You asked in the email to post a comment if I was surprized by the information and I was.  Being a nurse it made perfect sense, only I never saw that before.  I am going to get off the sweeteners and see what happens.  I have your books and although I have not been religious about following your plan I have made some major adjustments!  Thanks for all your research! 

In the group that ate the artificially sweetener, total food eaten 'dramatically increased', yet they still 'consumed fewer calories' than the other group. How did they manage this?

Hi, I have heard of similar claims to sweeteners acting in the opposite way to their intended benefit.  Unfortunately the artificial sweetener industry is a huge billion dollar "sugar" mountain and they each afford a lot of research in their favour.  Research is expensive and out of reach for most people opposing artificial sweeteners.  Sugar isn't much better, it is the single reason why dentists are so busy and i'm sure our pancreas' are not really intended to deal with so much added sugar.

It is a difficult claim to make, as the market for sweeteners grew, thus the amount of sweeteners produced and sold increased as well.  I am concerned about the arguments against products like aspartame and acesulphame k for other reasons..

 Unfortunately I am diabetic and cannot use real sugar. The only really safe drink is water as even natural sugars in fruit can knock up sugar levels.  We need more research into all sweeteners and I totally agree that it would be best to avoid artificial sweeteners... Buyers need to be aware that they are increasingly added to ordinary food as well...

Great blog..     

I've always stayed away from artificial sweeteners. I use raw honey sparingly and stevia.

What is artificial about stevia? I thought it was the ground up leaf of a plant.  It's been used for over a thousand years.

The fact that you include Stevia in your list of sweeteners to avoid bums me out. I have been an avid artificial sweetener user (in my coffee) for over 20 years. I am not overweight, nor have I ever been (10 pounds is the most I've gained and 40 pounds when pregnant) I switched to Agave Nectar for a while but the fact that it had calories scared me and it was hard to carry around in my pocketbook! I switched to Stevia and of course it's calorie free which I like and convenient to carry around. I haven't had any issues. But then I do watch what I eat and exercise a lot.

What are your thoughts on Agave? Or anything else besides regular, white sugar??

I go to Integrative Nutrition and counsel people on these matters (just yesterday gave almost this exact speech to a client about her diet coke consumption! Weird timing!)

Thanks for all the work you do on these subjects!!

DiAnna

I can't tell you how true your words about artificial sweeteners ring in my life! I generally follow your principles of eating, with one great exception. I drink 2, sometimes 3, Diet Cokes a day! And when I eat well and still drink them, I seem to lose no weight. I have tried to quit periodically, and I have been successful in the past, but I always go back. And I can't believe the difference it makes in my energy level and my weight. I definitely eat more. In fact, I find I am constantly craving something--either another Diet Coke, or something salty, then sweet. I also know that it must be bad for me b/c I await my next Diet Coke with way too much eagerness. When I realized that, I new I was literally addicted to the stuff. Your blog and your books have finally made me stop lying to myself that these drinks are "okay." I will redouble my efforts to try to quit. I just have to make it past the headaches! Thank you!

I am 45 yrs. old, quite smoking 4 1/2 years ago, gained 40 lbs.and had acid reflux. I have been trying everything possible to lose weight.I exercise regularly and are conscious of foods I eat.  Once I read about artificial sweetners and stopped using them I have now lost 16 lbs. I only drink water now because I also have read that coffee(which I only drank 1 or 2 cups of black coffee or green tea unsweetned) was a toxin(caffenine) and could affect weight loss. Is this true? Thank you for all your helpful information.

This is surprising information to me. However, now that I think about it....I always wondered why my Coke-drinking, chocolate-eating sister was so thin while I was always so overweight. Actually, I can think about sharing meals with many of my thin friends and being amazed at the sweets they consumed without long-term consequences. It makes sense.

 Reading this article led to a lightbulb moment for me : is the fact that I have grown inexorably throughout my life - despite a very restricted diet - linked to my body temperature always having been a couple of degrees below the "norm" ? (And if so, is it possible to permanently change one's body temperature ?)

Thankyou, Dr Hyman, for acting on your curiosity - & keep it up!

