I have seen a lot of news latley not to take sweetners as it can cause Heart and stroke problems, can anyone suggest an alternative please. I love my coffe and tea but not the same without a sweetner ?😀
Sweetners: I have seen a lot of news... - British Heart Fou...
Sweetners
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Heartspurs
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Dear you,
You are better with a natural sugar, but all have there problems, depending on how many sugars and how many cups, it must be better to have your body attempt to process something natural than the by products of some large chemical company.
I found that after a week without adding sugar { like salt } I never missed it.
There is a lot of coffee to choose from now so maybe a slightly milder one to start your non-sugar journey
As for tea I have no idea, its the devils drink, with or without sugar milk lemon etc etc to disguise it.
Take care, your pancreas will love you if you stop the sweet stuff { not cake or biscuits that's a fight for another day }
DeepFriedMarsBar in reply to
I am one of these unlocky people who find that most artificial sweeteners have a horrible taste that lingers all day, so I just can't take them.
I'd think that sugar in moderation with a view to reducing intake would be the best course of action.
I used to enjoy Lucozade when I was ill (say flu or whatever) as it was a great tonic, but I can't stand the taste of it now - I truly wish manufacturers would just give us the choice - sugar or sufar-free, let us choose. I'll pay the tax.
in reply to DeepFriedMarsBar
Totally agree with you, if a product is just marked properly with the right amount of sugar it contained, its then down to you if you buy it or not { and eat it }
My sister wanted to lose weight and only ate "sugar free stuff " for a while, not only did the weight not shift but she ended up with bad migraines that cured itself after she stopped the fake sweeteners.
I too get that awful aftertaste & a cotton wool mouth senstion as well. I just cannot find fruit juice since the Government sugar tax that does not have a chemical sweetener added to it!! I really feel that was forced on us & manufacturers to cut down on natural sugars. ANGRY me VERY ANGRY.
I also believe that in the future we'll be astonsihed that we ever allowed such chemically processed things into our foods. It's a future health nightmare waiting to happen.
Thank you both for your help and advice
I blame artificial sweeteners for causing my AF. I found out too late that they they were the problem.
Not looking for a fight but was it Proven that Sweeteners caused your AF, did you stop using Sweeteners and your AF went away ?? very curious about this one.
Regards
I worked at a nursing home and had lunch there, Every time we had apple crumble my heart would go into AF. I asked the cook what was in and did it contain artificial sweeteners (I'd already cut them out as I was overloading on them thinking I was being healthy). She said none whatsoever. A few days later she came and apologised telling me that it was put in the custard, so that diabetics could eat it.
I now try to avoid eating anything that contains artificial additives of any kind and yes my AF is so much better. I can lead a fairly normal life, but I do still have low rate AF which flits between 60-90bpm.
Jean
That's strange iwas on sweeteners for over 50 years I was diagnosed with af 3 years ago I didn't give them up ,because of that I decided to stop chemicals in my body ,but the af is still there I just have flat teapoon of Billingtons natural unrefined golden granulated.
My husband has been using sweetners since his HA 25 years ago. It's only since last October that he's been having VT's, he had an ICD fitted over 10 year's ago because of his low EF & the possibility of abnormal arrythimias so I don't think sweetners are the cause of his problems.
MilkfairyHeart Star
Just a thought.Artificial sweetners are a trigger for my coronary vasospasms along with caffeine and adrenaline.
I use Stevia sweetener which is marketed as a natural product and you can buy in either tablet form for drinks or granules and you can purchase quite cheaply from Asda. However, although I think it is preferable to some of the more popular sweetners such as Aspartame it is not without some bad reviews, even though
Diabetics are recommended to use it. Having said that I only use it occasionally in coffee so suggest you consider some of the other forum members views before buying it.
We use stevia granules. It is as natural as is possible in this form. It has the advantage over tablets in as much you can reduce the amounts according to the drinks being consumed. We tend to use half a teaspoon which equates to the same amount of sugar so you can wean yourself off sugar gradually
I would also recommend this. I use this in my tea's although I only have 2 cups daily & used 2 tabs each cup. Quantity is important I guess also.
Try using honey or Agave. It was a total revelation that honey in coffee was a lovely thing after living in Hungary for a few months & my colleagues introduced me to this alternative way of sweetening my drinks.
There's plenty of evidence that artificial sweeteners are bad for your health. Things like sucralose and aspartame are best avoided.
Then there are the natural "sugars" that don't spike insulin, such as stevia, erythritol and allulose. There has been a recent study that seems to suggest that erythritol can cause strokes and heart problems, however, it was a very poor quality study, and contradicts earlier studies that suggest erythritol has cardio protective effects.
And then there's sucrose (table sugar), which isn't great, but probably better than the artificial stuff. Yes, there are other things like agave syrup, maple syrup and honey, but they aren't that different from sucrose.
Personally I don't sweeten my drinks, but if I did I'd probably consider something like stevia. If I didn't like the after taste those products tend to have, then I'd move back to table sugar and work on decreasing how much I use over time. I wouldn't go near any of the artificial sweeteners.
