Sugar & Artificial Sweeteners

Why do they have sugar in pop? Well, imagine plain water with food coloring and artificial flavor? You could make that at home even with carbonation. Sugar tastes sweet and adds flavor. But, there are 9 teaspoons of sugar in 12 ounces of pop (soda). Plain water or fruit juice (even diluted with twice as much...

I need help. I have been trying to eat healthier, but it doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot. Could you tell me about how many grams of sugar I should stay below each day? Some of the foods I eat say non-fat but have 30 grams of sugar in them and I...

Would you serve your children Kool-Aid with sugar or NutraSweet? My children never drank Kool-Aid as I didn't 't buy it. I also didn't buy my children sweetened carbonated beverages (soda or pop). Since children usually don't have their own money or drive a car, I was their food gatekeeper. Rather than dealing with children begging...

Does aspartame cause headaches? I think I get migraines from aspartame. I was on vacation in Jamaica over Spring break and I didn't have any migraine headaches. The only thing different that I noticed was the pop had saccharin in it instead. I do drink several cans of diet pop a day. Try eliminating all...

What do you think about sugar-free hard candy and breath mints? They're good tasting, low-calorie candies. Most sugar-free candy, gum and breath mints taste good. Read the label to see which artificial sweetener is an ingredient. Sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol are frequently used in these low-calorie candies. Sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol are sugars derived from alcohol....

Does the US Dietary Guidelines in calling for no more than 10% of calories from sugar mean a) added sucrose, b) sucrose, added or naturally occurring, or c) all simple sugars (fructose, glucose, lactose, sucrose, etc.)? Do you also know whether sugars on the food label refers to added sucrose or to sucrose (whether or...

For the past two weeks, I have started to take MetRx. A couple of my friends have brought up the fact that it contains aspartame which supposedly kills brain cells and has not been approved by the FDA. I take this mix twice a day and the difference I have noticed is that I...

How much sugar is in a sucker? The size of suckers vary, but in a clear, hard candy sucker, there should be about 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar (4 to 8 grams). Are your brushing your teeth after eating a sucker? Sweet sticky sugars like suckers or candy adhere to tooth enamel. The bacteria in...

What is in NutraSweet? It tastes good and doesn't leave a bitter aftertaste like saccharin. NutraSweet is the brand name of aspartame. Aspartame contains two amino acids, aspartic acid, and phenylalanine. Together they make foods taste sweeter. Persons with PKU (phenylketonuria) cannot use aspartame because it would raise their blood levels of phenylalanine. PKU is...

How does sugar affect your body? Sugar adds calories which if you eat more than you need, you will gain weight. Weight gain increases your risk of getting heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, or even some types of cancer. If your body doesn't make enough insulin like a person with diabetes, then the sugar...