I usually agree totally with your very informative posts, but this one I am a little more skeptical about.  My husband drinks diet sodas, too many if you ask me, yet, consumes other artificial sweetners limitedly.  I drink one diet drink a day, however, I will consume other foods containing artificial sweetners.  Neither my husband or I are overweight, in fact we are quite slim.  I do enjoy sweets and would probably indulge on a more consistant basis if I was not able to curb my craving with a diet drink or lightened product.  I have tried to reduce artificial sweetners in our diet, however, it is difficult to find lower calorie foods such as yogurt without it.  The difference between a 4 ounce sweetened yogurt and an artificially sweetened one can be up to 60 calories, since I eat two a day, that adds up to 120 extra calories a day.  I watch my calorie intact and would not be able to cut that 120 calories from my diet anywhere else without also decreasing nutrients.  Is there a solution to my dilemna?

Agreed that aspartame and splenda are counter-productive,  but then I  learned  I am allergic to cane sugar. Stopping the sugar and then sweetening with stevia and luo han, made things take a turn for the better.

If I read Dr. Hyman's blog correctly, he seems to advocate  any herb that tastes "sweet" would be a weight-producer (eg, cinnamon and anise in small quantities) -- -what does the research say about that?

Hello Dr Hyman,

I agree 100% with your blog on artificial sweeteners!!!   About 10 years ago when I first tried to change my diet, ie eat healthier, get good sleep, and drink lots of water, I decided to switch from regular soda to diet soda.  Well, at first I did loose weight, but as time went on, I started gaining weight all over again!  It wasn't until last year that I figured out it was the diet soda and the foods with the artificial sweeteners.  When I first started drinking them it was very occasionally, but as time went on, it became a staple shall we say and I had incorporated many diet foods into my diet in an effort to loose the weight.  By the time I realized what was happening, I was drinking two to three diet sodas a day.  When the weight started coming back, I was shocked and dismayed.  I was doing everything right, even using diet products with artifical sweeteners and yet the weight kept packing on.  I was very sick last year with nasty side affects from the artificial sweeteners and it took some Internet research to discover this was the cause.  Once I stopped drinking and USING anything with an artificial sweetener, I lost 45lbs with in six months with no effort on my part.  Now I avoid ANY artificial sweeteners like the plague!!  If I can give one piece of advice to anyone who is reading this message, it would be RUN as fast as you can AWAY from anything with artificial sweeteners.  They will make you sick as a dog!!

Kim White, Mineral VA 

 I totally stopped drinking any soda about a year and a half ago and switched to water. I eat about eighty percent organic and very rarely eat processed foods. I always check labels and never buy anything with artificial sweeteners. I have noticed a big difference in my eating. Although I don't count calories, I very rarely crave anything sweet. I have lost over sixty pounds. It's coming off slowly, but that's okay with me because I know I'll keep it off. I used to be one of those people who could finish a whole bag of chocolate in one sitting and I would hide it so no one else could eat it. Now I have no desire to do that. Sometimes I will have a piece of dark chocolate and that satisfies me or I will make high fiber organic muffins with organic sugar, and one of those fills you up. So I totally agree that artificial sweeteners do sabotage a persons ability to lose weight.

I have been using a combination of artificial sweetners such as Sweet & low in my coffee,

Splenda in tea & cereal. I rarely have a Diet soda, but I do sometimes.

I have a severe weight problem, by severe I mean I can not lose. I follow your advise no white flour, walk 1 1/2 mile every day, portion control, I am on a lot of medication for various heart dissease problems, I have regular blood work done by Berkley Lab, thye say my Thyroid is Ok?  I need to lose at least 25 lbs.

You didn't mention High Fructose Corn syrup.  Shouldn't it be included in your list of artificial sweeteners?  Even if you don't drink the diet sodas, all of the regular sodas are made with HFC which also acts different from sugar in our bodies in that it fools some of the metabolism regulators.  Its hard to find drinks that are only sweetened with sugar in our modern off the shelf world.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

I have heard about the artificial sweetners but is Stevia really a similar problem? i do use Stevia and just bought a 1000 pack of Nustevia. Is sugar really better to use?.

