I've heard a lot of mixed things, so if you have updated science-based info, I'd super appreciate hearing it.

(and I'm p sure you've talked about it a bit before so sorry if I'm asking you to repeat)

/sits in here to hear the answer

whoops sorry I've been asleep / busy

tl;dr I don't trust it for a minute

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub...

"data from several epidemiological studies have found that consumption of NNSs, mainly in diet sodas, is associated with increased risk to develop obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes. "

it's fine in moderation but there's a reason no one's suggested replacing sugar with one wholesale

This is the best information.

Thanks bro. My readings turned up similar results, but nothing conclusive really. I've been leaning towards sugar because "the devil you know" etc.

(Also I read something about sucralose decreasing good bacteria/flora in the intenstines, so that's the last thing I need lolol)

thank you for this! i don't consume artificial sugars but i have a friend who does and has been looking to make healthier choices in his food

long story short, erythritol and xylitol don't seem too bad

they can be mildly laxative so y'know. don't eat a ton

but they taste really similar to regular sugar (they're just sugar alcohols)

and your body can't process them so they benignly go in one end and out the other

aspartame / sucralose I am pretty dubious about

the real danger, nutritionally, is that you'll go "oh I had 0 calories from sweetener, that means I can eat X, Y and Z later" and overconsume later

there's also different KINDS of sugar

honey is the best form for your glycemic index, if that's a concern

(and will help prevent overeating that often comes with other types of sugar)

"added sugar" is the real demon here. naturally occurring sugars, such as in fruits, come with other nutritional benefits. juice is still not great for you-- smoothies are okay

I try to use whole fruit as a sweetener where I can, e.g. adding mashed banana to my crepes / pancake recipes instead of sweetener

or just eating whole fruit rather than syrup on various things