Any good advice on books and sites about aspartame and nutrition? (no junk science please)

tame

[tame]

There are soooooo many nutrition books, and diet books on the market. It can be a bit overwhelming and confusing for a beginner like me to sort out the junk science, and voodoo gimmicks, from the well respected books, and web sites.

In the last couple of years I've been extremely tired, sleepy and fatigued for some reason. I've never really been into the nutrition thing, so I would appreciate any of your recommendations on good nutrition, and advice on the following:

1) Sodium. What's the story? How much is too much. How little is too little. Is it true that sodium causes water retention, and too much water retention is bad?

2) Aspartame. I love it in sweeteners (nutrasweek, etc.). I probably use between 100 and 200 packets a day. No joke. But I hear so many bad things about it. Is this junk science or not?

3) Water. I heard someone say you can actually drink too much water. Is this true? If so, how much is too much?

4) yams and sweet potatoes. I love them. I usually have a yam or sweet potato along with one broiled chicken breast for a meal. What are the draw backs on yams and sweet potatoes?

5) Body For Life Diet. I've lost a bit of weight on this diet, but I still lack energy. Any draw backs to this diet?

Please steer me away from the junk science and recommmend some healthy books and websites.

I appreciate it. tame.

[Mama_Bear]

I just read through the thread. Looks like you are getting lots of good advice. I don't have anything to add, tame, except - 100 to 200 packets of nutrasweet a DAY?! Good grief! How much is that equal to? A cup? What on earth are you putting it on/in? A box of nutrasweet will last me six months or more. LOL. That much can't be good for you.

[liberalnot]

i drink lots of diet coke with nutrabitch and i'm still alive!

[restornu]

What is a maltodextrin?
MALTRIN® maltodextrins are easily digestible carbohydrates made from natural corn starch. The starch is cooked, and then acid and/or enzymes are used to break the starch into smaller polymers (a process similar to that used by the body to digest carbohydrate).
MALTRIN® maltodextrins are generally sold as dried powders.
MALTRIN® maltodextrins are polymers of dextrose (sometimes labeled "glucose polymers").
MALTRIN® maltodextrins do not contain significant quantities of protein, fat or fiber.
MALTRIN® maltodextrins are not produced from and do not contain malt products.
Corn-based maltodextrins are safe for patients with celiac disease since they do not contain proteins from wheat, barley, oats or rye.
MALTRIN® maltodextrins are not known to contain MSG.
Diabetics should follow the advice of their physicians. MALTRIN® maltodextrin’s glycemic index should be considered metabolically equivalent to glucose (dextrose).

***

The way it is used in Splenda

Sucralose is an Ok 'ose'
Though you might have heard anything ending in "ose" means sugar and should be used in moderation, sucralose, the sweetening ingredient in SPLENDA® Brand Sweetener, is an OK "ose". It is not recognized by the body as sugar or as a carbohydrate and has no calories. Sucralose has also been shown not to cause a rise in hemoglobin A1c (a measure of your average blood glucose level over time).

***

The Convenience of Sugar without the Carbohydrates.
SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener can lower carbohydrates and calories in recipes. For example, a cup of SPLENDA® Granular has 96 calories and 24 carbohydrates, compared to the 770 calories and 192 carbs found in a cup of sugar. Since SPLENDA® Granular measures and pours like sugar, you can use it like sugar in your favorite recipes. For your favorite beverages, SPLENDA® Packets are the perfect size to take with you anywhere you go.


glutamate is naturally found in fruits & vegatbles!

[restornu]

You might consider copying this thread to a CD for future use!

[Think free or die]

My experience with diets has led me in much the same direction described to you by SamAdams76. The times when I've been the most miserable and struggled the most with my weight were when I was "on a diet". The whole notion of a structured diet and deprivation just made me crave all the forbidden goodies all the more. Ultimately, I learned that moderation and an assortment of healthy foods made me feel the healthiest and did away with the weight problem.

Nothing is forbidden in our home, except artificial food (sweeteners, fake fats). We cook mostly from scratch, and maintain a balanced diet of meat, veggies, fruit and some rice, potatoes or other starch to round it out. Fish is a favorite food, as is fresh fruit. Dessert is an occasional treat - not a staple of our diet. Bread is whole grain, and I'm a great fan of nuts and whole grain hot cereals. We've recently switched over to raw milk from a local farm to provide a more natural product for our sons. Every member of the family takes vitamins.

Unlike many folks, we've stayed with butter and full fat milk (in addition to olive oil). I put real cream and sugar in my coffee, and cook our eggs in farm fresh butter. It goes well with bacon, of course! There are good minerals in animal products, and fat soluble vitamins need some fat to be properly absorbed by our bodies. Since none of us are overweight, the whole family enjoys the flavor - in moderation of course. The boys are healthy rascals of 7 and 10, rarely get sick, and have plenty of energy to give us grey hair.