So here we go! A subject I can really sink my teeth into. Run- Run- Run from the Diet stuff. I have been a professional dieter most of my life- since I was about 5. I lost weight on Weight Watchers but as early as 7 or 8 I was doing a lot of artificial sweetners. Now I am in my 40's. The result- my body is really screwed up. I have a great deal of inflammation- different hormones in my body are out of sync and not talking to each other correctly and I can't lose any weight no matter what. I also have a lot of food allergies so I am not your average typical person. However, there is HOPE so don't give up because I certainly haven't. Several years ago just before the holidays I noticed that I was experiencing a lot of joint and muscle pain. I linked it to several foods and Diet soda. When I stayed away from certain things I felt better. So as of two years ago I gave up diet soda. It was hard at first but I do use Stevia and they have flavored ones. I got Sparkling water and Root Beer Stevia and would put a 1/2 dropper in a glass. It didn't taste great the first time but I tried again and I actually liked it. You can get used to anything. I only do this for special occasions and it is really once in a while. I drink mostly water now. I do still occassionally indulge in a Diet Snapple but it is rare. Whereever possibly cut out the artificial. I am still waiting for my weight to shift but this change happened over 30+ years so I guess I can't expect it to go back to normal overnight. I am moving toward wellness one step at a time and I think it is just a matter of time until that happen. Celebrate the small successes as a blood test result improves or you notice that eating a certain thing brings pain. It is amazing the things you will be willing to give up to feel better. I know I was. I still have my favorites and I do indulge occassionally but sometimes the discomfort afterwards takes away the joy of eating it. Keep moving forward- listen to your body and you will do it. Blessings for the journey.

Dr. Hyman was not saying that stevia was bad due to being toxic or unhealthy, but due to the PSYCHOLOGICAL affect it has on fooling the body as it EXPECTS a CALORIC sweetener but then receives a NON-caloric sweetener. However, I'm not sure I can agree 100% with it being lumped with artificial sweeteners (including HFCS) that are physically toxic and drastically affect body chemistry. Before stevia is lumped into a conclusion related to artificial sweeteners based soley on a psyhological point, I'd like to see an actual study regarding stevia...one with the whole stevia leaf and one with the extracted rabaudioside (bad spelling?)...

Thank you for thought provoking articles!

I do not use atificial sweeteners knowingly.  I try to read labels but sometimes I don't know what a word in the list means so I am probably getting these sweeteners unknowingly.  I am allergic to aspartame so I try to avoid it as it makes me sick.
I didn't know that stevia was bad for you because it is derived from a natural produt.  Although sugar is derived from a natural product it is the process that makes it unhealthy.  Maybe it is the same for stevia.

I completely disagree. You should examine your own comment about seeing someone who was obese order a "big mac, french fries and a diet coke." It is the STARCHES that cause obesity and that includes refined sugars.

Perhaps you should read Gary Taubes's book, GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES. It might give you a new and welcome perspective.

I have used artifical sweeteners for years with no adverse effects. I just quit Jenny Craig where (after starving for 17 months) I lost 60 pounds. Using SPLENDA the entire time.

As with all things in this life YMMV. EVERYone has different needs and reacts differently to things. I'm not saying that everyone can use artificial sweeteners with no ill effects. Some people simply cannot tolerate them. But to blame them for obesity is just nonsense.

SUGAR in all it's forms is the culprit. Of the three main components of our diets, fat ... protein ... carbs, only ONE does not raise blood sugar levels which results in release of insulin. That one is FAT. Proteins can raise blood sugar slightly if you eat too much although what, exactly, constitutes "too much," is again, a personal factor.

CARBS on the other hand raise blood sugar, PERIOD. Broccoli may raise it just a tiny bit while a regular coke will spike it through the roof. Insulin's sole purpose is to get that blood sugar level back to normal and to do so it tries to put the excess into muscle cells to be burned for fuel. If it can't go there, next stop is the liver. If THAT's already full up then last stop is the fat cells which are ever expanding. It drops off the excess load which is converted to fat.

That's an extremely simplified description but you all get the idea.

Artificial sweeteners do not raise blood sugar levels. Splenda especially is not even recognized as a carb so it's simply excreted.

Back to Taubes's book, it now seems that the constantly vilified Dr. Robert C. Atkins was right all along.

I cannot recommend GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES enough. It is a revelation about the how, what, where, when and WHY we have all been led down the proverbial garden path.

What about erythritol? (I think that is how it is spelled). Does that lower metabolism?

Do you use artificially sweetened products?

Yes I do, and I was only surprised by the inclusion of Splenda (sucralose) in your information.  I have read how artifical sweeteners do all of what u discussed and not to mention supposedly cause cancer in rats.  However, I have also read that sucralose is made from sugar and therefore is not the same as the 'fake' artificial sweeteners.  I guess now this is wrong too.    

How have they affected your weight?