A word of warning with things like stevia - check the ingredients. Oftentimes these products are cut with actually sugar (dextrose, etc) to increase profit margins.
Its only erythritol thats been linked to heart problems and strokes . But other sweetners like aspartame and saccharin have been linked to cancer and holes in the brain and all sorts of other horrendous things. However sweetening drinks with actual sugar (or honey,agave ect) is crazy unless you really want diabetes. Diabetes and obesity being a major risk factor in heart disease. Anyway I agree with AlfredV stevia is the best bet as its a plant and if you can get the pure extract powder or liquid not tablets that are mixed with dextrose.
A big thank you to all for giving me advice on this matter, lots of diffrent ideas to think about.
I’m also one of those who can’t stomach sweeteners of any description. Many many years ago one of the girls at work offered to make me a mug of tea. When I said, “Yes please, two sugars” she replied “Pure white and deadly” - alluding to a book that had just come out. I simply stopped taking sugar in hot drinks (and most other things) from that moment and have never looked back.
I use ‘Truvia’ a plant based sweetener, no aspartame, Tesco and Sainsburys stock it.
we have to watch so many things with heart conditions and avoid things we like, I say go for natural sugar instead, if u like biccies with yr beverage have one less instead! Take care 🦊
I haven't had sugar in tea or coffee for years. So how about weaning yourself off sweeteners and sugar? Problem solved 👍
Hi I took 2 sugars for years then sweetners.I gave them up a year ago and whilst it's not great at first after a while you get used to it and can't bear any sweetness in drinks now except G&T lol.
You have to be careful which stevia sweetner , some of them are pure stevia others are mixed with erythritol (recently found to cause heart attacks and strokes) and others are mixed with dextrose (sugar). I use pure stevia ( I buy it online) for drinks and a bit of xylitol to sweeten yoghurt or occasional dessert thing.
I always used to use sweeteners in my tea and coffee. I did try Stevia but the aftertaste was awful. I've reverted to a level teaspoon of unrefined sugar in my mugs of tea and coffee.
Just thought I’d let anyone who uses sweeteners not to use any containing Aspartame. My sister died of bowl cancer, which went into liver and bones. Her liver was full of Aspartame. There are plenty of makes that don’t use that. Sucrose etc
Wow, that is something scary to realize, I never heard that can happen. Thank you for sharing your sister's story. Sorry for your loss.
try and stick it out for a couple of weeks without using anything to sweeten it.
You’d be surprised how fast you get used to drinking it un sweetened.? I stopped using sugar and sweeteners more that ten years ago maybe longer and if I accidentally pick my work colleagues cup up by mistake I have to spit it out straight away.!!!
Like a lot of the other posters I too cannot stand the after taste of any sweetners. That said I haven't used sugar in tea and coffee for over 40 years, stopped when I was on a diet. Other naughties crept back in but not that.
What really bugs me is the sneaky way manufacturers have been introducing sweeteners other than sugar into their products especially drinks.
You buy your old favourite, take a swig and think Urggh! check the ingredients and find Aspartame or something lurking in the ingredients.
I spend ages in shops checking labels and it's amazing what you find. Imported/ foreign drinks were usually ok but I found that artificial sweeteners were being introduced for the British market.
Thank goodness for Fevertree and other 'organic?' products, expensive compared to some others but taste better.
Moan over😊
Try Stevia, it's natural and you can use it like sugar. It takes a bit of practice/ experiment to find the correct amount on the spoon. But it's a decent substitute.Avoid asperiteen the it can have a laxative effect,in fact some people are given it as a treatment for "blockages" but sugar in moderation is ok, life needs a few indulgences.
Hi,I gave up milk and sugar years ago, I have my tea black and weak, or boiling water. For sweetening on cereals etc I use stevia which is a natural plant extract, and use unsweetened almond milk, (alpro) I found is the best tasting.
Hope this helps.
Trish
My view is Sugar is not good for you, sweetners are a better alternative.
Hello Heartspurs,
Until a few years ago, I took sugar in my tea and coffee. I’ve always been fit and active, and have never been overweight. However, following my annual health check up, my HbA1c result of 42 was borderline pre-diabetic. I started by cutting back on my sugar intake - two teaspoons per mug down to one teaspoon. I then cut it back to zero. At first it was tough but after a couple of weeks I got used to it. Now if anyone adds sugar to my drinks accidentally, they taste horrible. So I would suggest cutting out the sweetners altogether and report back in a couple of weeks. Good luck.
I would probably be a good case study for sweetners I have been having them in my tea since the 1980 s when I first started dieting,I drink about 6 cups a day with 2sweetners ,also I sweeten things like cereals and plain yogurt with a powdered one quite often. I have various illnesses that could be attributed to use of sweetners including a heart attack ,but then they might not, who knows, Life is for living ,things are bad enough without having to give up sweetners, bad enough having to give up chocolate and all the things that made me fat in first place.Untill I know for certain that they cause harm I will continue to use and bring a tiny bit of joy to my life .