One other consideration is that low energy can be a sign of depression. If you address your poor diet, get more sunshine and exercise, I would expect your energy level to improve. If it doesn't, there may be other chemical imbalances at work.

A final thought, is to be careful of the food pyramid. As you do your research into balanced nutrition, you will encounter the famous food pyramid. Our kids come home with projects from school surrounding this pyramid. It recommends a pile of starches as the base of the pyramid. This is somewhat controversial now, and it has been suggested that the heavy reliance on starchy foods is making Americans fatter.

[tubebender]

. Apparently, there is something in the carbination that makes you pack on the pounds.

Just from my own experience I would suspect you are right. I drink 2 or 3 cans of diet Pepsi a day. How much is too much ?

[tubebender]

I eat a lot of fresh tomatoes out of hand when I can find good ones. Right now Costco has medium sized cluster tomatoes that have some flavor. Are there health benefits to tomatoes fresh and processed ?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Anything by www.pamsmith.com

[Ditter]

Thanks for the info. Maltodextrin is made from corn starch & I am highly allergic to corn. I won't be trying it. I know glutamate is a naturally occuring chemical. MSG is not & it is a problem for some people. There are several chemical flavor enhancers that are much more powerful than MSG disodium insonate & disodium guyanalate (sp). I am seeing them more & more as food additives.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Tomatoes are awesome for you, full of cancer fighting antioxidants and other good stuff. Red grapes are great too along with an occasional glass of wine. When you eat a variety of veggies you pretty much can't go wrong.

They did a study on French eating habits a while back. The French eat lots of fatty foods like eggs, butter, meats, etc but they are whole, natural foods not fast food. Plus, they drink a lot of wine. The researchers expected they would find very high rates of heart disease and elevated cholesterol. Instead, they had low rates. The researchers thought it was the wine but didn't have any definite answers.

BTW, any of that diet soda is too much! It's toxic to your body! Sugar may make people fat but it doesn't poison anyone.

[Calvin Locke]

Try giving Michael Savage a call. He constantly claims to be an expert, written X # of books on the subject, got his
doctorate from a great university...

[nickcarraway]

Fresh tomatoes are good, but cooked tomatoes products actually give you more of it's most powerful antioxidant. Tomato sauce, tomato paste, tomato soup, tomato juice, and even ketchup (thanks John Kerry) have great levels of lycopene. [I guess President Reagan was smarter than we thought when he said ketchup is a vegetable] The reason cooked tomatoes have more, is the the heat breaks down the components, and makes lycopene more bioavailable. [Lycopene is especially promoted as preventing prostate cancer, but it's good all around]

[nickcarraway]

BTW, any of that diet soda is too much! It's toxic to your body! Sugar may make people fat but it doesn't poison anyone.

Bump to that. N.B. Aspartame is an excitotoxin, like MSG.

[boxerblues]

I can have up to a 5 lbs difference in weight thoughout the day. The morning are best right after getting up as everything in your body has been evenly distributed ( I always weigh less in the mornings). If you are trying to lose weight, weigh yourself only once a week on the same day of the week at approx. same time and in the same amount of clothing or nude any more than that and you will get really make yourself nuts!

[restornu]

Have you checked out Steveia or SomerSweet? Post # 10

[retrokitten]

LOL! Honey, you are asking the wrong person about nutrition! LOL! I live on junk food and Diet Dr. Pepper and Diet Vanilla Coke.

What I can say is that I have been on about every diet known to modern civilization and that from my experience what works best for me is kind of a modified Atkins program. Real food (meat, butter, eggs, vegetables) with a lowered sugar, starch, and flour. I try to keep sugars limited to fruits and then only once in a while. There are some people who insist that they can eat as much as they want eating that way, but I am not one of them. I have to limit my calories, too.

I know it's bad for me, but I am a yo-yo'er. Right now I'm eating junk (and have been for a while :-( ), but once this stuff is out of the house I'm going back to a lower carb diet. I feel alot better when I eat that way and it works to get the junk food weight off.

[restornu]

Excuse me Clintonian! thanks John Kerry?

His wife is very exact in restricting this rebound.

That Should be thanks to the "HEINZ" family!

[webstersII]

"thus avoiding the cranks who really just want
to sell selenium supplements and healing crystals."

If you lump these two together then you are not reading much current literature. There are numerous studies about selenium and cancer prevention. Some of the studies have focused on the low selenium content in the soil in certain areas of the country called the "cancer belt".

BTW, did you know that the Journal of the American Medical Association is now recommending that adults take a high-quality multivitamin supplement regularly?

[goodnesswins]

About soy....as you asked a day ago....soy is good for health, however, more in the form of soymilk and products with soy in them....NOT soy powders or pills.....avoid those. Consider edamame (soybeans)(you can buy them frozen, shelled)....they are really good in salads. But, don't go overboard on soy products....as in most foods, moderation....

[Bob J]

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