The General Health Discussion Thread

[CFFJR]

I'm happy to see your blood sugar is at a good level.

As for the beer thing, its every bit as bad as soda I'm afraid. But hey, like you said, you'll probably still have one once in a while, and that's ok. Everything in moderation you know? Have a beer with dinner occasionally, just don't slam a six pack with dinner.

Quick general question to everybody here, how do you guys feel about artificial sweeteners? Aspartame, Sucralose, and the like?

I'm just curious, because a lot of people will go for diet sodas or flavored waters because they don't contain anything save for the occasional bit of sodium, but the majority of these drinks are all sweetened with Aspartame, which is apparently sweet poison depending on who you ask.

I've tried some drinks sweetened with Stevia, which isn't chemical, but it tends to taste like crap more often than not.

[gtmtnbiker]

Glad to hear that you are trying to change your diet. As others mentioned, eating smaller meals, more frequently will help.

You should learn to read a product nutrition label. That will help you choose the right things to buy.

Drinking a lot of water is good. Probably want to strive for 8 cups per day.

[Luke]

I blame Dairy products, but hard to say.. living in Wisconsin i dont think i go a day without cheese.

If you aren't chugging down Old Style while stuffing your face with Usinger sausage, you are doing a great disservice to your state's reputation.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Quick general question to everybody here, how do you guys feel about artificial sweeteners? Aspartame, Sucralose, and the like?

I'm just curious, because a lot of people will go for diet sodas or flavored waters because they don't contain anything save for the occasional bit of sodium, but the majority of these drinks are all sweetened with Aspartame, which is apparently sweet poison depending on who you ask.

With so many other drink options out there I see no reason to consume any of that crap.

I think unsweetened iced tea is a good lunch-time type drink that a lot of people tend to forget about. No sugar or calories, and also very healthy. I also drink milk (and soy milk or almond milk sometimes) and 100% fruit juice too. Sometimes I'll have one of those flavored seltzer waters with dinner.

I limit myself to about one or two all-natural sodas a month. There are a couple of decent microbrewed varieties in Maine.

And lots of water is always a smart idea too of course.

[Michi]

And I was wondering when someone would mention tea. Not a fan at all myself, but as you said... I've probably only had crappy mixed stuff, so maybe I'll have to experiment and try out some more sometime. It's definitely been years since I've had any though, so maybe I'll like it now.

Never got into coffee, not that I'm complaining. Sounds worse than soda!

Yeah. I used to hate tea. Thought the stuff was awful. Then my mom dragged me into a Teavana and I realized, hey, that fresh stuff's pretty good. If you have one nearby I suggest going in and trying a couple samples. The fresh stuff can be expensive depending on what you get, but most of it can be steeped more than once so that helps make it last longer. Just make sure you follow the instructions or you risk making it taste like *blech*

And I've never liked coffee either. When I was still in high school my friends would always want me to try different kinds, like they thought it was their duty to help me find one I liked, and I humored them every time, but I just don't like the stuff. Regular. Flavored. Hot. Iced. Doesn't matter. Every one of them tested my gag reflex.

Quick general question to everybody here, how do you guys feel about artificial sweeteners? Aspartame, Sucralose, and the like?

I'm just curious, because a lot of people will go for diet sodas or flavored waters because they don't contain anything save for the occasional bit of sodium, but the majority of these drinks are all sweetened with Aspartame, which is apparently sweet poison depending on who you ask.

My mom uses Truvia. Actually tastes pretty good. Tastes better than the stuff she used to get. The only time we use real sugar any more is for baking.

And as far as diet sodas go, thats pretty much the only soda she drinks any more. Over the years she's gotten several different kinds and I've tasted each and every one. Here is what I found:

Diet Pepsi- *blech!*
Diet Coke- Doable
Diet Sams- Meh...
Diet Rite- 'Sal right
Diet A&W- ...Not too bad actually. I think the vanilla really helps.

So really, I think it depends on the brand of diet you're looking at. Just don't get Diet Pepsi *shudders*

[harper]

Diet soda is probably worse for you than regular soda.

[Hazerd]

I blame Dairy products, but hard to say.. living in Wisconsin i dont think i go a day without cheese.

If you aren't chugging down Old Style while stuffing your face with Usinger sausage, you are doing a great disservice to your state's reputation.

Never had Old Style, and never heard of Usinger sausage.