I can not be certain it has affected my weight since i have had many other unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercise over the last few years.  But I usually only use it in my tea, occassionally in cooking, and diet sodas, i usually try to buy diet sodas sweetened with splenda, oh yeah and fruit drinks, which i do not consume regularly.

What sweet treats do you indulge in?

Hi my name is Jessica and I am a chocoholic.  I have been trying to quite the habit for a long time, and have been clean for only about 12 hours.  I will probably 'use' again later today.  I mostly get my chocolate cravings in the evening after dinner.  But oh do i get them!  I limit sugar in everything else and usually only sweeten my tea, coffee is gross with sugar, but when i get coffee at like Starbucks, i don't ask them to not sweeten it so it probably has sugar, oh and i do drink chocolate milk occassionally, but after reading the blog about milk, i am trying to give it up to see if it helps my digestion. 

Has this finding taken you by surprise?

refer to my earlier answer.  I am surprised that other people are surprised by this.  I have been an avid consumer of health information for 8 years or so, since i gained weight at the end of college, so I am always aware of the newest information, usually not so put together, i read something here or there and sometimes contradictory information.  So you can imagine how confusing it is, but i do find the information in this blog to be mostly on target with what i read anywhere else.  

Hi Dr Hyman,

I recently switched from Splenda to Agave in my chai tea every morning.  Splenda seemed to be making my body crave more carbs throughout the day.  What is your take on agave?  I have recently started using it in some recipes too...my nine year old really likes the taste and I thought it was a good replacement for sugar. 

Thank you for your reply.

Dr Hyman-
  
  I am not surprised at the findings on artificial sweetners. I have
read about this many times. I am however surprised that you feel the same
way about Stevia since it starts out as an herb. Now I understand just
because it's a plant and comes from nature, it's not necessarily
healthy so I can work on accepting this. Personally, I don't like the taste
of artificial sweetners, and don't use them. In fact I don't like
stevia either because to me it tastes like Sweet-n-Low.  Question
about stevia though, what about unrefined? I've actually seen it in bulk
powder form and still green. Do you look at that the same way?
  
  I AM surprised to read that you suggest using regular sugar though.
This is also a "fake" food having been processed down from its natural
state.  I understand most people aren't going to NOT eat sweet stuff.
Our bodies crave it and most will give in, sometimes bingeing. Sugar is
highly addictive to some.  So for this reason I do not agree with your
statement about indulging in some sugar. Most items containing sugar also contain many more unhealthy ingredients (ie: white flour, high fructose corn syrup.) If I want sugar, I'm not going to just put a spoonful in my tea. I'm going to have a brownie or a cupcake... Much different.  Hey, if one can control the bingeing once having bitten into something scrumptious like that and not eat the whole box or pan, that's one thing. But I know I for one, have a hard time stopping at just one.
   
You didn't mention other sweetners either. What about raw honey,
agave nectar, (real) maple syrup, brown rice syrup, black strap molasses???It's my understanding these are much healthier but like almost anything else, moderation is an important key.

There's also another sweetner found on another website called Latanko (sp.?). Do you know anything about this?

  
   
  Thanks.
  Laura

This is an interesting hypothesis, but I am not convinced that artificial sweeteners cause a hormonal response in the body.

Pavlov's dog experiment only shows evidence for a physiological response and the rat study is not convincing. Id like to see a study that porves that artificial sweetener intake = increased insulin.

I know full type 1 diabetics with good glucose control and very good A1c levels and to please their taste buds they use acesulfame or saccharin and it has no effect at all on their BGs or insulin.

Does Stevia really qualify as an artificial sweetener, since it's derived from a plant and not a chemically made compound? Japan and other countries have used Stevia as a sweetener for drinks and other stuff for a while. Have there been any correlations to weight gain and Stevia in those countries?

I get mad when I see comments about "large" people ordering DIET SODA with a HUGE French Fries and/or Burger. 

What you don't understand is that by ordering the ZERO CALORIE beverage  we are  reducing our OVERALL CALORIE INTAKE AT THAT MEAL.  If we were to have a beverage with calories we would have to eat LESS of other things we enjoy.  "WE" ARE NOT STUPID AND I try to do the best I can on any given day facing my food addiction and struggle with weight and all the consequences that I bring on myself.  You could be more helpful to those of us who struggle with this instead of laughing at us.

