Read through a post this morning about diets. I am diabetes type 2.I am diagnosed aortic stenosis and will need TAVI.
I have been trying to avoid fat, salt and sugar.
For many years now I have been using artificial sweeteners in tea to avoid sugar.
Then I read in the article on here that they are to be avoided.
Thoughts?
Generally diet should be everything in moderation. Heart patients are not routinely told to avoid salt anymore unless there's a there's a medical reason to do so, i.e. fluid retention, kidney issues. I believe this is because Japan has the highest proportion of salt intake but the lowest proportion of heart problems, I've heard this is currently being researched. I haven't had sugar for about 50 years & have never used artificial sweetener so can't help with that. My husband had a massive heart attack in 1997 and since then followed a low fat/Mediterranean diet with the occasional treats. His cholesterol level has stayed within normal range since then, his last results in June were 'lush' according to his nurse🤣 The best people to ask about food do's & dont's are your medical team, they know your medical history and everyone is different.
Yes, all sound advice.I'm trying my best with attempting to eat more healthy foods.
It's just that comment I read about "avoiding artificial sweeteners".
To be honest, I have been using them for about 25 yrs or so.
Until last year my husband had been using them in his coffee since 1998, though he does only have a couple of coffees a day, I'm not really sure why he stopped. He doesn't have any diabetes issues though, perhaps MichaelJH can advise as he's a bit of an expert on diabetes issues & his judgement is sound.
My understanding is that no artificial sweetener is 'harmless' the only advantage over sugar is that you do not have the calorie intake so less tendency to put on unwanted weight. I suggest you slowly wean yourself off artificial sweeteners, like I did with sugar in tea and coffee many years ago. You will initially and obviously notice the difference but you eventually get used to it and in the end adding sugar or sweeteners into beverages will áctually taste unpleasant if my experience is anything to go by. It's a bit like giving up smoking when if you try a cig after years of stopping it tastes foul and you wonder why you did it in the first place (which for me is another life experience!). And as for sweetness in cooking I suggest you revert to sugar or another natural foodstuff but just use less of it.
Thanks for that. What I was concerned about was if using artificial sweeteners is not recommended for those of us with heart issues?
When I see the cardiologist or nurse then I will ask. No one has ever mentioned it to me before.
I was told to cut back on salt in June after my Tavi not told to avoid but sausage ,bacon and boiled ham should only be eaten in moderation
Thank you
Morning,I am assuming that you might have read a reply I gave to someone about diet on a post yesterday.
Sorry if it's made you worry.
I include " avoid artificial sweetener" in the diet for various reasons learned over the years of helping care for a husband with Type1 Diabetes , a mother with reoccurring Type 2 Diabetes and my Uncle with a rarer form of Diabetes which can occur after Pancreatic Cancer.
The advice about not substituting sugary foods with foods containing artificial sweeteners was given to my husband on his Diabetes diagnosis.
This advice related to foods rather than having a very small amount of sweetener in a few cups of tea.
Many people make the choice to replace their sugar based foods and drinks with those containing artificial sweeteners .
These can include things like Diet drinks and sodas, sweets , biscuits and cakes and desserts and certain diet or sugar free products .
These products can contain a lot of artificial or nutritive sweetener and often contain other ingredients, including a higher fat content, when talking about foods, to improve the taste or caffeine in drinks.
Diabetes advice was it was better to occasionally have a small portion of a food that contained low amounts of natural sugar or natural sweetener than these types of foods and drinks.
Higher consumption of artificial sweeteners can cause an upset stomach, bloating and increase weight gain.
Using artificial sweeteners have been more recently researched to also have a negative effect on the appetite.
Although they are sugar free , consumption of these can still cause some release of insulin from the pancreas , the body prepares for digestion the appetite is stimulated and with no food to work upon it makes us feel hungry , prone to snacking or we feel less satisfied by a smaller meal so fill the plate more.