Most of these posts are nonsense. Sugar in moderation does not do you any harm whatsoever, sugar does not cause diabetes but being overweight can hence the moderation. As for not using low fat milk? then just use half full fat and half water. I would be sure artificial sweeteners are probably unhealthy. I do not take sugar in my hot drinks due to preference as I prefer them unsweetened. I use a half cup of milk mixed with a half cup of water to microwave my porrige every morning and sweeten it with a banana and a level teaspoon of honey Yum. I just feel that moderation is the key to enjoying your life with or without heart issues. Lighten up people and try not reading too many so called expert studies into everything and if you want sugar in your coffee have some. Still avoid excess salt though😉. Have a good week people.
in reply to wischo
Most of these posts are nonsense....
Well I suppose you are entitled to your opinion, just like others are, nonsense or otherwise. However the bottom line is most folks are just trying to be helpful, and I think your comment does a disservice to them.
You can give up sugar in your hot drinks easier than you think as I found out by accident when I was about 15 years old. At the time, I was in the Air Cadets and I went to RAF Macrihanish for a weeks summer camp. We used to have meals in the same canteen as the serving RAF staff, but at different times. For a joke, some cadets decided to put salt in with the sugar in all the dispensers and mix it up so you couldn't tell. The dispensers were just sat on every table. This went on for a whole week and the staff decided not to change the dispensers because we had done it to ourselves, so it was a lesson well learned and quite right too. I had nothing to do with this by the way. This meant I went a whole week without any sugar in my tea and there were no sweeteners either. When I got home, I thought at last, I can have a cup of tea with some sugar in it. It tasted absolutely horrible and I had to throw it away and get another one without sugar and I have never had sugar in my tea since then. One thing I will say is that I now prefer my tea and coffee very weak compared to most people which is probably also of benefit in the case of coffee because of the caffeine content.
It may be worth me mentioning here for any pet owners that the artificial sweetener xylitol KILLS dogs. ( It's now also being called birch sugar) Even a tiny quantity can kill. I thought my dog had picked up a piece of chewing gum. The vet was actually waiting at the door for us with a syringe in his hand to make her vomit, it was that urgent. It's in medicines, cakes, sweets. Don't give your dog anything without reading the ingredients. One piece of chewing gum is enough to kill a small dog very quickly. If it can do that to an animal, what is it doing to us?
😂😂 xx
Latest study shows drinking at least 4 cups of tea per day(especially green tea) cuts your risk of death by nearly half! Green tea lowers cholesterol dramatically. I would opt for honey over other sugars
I use pure natural maple syrup when I want to add a bit of sweetness. The maple flavor is mild so I don't notice it.
I just bought pure liquid monk-fruit from Amazon. A few drops sweeten my coffee and it comes of course minus the nasty erythritol that is causing all the noise on bad health and is calorie free. I find it tastes better than stevia for my palette too.
Apart from antifreeze it's right at the top of the poisons list. The Dogs Trust website says "Xylitol is a common sugar substitute that can be toxic to dogs in even small amounts and it can be fatal. It’s regularly found in sugar-free chewing gum, toothpaste, mouthwash, vitamin supplements, a small handful of peanut butter brands, and other 'low sugar' or sugar-free products.
In 2016, there were more than 250 cases of xylitol poisoning in the UK reported to the Veterinary Poisons Information Service – and most of these were down to dogs getting their paws on chewing gum.
Xylitol can cause hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels) as a dog’s pancreas will confuse it will real sugar, which makes it release more insulin. The insulin then removes the real sugar in the body, leading to plummeting blood sugar levels. Another reaction to xylitol is liver failure and this is even more serious, but it’s not known what causes this to happen. Just one piece of chewing gum can cause irreversible damage."
I would imagine that diabetics ought to be very careful.
I try to avoid all processed foods, especially artificial sweeteners. That said, a little bit of raw sugar in my coffee is non-negotiable. I think you would have to ingest huge amounts of artificial sweeteners to see any real health issues, but it's easy enough to avoid them altogether.
Brown sugar is supposed to be better for us in moderation. Better to cut out anything containing aspartame (in sweeteners). I believe that Truvia is a better sweetener, or honey if you are ok with it.
Maybe time to go cold turkey and stop altogether. I stopped taking sugar about 45 years ago. I disliked the taste of sweeteners. Now if someone accidentally gives me a drink with sugar in I just can't drink it.
lf you wean yourself off sugar gradually, having a bit less in your cup each day , you will find in the end that you prefer your drink without sugar. You can taste the tea ot coffee more because the sugar masks the flavour.
No chance! Decaff is only a slightly better than instant coffee. 🤢
I didn’t realise they were a problem for us hearties. I have used sucralose but tend to avoid anything artificial these days. I don’t use sugar but a small amount of mild honey when I make my own granola. I make my own bread and don’t use any sugar, honey or fat. I don’t like coffee but find I can drink it if I have sugar free caramel in it. Only a small amount though (about a teaspoon). I’ve tried various coffees without sugar and really don’t like it much. I must try harder now though.
where are the dedicated, peer reviewed studies that definitively have determined sweetners cause heart issues and strokes? Why are not they front page news? oh, hold on they have been 'suppressed' by big pharma (yawn) some of the replies to this question are akin to bizarre conspiracy stuff, facts not feelings please.
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