@Frank Sanoica , wishing you well , and when you're ready and only when you feel up to it, perhaps we can learn some more from you, but it's just come as a bit of a shock to us all so suddenly to hear you're so poorly.... Let us know what the next step is for you, when you can.
We have five main artificial sugar brands in the US. Therefore, I didn't know if all the artificially sweetened products, other than diet sodas, still contained aspartame. I was surprised to see how many products were still using aspartame... since better options are now available. Your question is what caused me to go look up the information, so I thought I would share it with you. If this busted your balloon in some way, I apologize.
@Bess Barber @Holly Saunders Aspartame is used extensively IMO for two reasons in many products not associated necessarily with needing sweetness. First, the American taste has been conditioned by food producers to seek a sweet undertow in foods not always thought of as "sweet", such as meats, cereals, etc. Then, there are the soft drinks where everyone thinks real sugars are fattening and killing them, and causing deaths from diabetes. Second, Aspartame is cheaper to make, and add, than sugar itself, PLUS, glaringly labeling "sugar-free" allows higher pricing, to boot. Frank
@Frank Sanoica I lean heavily on no sugar substitutes to keep my blood sugar in check. After what happened to you and checking all the products with aspartame, I've been questioning my choices through out the day. It's quite worrisome. I guess Stevia would be the best choice out of all of them. Glad you are feeling somewhat better. I wish I could mail you a kidney.
@Bess Barber I could never accept a kidney so graciously offered! Stevia my wife believes in, natural product, big b ag upin the cabinet, cooks with it, but it just doesn't seem sweet to me. I prefer no sugar alcohols like mannitol, sorbitol, maltitol, and the like, because they tend to disrupt balance in the large intestine, but they are sweet, no calories, no tooth decay, and taste good. These, too, are natural "sugars", originally found in sap and barks of plants. Think maltitol derives from the malting of grains. For my money, I go for Erythritol. Using it instead of table sugar 1 for 1 produces good cooking results, unchanged by heat in cakes, pies, compotes, fruits, reasonably priced (nowadays), resembles sugar in granulated form, tastes great. I love cranberries; ever try eating one? Contain natural sugar, but acid, cook up a 12 oz bag of fresh ones with 1 cup erythritol until thickened, at nothing else except perhaps some fruit if you like, delicious! "In the body, most erythritol is absorbed into the bloodstream in the small intestine, and then for the most part excreted unchanged in the urine. About 10% enters the colon.[9] Erythritol does not normally cause laxative effects and gas or bloating, as are often experienced after consumption of other sugar alcohols (such as maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol, and lactitol).[10] Besides the fact that 90% is absorbed before it enters the large intestine, erythritol is also much more difficult for intestinal bacteria to digest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythritol
@Frank Sanoica Good to see you posting again. I have always been leary of artificial sweeteners. There is so much info pro and con that who knows what the real facts are. Debates over natural sweeteners still rage. I am still a fan of high mountain wildflower dark honey in very small amounts. Have you tried agave? It is too sweet for me even in small amounts, but some even diabetics swear by it. According to my nutritional doctor, the worse sugars are those that convert from starches in the body. She says her personal opinion about artificial sweeteners is that since they don't cause an increase in insulin which is a natural response to excessive sugar, they may cause other organs to function abnormally and this repeated abnormal action may lead to cancer or other health issues. Keep on researching and finding ways to get better.
@Faye Fox As I understand it, all carbs, meaning all starches just about, must be converted to sugars before the body can process them and rid itself of them. But, this provides nutrition to the body's cells: they live on sugars. And oxygen. I think the entire picture tends to be distorted by simplification by both experts and everyday folks. Frank
@Frank Sanoica That is the way I understand it and my doctor says better to get your sugar from applesauce than toast. After my cancer surgery, I had three different diet plans. I finally went to a diet specialist and she came up with a diet that blended the three diets and addressed the main issues of gaining weight back and still being kind to my digestive system. I have always drunk a lot of water and they all agreed that I needed to cut that in half. I once drank 2 gallons a day summer and 1 gal a day winter and 20 years ago after retiring from hard labor jobs and being put on 5 meals a day, I was washing away too many nutrients. As we age knowing what changes we must make can really become overwhelming. Do they have you drinking more or less water?
@Faye Fox MUCH less water; all liquids. 3 liters MAX per day. Had my first dialysis today outside hosp., locally, 11AM to 5PM; beat. Talk more later. Frank
Frank, when my mother was on dialysis she was also restricted on how much fluid she could drink as well as which foods to avoid. She found that small hard candies or gum were very helpful in helping with "dry mouth." She was on a 4-day a week schedule of dialysis for 5 long years; it was extremely wearing on her. She was always cold since the machine was removing warm blood, filtering, and then returning cooled blood to her body. Are you bothered by cold?
@Beth Gallagher Very cold, plus the premises are kept cold, ~ 60 degrees I'm guessing. In hospital, wearing only gown, they delivered me to the dialysis area room bed and all, with blankets; not bad. Forget to bring blanket yesterday to my first encounter at dialysis center, very uncomfortable, plus they ran 4 hours; was ready for 3. Tomorrow I go back. Could be called a helluva way to begin winding up one's lifetime............. Bitter? On and off. Choice? little. Never "suffered" well"........ Frank
I'm very sorry that you have to go through this, Frank. I saw first-hand how difficult it was for my mother. I doubt you will forget your blanket again! Does your doctor believe your kidneys will revive or does he speculate? We all wish you the best possible outcome. I don't blame you for feeling bitter; I suppose that goes with the territory. Keep your chin up, kid.
I have a little research question for you @Frank Sanoica. I know you were or are having a lot of joint pain. Could your kidney problem be related to that? Just off the top of my head, there are quite a few maladies which are related to the body’s inability to dispose of uric acid so I was thinking that maybe it might be one of the culprits associated with your joint pain. It’s possible that you’ve already approached the subject but I really can’t recall where that might be. Any thoughts?
@Bobby Cole Sure. But not definitely established. In the early 2000s, in MO, I experienced excruciating pain in my left foot big toe joint when walking. Asked Dr., little result, no meds. Uric acid? Maybe. Kept pushing it, walking, sometimes very slowly. It took several years, but resolved itself, with the result the toe is now skewed outwards, with a typical "bunion" protruding.......no pain at all. Other foot gradually did the same thing later, now, no pain either. Ankles, knees, hips, back, no pain at all, ever. Neck, right side, pain prevents turning head very far. Shoulder pain prevents upraised arms, elbows good, wrists wracked by CPS constantly, finger joints painful but not greatly twisted or anything. My GUESS, not uric-acid related, rather osteoarthritis, no Dr confirmation. Frank