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.

[tortoise]

Just the taste alone scares me. The word iodine comes to mind whenever I have tried fake sugars

Yeah, it doesn't taste quite right. Probably the best is Splenda, which is sucralose. Basically a sucrose molecule glued on to an indigestable but very common food molecule in that conformation. Tastes like sugar, but doesn't absorb right. Of course, nothing cooks quite like sugar so there is no substitute in the kitchen, though sucralose works okay. It just doesn't behave like sugar chemically even if it looks and tastes like it.

[tame]

Do you honsetly believe it keeps a single pound off you ? Yes. I lost quite a bit by simply switching to diet.

[tame]

Asparatame made me stall. No stalls with Splenda and it tastes better too.

What do you mean by "stall"? Are you referring to your energy level?

[tame]

Asparatame made me stall. No stalls with Splenda and it tastes better too.

What do you mean by "stall"? Are you referring to your energy level?

[tame]

Asparatame made me stall. No stalls with Splenda and it tastes better too.

What do you mean by "stall"? Are you referring to your energy level?

[tortoise]

By the way I one use raw sugar now not the processed stuff.

No meaningful difference, except that the raw sugar has more flavor due to the "other" chemicals that are in it. One could theoretically argue that the refined sugar is "better" for you chemically. I only use turbinado if I am doing a flambe or carmelizing sugar for a dessert. For most things, regular sugar works just fine. I think people spend too much time worrying about sweeteners. The natural ones do just fine. If you need to cut calories, stop eating sweets.

It is worth noting that in terms of glycemic index (i.e. insulin response), potato starch is much worse than pure sugar. Potatoes are as "evil" for you as anything with sugar in it in this regard, quite frankly. Just to put some perspective on it. If you cut the sugar and go hog wild on potatoes, you are actually WORSE off.

[Fraulein]

I gave up meat about 6 years ago, and it has done wonders for me. I have lots more energy, and I no longer get tired right after I eat. Never.

Furthermore, it you give up meat, then you automatically cut out burgers and lots of other junk by default. Also, no more pepperoni on pizza; instead it has been replaced by vegetables, etc. I also stay away from all desserts.

I am, however, addicted to Coke Classic.

[tortoise]

Do you honsetly believe it keeps a single pound off you ?

Managing the glycemic index of the foods you eat is a very important factor in managing weight. Unfortunately, it is also unintuitive. There are many starch sources, such as potatoes, that are far more likely to make you gain weight gram for gram than sugar. At the same time, many of the sugar substitutes reduce the modest impact of sucrose on the glycemic index. Some such as aspartame pretty much evaporate (though you should not intake aspartame on an empty stomach; it messes with your blood chemistry a bit), though other ones achieve their effect through the relative intake reduction (I believe saccharine works this way). It is all a matter of knowing what foods have what impact on your glycemic index, which is one of the single most important components of losing weight. Fruit, for example, is not very good for you in this respect, especially things like apples and grapes, but I often see "dieting" women chow down on them.

[John Lenin]

The trick to staying thin is to eat small portions. It's that simple.

[Bella_Bru]

By "stall" I meant in weight loss. I am on Atkins, and asp. made me stall, that is, made me stop losing.

[Bella_Bru]

I gave up meat about 6 years ago

They haven't tarred and feathered you yet here???? ;-)

[ActionNewsBill]

bump

[boxerblues]

huh?

[restornu]

Don't know if you are married or not-

Lifestyles of the Single and Under-motivated

Women tend towards sweets and men towards salt!

But you do seem to have a battle over an abundance of sweet & sour!

[ActionNewsBill]

what?

[restornu]

To me sites like quackwatch have their own agenda.

I am sure they do report real problem. But you also have the established who want those they disagreed with vanished or tarnished.

These sites bother me!

For I know some on this list have improve life or made it tolerable.

MHO

[restornu]

It is not the pounds it is the spiked insulin!

Some folks have a sweet tooth as well as being diabetic or insulin related problems.

[restornu]

Splenda is not really fake it is derives from sugar with the part that spikes the insulin removed!

[boxerblues]

lol..you bumped me first

[Twinkie]

Carbonated drinks have some effect on leaching the
calcium out of the body which is not a good thing.
Also, the fake sugar in the diet drinks keep the sugar
craving up, or the taste for it at least. Then one
tends to binge on other real sweets. Dr. Arnot said on
his radio program that artificial sweetner was okay, but
my chiropractor recommends Splenda rather than aspartame.
200 packs a day sounds like an awful lot of anything.
Moderation in anything is probably wise. Fruits,
vegetables, poultry, fish, eggs in moderation, light on the
red meat, salads light on the dressing. Water. Dr.
Douglass said a huge amount of water isn't necessary. I
don't know. I drink a good bit of water. Read the labels
and if it says "hydrogenated" anything, that's not good.
Margarine & shortening contain trans fats which are really
hard on the arteries. Whole grains are probably better.
I know all the different books and ideas are overwhelming.
One would go nuts trying to follow all of them. And, yeah,
nuts in moderation are good for you, except peanuts which
aren't really nuts.