More recent research has also concluded that regular consumption of artificial and some nutritive sweeteners can affect insulin resistance which in time can be a factor in people developing Type 2 Diabetes. The effect of high consumption of artificial sweeteners can also have an affect on your gut and depending on what you have it in and how often (fizzy drinks , sodas and shop bought beverages are usually the biggest culprits) can affect health in general.
It gets complicated because sugar substitutes are very varied these days. You have the old style "artificial sweeteners" like saccharin and aspartame. You then have others that are newer and naturally derived sweeteners (sucrose , fructose , glucose ) or sugar polyols , things like mannitol , erythritol , xylitol which are often found in "diabetic treats" or newer things like Stevia which is considered a better sweetening option but can still affect blood sugar and insulin release in large amounts.
Depending on the packaging some products can be labelled as sugar free when they actually contain quite a lot of the sweeteners derived from sugar , some things get labelled as containing artificial sweetener but contain the nutritive sugars. Some contain high quantities of artificial variants.
Moderation is the key , and so a little consumption of an artificial sweetener can be fine , like a Hermesetas Gold in your cup of tea or the occasional jelly after your dinner.
But many people on a diet will choose to replace old foods and drinks with artificially sweetened products in large amounts and most people do not have the time in the day to look at the whole label of a sugar free or fat free food and work out if that food is too high in sweeteners or has various other ingredients that could also affect their weight management , diabetes or general health.
I write " avoid artificial sweetener" in giving my perspective in new diet advice because it's the simplest way to get the message across not to replace sugary drinks and treats with diet drinks and treats which can affect your weight management and general digestion in a negative way.
I apologise if it caused you some concern. Take care and enjoy your cuppa , Bee
Many thanks for your very comprehensive reply.You have helped me understand it all a bit better now.
Kind regards
Peter
Personally I follow a Low Carb diet and have now gone into remission, it took about 18 months and a lot of data. I am a nerd and am happy with spreadhseets so I took bloods ay least 5 times a day, recorded all meals in details and worked out what spiked my bloods and what didn't; and also how long for. It's a lot of work - but you can get a subscription for Zoe which does all that for you, it's not cheap though.
My HbA1c has gone from 58 in April 2023 to 44 in July 2023 and 39 in July 2024. NHS Wales is starting 3 new Low Card Diabetic Clinics next year. I was lucky to be in one of the trial groups.
You will get many mnay different opinions on this.
This is excellent news. If T2 diabetes was actually called "Carbohydrate Intolerance" the solution would be obvious - eat fewer carbohydrates. Unfortunately people with T2 diabetes are told their pancreas doesn't work properly (usually not true), and that the disease is progressive (also not true) but can be managed with medication.
It's almost as if the medical profession is designed to ensure you remain a customer for life.
Yet the standard advice is eat carbs for slow release - all I did really was cut wheat based products out completely, also rice. Not easy but doable, now I can adjust to add in some simple carbs.
I dont even have sugar in my tea and I drink decaff x I have moderate to severe aortic stenosis and regurgitation.
Dies anyone know the quantities of artificial sweeteners that cause issues ? How much would you need to consume ? Are we talking gallons of diet drinks compared to the OP having a couple of teaspoons a day ?
I was always lead to believe that artificial sweeteners are ok as long as you vary them, ie don’t have the same one in bottled drinks as you would in tea n coffee etc. I only use them in fat free couscous cake when I fancy a ‘cake treat’. I have type 2 diabetes and take 3mg rybelsus daily, too many abdo probs when dose was up’d but that snd a practically carb free diet has kept my hba1c to pre diabetic level for years. Food labelled as diabetic usually contains more fat to give it flavour.more heart disease risk. I would be inclined to use sugar in hot drinks rather than artificial flavouring. Take care 🦊x
There’s stevia sweetener. It’s a natural sweetener but you have to make sure it’s pure stevia and not just mixed with others. It’s more expensive and I only need 1 instead of 2 of the others.
Stevia is fine but like Ewloe says not mixed with other stuff. Xylitol and erythritol can cause blood clots. I still consume a little xylitol now and again but am trying to cut it out. I use a quarter teaspoon honey in mint tea.
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