Please read:

"Any sweet taste will signal your body that calories are on the way and trigger a whole set of hormonal and metabolic responses to get ready for those calories.

When you trick your body and feed it non-nutritive or non-caloric sweeteners, like aspartame, acesulfame, saccharin, sucralose, or even natural sweeteners like stevia, it gets confused."

 I believe the 2 paragraphs above sum up the point of the blog on artificial sweeteners. Many of you keep asking "what's wrong with Stevia." The problem with Stevia (or any other artificial sweetener) is it is a "SWEET TASTE" and as Dr. Hyman states, triggers a set of hormonal and metabolic responses that may be tricking your body and confusing it.

Sugar is not foreign to our body. When you consume it, the more natural the better, i.e., real maple syrup, fruit, honey, etc.. In small amounts it's better for you than artificial sweeteners.

I was a walking letter carrier for 5 years. Never had a problem with my weight. Then I went to work inside and gained weight.  I got of sugar and went to stevia. I have not gained weight but I havent lost any either. I also cut out eating any thing with HFCS which I think causes a lot of weight gain. Just like the artificial sweetners HFCS entered the arena at a bout the same time.  If you read labels like I do you will find that just about all kelloughs sweet cerals have HFCS in addition to sugar.  Lets face it the only way you are going to stay healthy is to stay away from processed food.

I am not a big fan of sweetners. I really hate the aftertaste of most of them. Even Stevia isn't great. I have used them but not alot.

I recently have been following the Suzanne Somers diet and she has a sweetner called Somersweet. It is great and no aftertaste. It's great to cook with as well. I still don't use alot of it, just in coffee and some on certain kinds of cereal. The ingredients are Oligofructose, Inulin, Sprouted Mung Bean Extract and Acesulfame K. It is blended with natural sweet pre-biotic fibers.

What do you think of this and is this product safer than others?

I have not really noticed about weight gain with myself on this matter. Since I don't use sweetners that much or that often, I supposed it would be ok for me just to use natural sugar. I do suffer from alot of bloat and gas and I wonder if this contributes to this. I have been told I have excess acidity in my stomach. I have been on the Ultrasimple Diet for 5 days now and still suffer from the bloat and gas and no weight loss. I am hopeing to hang in there and that it will dissapear. I really don't want to go back on the medication (Nexium) for my acidity. Any advice?

This was astonishing news.  I've been using Splenda which has a small amount of sugar and is supposed to be suitable for diabetics.  I am not diabetic but am hypoglycemic.  Is Splenda OK for weight loss or is that out too?

 Hi. In light of having Candida Albicans, I've refrained from eating sugar and have used sugar substitutes such as Xylitol and Stevia, and have actually gained over 10 pounds over the past year that I've made my diet changes. I'm a super health conscious Vegan who exercises regularly and eats well-balanced, ultra-nutritious meals. When I began, I was approximately 125 pounds (I'm a 5'4" 29 year old female), and I've reached up to 136 and was steadily inching towards 138 before I decided that what I was doing wasn't working for me.

 I've always had a sweet tooth, and in the past would consume traditional junk food, and had then changed to healthy fruits and sweets to replace them... and then several years later was diagnosed with a SEVERE Candida infection. So, when I'd crave something sweet, I'd eat a packet or more of Xylitol, and I noticed within 24 hours that I'd gained weight. I even felt fatter and my clothes were tighter. Then I decided that the diet I was participating in was counter-productive in that I was getting a thicker and thicker layer of fat beneath my skin and I had the pounds on the scale to prove it.

I decided that it just wasn't worth it anymore, so I've recently went back to eating healthy fruits and sweets that aren't TOO high in the glycemic index, for just over a month now. And in that time, I've already lost 5 pounds. I feel better, and I even think I'm eating less, because my body feels satisfied from less now, whereas before, it wasn't getting the calories it needed, and I kept eating more to alleviate my hunger pangs.

Quite honestly, all of what you've said makes PERFECT SENSE. When the body is signaling for food, and you don't feed it what it needs or give it proper calories or nutrition, it automatically changes the metabolism because it thinks it's starving and thinks it needs to save or reserve all that it has and all that it gets... hence the weight gain.

I sincerely hope that your message reaches as many people as possible. We all need to hear and realize this information. I had to learn for myself the hard way, and your blog and research goes to prove statistically via science how and why. This is why I'm SO GREATFUL for people such as yourself, informing the public and shattering illusions.

