How much artificial sweetener is too much for a diabetic?

You are absolutely right. Too much splenda will give you diarrhea. Actually, he might like the Stevia packets from puritan's pride. I use one packet to replace a CUP of sugar. The stevia in the grocery store is very weak in comparison. Stevia also helps increase insulin sensitivity, so be careful not to trigger hypoglycemia. Talk to the MD about stevia.

pamstegma is absolutely correct. She left one thing out though, what is causing this. Stevia is great, I use it as a pancreatic cancer survivor. Remember, certain drugs can cause loss of taste, olfactory (loss of smell) problems can cause it, and a low salt diet can complicate it. Check with a specialist, not a general practitioner,about this. A good ENT is what you need. Stevia is truly natural and several packets won't hurt him a bit. Find a true salt substitute, not the strange spice mixture that is Dash. I use a low sodium salt, 50% less that regular salt. The difference is made up of potassium chloride. Remember salt is even used in desserts to increase the sweetness registered by the tastebuds. Good luck. It is never easy.

YouTube Sweet Misery....a documentary on aspartame.

Definitely use Stevia of Xilitol. All the others are not natural and are really bad for you. Throw out a lll of your Splenda, Aspartame (Equal) and Sacherine. Sorry can't spell that one. All are bad for you except for Stevia, Truvia.

Be aware mass produced sweeteners like Truvia are controversial at best, being highly processed and containing very little actual stevia. If you want to avoid all that you will probably need to get the real thing at a health food store.

I am no way an expert but I believe in using the real thing, even for diabetics just use in moderation, watch carbs, etc. I am sure it is very hard, my mother is diabetic and I know she is eating some candy bars. I know they need a treat now and then, but I guess basically we ALL need to watch how much sugar we eat.

My late mother NEVER used artificial sweeteners because she claimed they were cancer causing agents. I don't care for Stevia for its plant-like taste, which it is. Could or would this individual like raw sugar?

A friend passed this one along to me- for the taking of the keys and driving issue. You tell your parent that you will sorry and miss them if they have an accident and get hurt or die, but that you can not in good conscience let them drive and hurt anybody else- especially a child. Of course it's been seven years since "I made my mother stop driving and sold her car". That would be the woman who can't see out of one eye and the one I get large print books for weekly from the library for ten years. That car would be the one I was keeping up the maintenance, paperwork and trying to drive every two weeks. The other helpful bit, is when the "I won't be here much longer" gets played is to say "fine, since you know when you are going to go, tell me and I'll pencil it on my schedule" and/or reminding them having lived X years and the IRS says they will live to X+more and you believe the IRS because the government wants the money. After so many years dealing with my mom, I am down to cribbing the social workers "you are free to make unwise and foolish choices" with my version- I will not be the one to take you to the emergency room, again or visit you in rehab. I am done. My brother (ha- and she knows it) will have to do it. I currently count 3 friends whose equally stubborn mothers crashed and lay on the floor from several to 56 hours, because they were not wearing or did not push the lifeline buttons. I'm so burned out from dealing with what she won't, I am the one who won't now. It frustrates me no end that senior facilities can use the "activities of daily living" scale to charge more but we can't make laws that invoke a safety removal for people with age related dementia who can no longer perform ADL's on their own. Little Old Lady syndrome, a not so LOL for mostly daughters, has refusal to move to safe choices as one of its key symptoms. Still, I agree that being positive and cheerful redirection keeps the agitation/resistance down but it gets harder and harder to do. At some point, you also have to acknowledge you have no control over what is going to happen-the crash and burn- but you can still pull down your own oxygen mask so to speak, once you have done what you can and told all possible responsible parties what's coming. It's insane but there is no sensible planning from within our communities to deal with the elderly, like you did not pass the stay at home test and so you either get in-home help or move to a facility. I can at least have a sensible plan for myself.

If you want to know the truth about artificial sweeteners, watch the movie ellelenn recommended: "Sweet Misery." Just because the FDA approves something doesn't mean it is fit for human consumption. The government alphabet agencies are notorious for doing what is best for the corporate bottom line, not for us.

Often the very things we crave are the most damaging because we have become addicted to them. We cease to get relief or satisfaction, and thus the craving for more and more, like nicotine or alcohol. It sounds like your partner is addicted not so much to the sweetness, but has developed a dependency on the chemical compounds in artificial sweeteners.

If he is not suffering from dementia perhaps you could reason with him about the damage done by such substances and seek an alternative. I'm not conversant with natural sweeteners that diabetics are able to use, but there must be a wealth of information on the Internet. Long ago they used to tout tupelo honey, but I don't know if that is still considered safe for diabetics.

Regardless of what you use---and this goes for non-diabetics as well---human beings were never meant to consume the amount of sugar that is part of the typical modern diet.

It is also good to remember that xilitol is deadly to dogs. Lots of us have a 4 legged child running around, also.