The Bean & Seed

Historically, my family has really liked its soda. One of the comical disputes amongst us when I was growing up was Pepsi vs. Coke. Myself, I definitely prefer Coca-Cola. And when I say prefer, I mean I’d take anything else over Pepsi. With that said, I really started to dislike the feel of sugar in my teeth and switched to Coke Zero. At the time, I thought this was a healthier alternative. But the reality is that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose are not “good” for us; they just aren’t sugar.

Now, I definitely will not suggest you stop drinking your zero sugar soda and go back to the sugared version. What I have been doing, and what I would recommend anyone do, is eliminate excessively sweetened drinks altogether. This pains me, as I do love the flavor of Coca-Cola and Mountain Dew, and I do adore a carbonated beverage. As someone who has suffered with headaches and migraines, having a Coke Zero has provided me a lot of momentary relief over the years. But the reality is, it could have been doing more harm than good.

You see, research indicates that sweeteners provide your body with a kick of hormones such as dopamine. These give you a temporary high that winds up causing you to have cravings for more. This can lead to having too much of a good thing. If, like me, you are using these hits of dopamine, caffeine, and carbonation to treat headaches, you may end up suffering the unintended consequence of causing yourself even more headaches. Aspartame and caffeine are considered triggers for some and can lead to rebound headaches. Rebound headaches were one of my biggest issues in the past. I would finally get a migraine under control, have a few hours of relief, but then get hit with a different type of headache that could last far longer than the original migraine.

I have been trying to reduce my artificial sweetener intake for a few years now. In the “glory days” prior to 2020, when a case of soda could be purchased for 2 for $4 at the grocery store, I’d easily go through a 12 pack every week. However, with rising prices, I’ve had to curtail the habit. I have also been having far fewer headaches in general, so my prior need hasn’t existed. Still, I crave it. Evidence supports this as artificial sweeteners are said to have an addictive quality. For the past 4 months, I have had zero artificial sweeteners. But I still crave soda almost daily. The deal I had been making with myself was that I wouldn’t bring it into the house, but I got to have it when we ate out. What have I noticed since giving it up entirely? Well, the biggest thing, outside of craving Coke Zero and Diet Mountain Dew, is that my appetite has decreased and I’ve been eating less. I’ve had zero migraines during this timeframe. My regular headaches seem about the same. In truth, I had been hoping for more.

That seems like a dramatic thing to say; I was “hoping for more”. You read a lot of articles that act like artificial sweeteners are really bad for you, so that made my expectations pretty high for improved mental and physical health. But now that I haven’t had them for 4 months, it hasn’t really seemed like I’ve felt any kind of impact outside of having less of an appetite. The regiment I’m on to stave off migraines has already reduced them to 1 every 6 months, so to not have one in the last 4 months doesn’t really seem unusual. And though my appetite has been reduced, I’ve not lost any weight. What has the benefit been then?

Well, honestly, I enjoy other foods more. I would say whether it is real sugar or an artificial sweetener, removing them results in something more real. Unsweetened tea, for instance; I’ve been enjoying this over sweetened tea for years. Once you’ve eliminated sweetened drinks from your diet, I believe you’ll find them shocking to your system if you ever go back. I often hit the McDonald’s drive-thru for an unsweetened tea, but sometimes they’ll give me sweetened by accident. The second it hits my lips my body rejects it; it is so unnecessarily sweet! It is so sweet that dumping it and refilling the same cup with unsweetened tea is still too much sugar! With that said, give me an unsweetened iced tea that is about 10% lemonade (lemonade with real sugar), and this is a level of sweetness I can truly appreciate amongst the strength of the tea; the nuance of these flavors would be buried if there was too much sweetener. This is true when pairing a drink with your meal as well. Why have sugar distracting you from a delicious entree? I recommend skipping the sweetener and then seeing what you really think of the meal on it’s own. While you’re at it, try your fries unsalted and see what you think of them. Mission BBQ has amazing unsalted fries. I think what you’ll find is that sweeteners and salt cover up for a lot. Good food is still good without being inundated with sweeteners and salt. Bad food without excessive sweeteners and salt… Well, maybe just skip it.

While my immediate health benefits from removing artificial sweeteners haven’t been much to write home about, like I pointed out, research indicates that there could be other negative side effects beyond what I’ve experienced personally in addition to long term risks I’d like to eliminate. Some include gastrointestinal disruption, destruction of healthy bacteria in your gut, neurological issues with seizures, anxiety, depression, and insomnia, potential for increased risk of cardiovascular issues or stroke, and an increased risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Truth be told, as far as anxiety is concerned, I have been dealing with extensive anxiety issues, so maybe 4 months hasn’t been enough time for my situation to improve and I’ll see greater gains as time goes by.

In regards to real sugar, like I’ve said, I’ve been consuming less and less for years. The health benefits here are, maybe, more obvious. When I stopped consuming sugared drinks, I lost nearly 10% of my body weight and it hasn’t come back. I stopped getting cavities. And, compared to artificial sweeteners, the risks of developing diabetes and heart disease from excessive sugar intake are well known and documented, so I know I’ve improved my odds there.

With all of this said, my 4 month experiment has taught me that I enjoy food and drinks more with less sweetener, be it artificial or real. That’s an immediate benefit. And despite the fact that I still crave Coke Zero and Diet Mountain Dew, I’m not willing to end my streak of 4 months going without; I like life better without them and they provide no long term benefit. In fact, the long term benefits of removing as much sugar and artificial sweetener from my diet as possible are too great to ignore when thinking about my future health.

Thanks for reading, Matt

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