THANK YOU, Dr. Mark Hyman!!! 

I question whether there may not be a link between artificial sweeteners and diabetes. We often hear that type 2 diabetes is on the increase. I have heard that almost everyone who develops type 2 diabetes has a history of using artificial sweeteners.

It certainly makes sense to me that people who play games with their blood sugar levels might manage to confuse their bodies regarding sugar, etc. -- and come to regret it in the end.

Thank you Dr. Hyman, for an excellent blog article on artificial sweeteners.  This adds to a long list of reasons why one must never use any of those sugar substitutes.  Indeed, if you have to use it, use the real thing, not the fake stuff.

I believe in eating food as they come in nature (no chicken bolognas thank you), and in moderation.  For example, natural yoghurt and real cream (not the low-fat stuff), but I don't slurp down a cupful of it.  How do you feel about eating chicken with its skin, pork with its fat?  Concerned about the extra calories?  Have a smaller portion.

Does it make sense doctor? 

I have found this to be absoutley true!

Whether I have something with artifical sweetner alone or with a meal. I am absoutley ravenous afterwards! Not to mention the other side effects from artifical sweeteners. A long time ago I quit using anything artifically sweetened and now after using your book am trying to avoid sugars all together. I have lost some weight and feel much better physically.

Is Dr. Hyman still selling his diets to go? Awhile back I Dr. Hyman was testing his diet to be purchased by individuals. I purchased several then discontinued and am interested to know if he is still selling daily food? Thanks.

You neglected "high Fructose Corn syrup" I consider it "poison". It is in Coke, pepsi, children;s cereal, bread and just about every thing we buy prepared at the grocery. It was invented just before the obesity crisis bloomed. I lost weight when I gave it up. See "fructose" on the internet. You will be glad you did.

As much of a surprise as this is, the new information makes perfect sense. I have become addicted to sucralose and aspartame, and my weight has increased over the last two years. Having said that, it will remain to be seen just how difficult a challenge it will be to wean myself off these dangerous products.

I agree with all of your comments about artificial sweeteners but you made one mistake. Stevia is a natural plant that is 300 times sweeter than sugar. You descibed it as a natural artificial sweetener. This is a false and misleading statement. There is nothing artificial about it unless it has been over processed. Most stevia products aren't. I, like many others have a high incidence of diabetes in my family and use stevia in my tea and occasional coffee. I have read extensively about sweet leaf (stevia) because I wanted to find something that didn't affect my glucose levels. I also have read several reports that state that stevia does not fool the brain in the same way as other sweeteners natural or artificial. I can attest that I have very little craving for sweets since starting to use stevia. I believe that you should do a little more research before making such broad statements. Everyone is different and people with addictive behaviors will always crave anything sweet and abuse it. Stevia is one of the safest sweeteners out there and raw unprosessed sugar is the second. I was a little dissapointed in your broad generalization. Are you saying that white bleached processed sugar is better than the sweeteners that I mentioned ?

Hi Doc,

A friend forwarded me this post after reading a similar post on my own blog about the same study you cited.

I did, however, at the end of the post, offer xylitol as a possible alternative sweetener, as to my understanding, it does have caloric value, and the body does produce an oxidase, kinase and phosphatase specific for xylitol.

I'm just curious to know more of your thoughts and experience with this particular agent.

Matthew Marturano, ND

Yellow Doc

I have been a 7 plus can or sometimes bottle of Diet Coke drinker a day for many years. I have tried so many times to kick the habit, but all without success. As soon as I tried to cut down my body would react with mood swings, migraines, and overall just feeling terrible, so I had to return to drinking it. That was until just five days ago. A friend of mine, Bill, knew how much of the stuff I was drinking and knew how bad I felt when I tried to kick this habit and brought me something that has replaced my addiction once and for all. After the third day of replacing Diet Coke with this product my need for the fix went away. The best thing of all, I have had no withdrawals, no headaches or migraines, no craving, nothing. Plus the healthy feeling and energy has been fantastic.  Check out my site to see my full story, www.dietdrinkaddiction.com

Thanks, Mike

Great blog topic!  However, I am an avid user of Stevia packets (white powder form).  I am highly suspicious as to whether Stevia also induces the same effects on the body as an artificial sweetener (although derived from a natural source, Stevia still totes the same mantra i.e. zero calories, sweeter than sugar, etc.).

Thanks,

Michele