Artificial sweeteners

[tubbytii]

Hi,
My question is about artificial sweeteners and whether switching to artificially sweetened foods and drinks is a good idea or not to help weaning off refined carbs.
I am a serial dieter ( around 32 of my 47 years) and crave stodgy and sugary food from the moment I get up until i go to bed. I start every day with good intentions, but by the end of the week, the fruit is going bad in the fruit bowl and the bin is full of biscuit and chocolate wrappers.
I have a very sweet tooth and know from experience i will struggle switching from choccies to fruit overnight. There is so much conflicting advice on the web ranging from artificial sweeteners being labelled harmless and a positive aid to reducing sugar intake - to dangerous chemicals that should be avoided at all costs. Other articles say the body isnt fooled by them and they cause worse cravings. I used to suck on sugar free polos but dislike the aftertaste.

[Gary Turner]

Hi, please see my answers to your other thread too, and my opininon is that artificial sweeteners are pretty bad for you.

The reason is that they 'trick' the body into thinking you've eaten carbohydrates and respond accordingly, releasing the hormones and starting the processes to deal with these. Only you haven't eaten the carbohydrates - therefore there is nothing to be processed, so you have these hormones floating around for a while, trying to do their thing. This throws your body out of balance.

If you are going to have a sweetener, take the real thing, not a man made false alternative.

Best of course, is not to have it at all

Hope this helps!

[tubbytii]

Thank you and yes it helps.
Sugar is bad but artificial sweeteners are worse.
Answers my query fully.
Need to concentrate on getting rid of the bad habit (sugar and refined carbs) and not substituting it for something worse.