004/jul/21/splenda.htm
"eating sucralose--brand name Splenda--is like ingesting tiny amounts of chlorinated pesticides"
Nutrasweet lowers sperm count:
http://www.mercola.com/2003/may/3/artificial_sweeteners.htm
Splenda Dangers, one mans personal story:
http://www.mercola.com/2003/nov/8/splenda_dangers.htm

SOLUTION:
most of us want something sweet in our drinks. There is a natural whole food herb called Stevia that has some great properties. It's at the BOTTOM of the Glycemic Index (does not affect blood sugar), is very very sweet and has been found to nourish the pancreas and adrenal glands and helps regulate blood sugar levels.
I have been using Stevia for over 15 years. There are some good brands and some not so good brands. The not so good ones use alcohol in them or
steviocide and should be avoided.