To wish they would stop putting sweeteners in fizzy drinks!

[CarrieLouise25]

Ok, so it's not a big deal. But sometimes I really fancy a fizzy drink. But they all seem to have sweeteners in.

I understand everyone needs choices. There should be a sugar option and a sweetener option IMO which is what it used to be. But it seems all the normal sugar options have sweeteners in too.

I react really badly to chemical sweeteners. Severe migraines and vomiting. Even if I didn't though I don't like the taste.

I miss Lilt. Fanta. Tango. Cream Soda. Shandy.

At the cinema the choice was diet pepsi, pepsi max, diet tango and sprite zero. Not one sugar choice.

I get the demand for sweeteners but leave the sugar versions alone!!!

As a treat, I sometimes make my own cordials. Citrus ones are easiest, just make a simple sugar syrup but add the zest (no pith!) to the pan whilst the sugar dissolves. Simmer for a few mins, then add the juice from the fruit at the end. Once cool, it lasts in the fridge for a few days and you can add a little citric acid to the mix to make it last longer. I love orange or lime cordial, personally.

And if you dilute with sparkling spring water, it's even better!

So sugar is a chemical, there's no dispute there. Even water is a chemical.

But aspartame is an artificial chemical. And originally developed as an ulcer treatment. Mmm, sounds delicious.

I don't usually get involved with the aspartame argument on here, as you usually get shot down by all the 'there's nothing wrong with it' brigade.

But. If you really look at the history of aspartame, and how it got through in to our food and drinks, it is very worrying.

And if with all that knowledge, people want to drink artificial chemicals, or they feel it doesn't do them any harm, then that's their choices. But my choices are being taken away as all the non diet versions now contain these artificial chemicals, which I cannot have in my diet and choose not to have in my kids diets.

I wouldn't put anything past the food/drink industry when money is involved. If people think it wouldn't be sold if it weren't safe, it's got nothing to do with safety. Just money.

I see a previous poster has mentioned about the possibility of sweeteners causing glucose intolerance. So, along the same vein, there was an episode of 'Trust me I'm a Doctor' about a year ago where they did an experiment on some groups of people with a couple of different sweeteners and sugar, and the results they had were that some of the sweeteners (inc. aspartame and sucralose if I remember correctly) actually caused a higher blood sugar spike than sugar. I personally don't trust them any more than sugar, but they seem to be unavoidable now. I had been buying my DD sugar free jelly for puddings thinking I was doing the right thing for her, but now I'm not convinced there's any benefit after all. I think our choices are to stop eating/drinking all sweet things except fresh fruit or to take sugar and sweeteners out of everything so that everything tastes like crap. I think mother nature doesn't want us to enjoy food, it seems like our bodies can't cope with anything long term but the most natural of foodstuffs. Better break out the mung beans :-(

I think there are sugar free cookbooks out there, but who has the time (and money) to make all their sweet food and drink from scratch?? I know I don't. What I do know is that I'm addicted to diet cola and I know the sweeteners are bad for me and I should stop, but I can't.

We are another family who hate the taste of artificial sweeteners. It really annoys us that we are limited in the choice of drinks and other foods because they now contain artificial sweeteners (don't get me on to foods that shouldn't have AS or sugar added in the first place 😡).

If I want a cold drink, I drink water. Ds1 drinks mostly water but ds2 and dh prefer diluted squash (Tesco high juice with sugar) and occasionally we buy fizzy pop as a treat. Surely it's OUR choice to have sugar in moderation than to have AS's forced on us?

I too have heard that AS affect satiation (feeling of fullness) and also affect insulin response and I do wonder what else AS might be doing to our bodies that we don't know about yet.

I don't have a problem per se with a sugar tax but surely if we could buy bottles of water if needed when out and about (I always get a jug of tap water when I eat out) and healthy snacks for cheaper than high sugared drinks or sweets then wouldn't more people go for those?

Yadnbu! I don't have a severe reaction but I do seem to get nasty headaches with some sweeteners, I just don't know which ones! I would like to buy squash every so often but I've given up as im bored of binning a whole bottle because it gives me headaches.

I'm not a fan of the taste either, much prefer sugared products because there is an aftertaste with some sweeteners!