# Equal with a Ketogenic Diet?



## dojdave11 (Mar 5, 2002)

Hello again! Ok, I just read something which stated aspartame should not be consumed on a ketogenic Diet; is this true?

I am using equal as my sweetner in my morning coffee and am wondering if I should discontinue use for this week I am trying the keto diet?


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## Robboe (Mar 5, 2002)

bah! Aspartame is only two or three amino acids. (I think - one or the other)

unless you're eating a jar of the stuff a day don;t worry about one teaspoon.


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## dojdave11 (Mar 5, 2002)

Thanks, I figured that, but wanted to be sure.


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## gopro (Mar 5, 2002)

I agree. Go ahead and use it!


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## Dr. Pain (Mar 5, 2002)

I wouldn't touch it!  Not only can a sweet taste of any kind take some out of ketosis (which I don't recommend either, ketosis that is), it is dangerous, and will circumvent cutting efforts! BTW, caffiene, a xanthine, can also take you out of ketosis!

http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/index.htm
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/

From Betty Martini 
Subject Dr. James Bowen on Aspartame and Weight Loss 
7-28-00 


"The fact that aspartame fattens people is generally well known. We have all seen the post cards and comics that depict an overweight person with a Diet Coke in one hand while reaching for a bowl of corn chips with the other hand. The reason aspartame so strikingly stimulates the appetite is it provides over half of its content in a form of a phenylalanine isolate. 

The amino acid phenylalanine outcompetes all the other at enzyme sites in the body. This suppresses the formation of dopamine from tyrosine and the formation of serotonin from tryptophan. The serotonin is the neurotransmitter that reports carbohydrate metabolism. When your serotonin levels are not allowed to raise as they normally do when you eat carbohydrates you crave more and more food. The dopamine is the neurotransmitter that lets you feel satisfied, so when you use aspartame you have unsatisfiable cravings. The aspartame also poisons your metabolism so you cannot burn calories. 

One of the major components of the aspartame molecule is methyl alcohol. Methyl alcohol has long been recognized in medicine for its ability to block metabolism. For this reason when doctors see somebody who has been poisoned by ingesting methyl alcohol or methyl esters they can accurately predict the patient will develop a severe acidosis because the food cannot be metabolized in the normal manner and the breakdown products of the methyl alcohol in addition to the acids developed from the blocked metabolism gravely endanger the patients life. NutraSweet, is a very aggravated form of methyl alcohol poisoning. 

Moreover, the neuroexcitotoxins act in the brain to stimulate appetite. This is why manufacturers put it into foods. It does not actually change the taste of food at all, but the food taste better to you because your appetite has been stimulated. 

Arsenic is routinely included in chicken food when the chickens are being raised for meat production because it poisons the metabolism and the chickens don't burn off the calories, they turn it into fat, and thus they produce rapid weight gain for the farmer. 

When the FDA first looked at this molecule they held aspartame off the market for many years because it is a potent chelating agent which carries many heavy metals including arsenic into the body. The heavy metal poisoning from Nutrasweet also poisons your metabolism, blocks the burning of calories and on the long haul this virtually irreversible poisoning from heavy metals will continue to encourage weight gain." 

James Bowen, M.D. 


There are also documented cases of dieters who comsume diet sodas, diet Jello, etc. not making progress until giving up their S/F addiction!

FC


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## dojdave11 (Mar 5, 2002)

Ok, let me get this straight. I started the keto diet yesterday and had about 10 carbs. I have read to stay below 20, some people say 30.

I drink 1 cup of coffee in the morning with equal and your saying this is probably going to cause me not to enter ketosis?


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## Chalcedony (Mar 5, 2002)

what about Splenda?


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## dojdave11 (Mar 5, 2002)

The Au Bon Pain where I get my coffee from does not have Splenda. I have used Splenda before and enjoy it. I don't mind going to pay for it if need be, but why do that if the majority of the people in the world think that aspartame is not a problem.


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## Dr. Pain (Mar 5, 2002)

> _*Originally posted by dojdave11 *_
> Ok, let me get this straight. I started the keto diet yesterday and had about 10 carbs. I have read to stay below 20, some people say 30.
> 
> I drink 1 cup of coffee in the morning with equal and your saying this is probably going to cause me not to enter ketosis?




No I was saying it could kick you "out" of ketosis!  I assumed you were going there because you were serious about fat loss!  Even on a strict cut that does not involve ketosis, some insulin resistant individuals can not tolerate "sweet tastes."  I have seen S/F gum take people out, black coffee, and even a small portion of green beans!

Remember as you are trying to get there, some people, particularly men, take a liitle longer because they store more glycogen in there livers!  Also, too much protein (protein  can covert to glucose in the liver) and not enough fat can compromise this too!


FC


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## Chalcedony (Mar 5, 2002)

> _*Originally posted by dojdave11 *_
> The Au Bon Pain where I get my coffee from does not have Splenda. I have used Splenda before and enjoy it. I don't mind going to pay for it if need be, but why do that if the majority of the people in the world think that aspartame is not a problem.



no, I was wondering if splenda would have the same effect as equal, i wasn't suggesting it to you...


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## gopro (Mar 5, 2002)

Caffein's effect is a different issue. Aspartame will not kick you out of ketosis. I always use a ketogenic diet when preparing myself and others for competitions, and also use a boatload of aspartame between crytal light and diet coke. Never has the diet failed.


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