Sugar Free Deserts - What do they use?

[Langley Cruisers]

Moderation is our friend.....

 

Yes, agreed that it is but - I guess I'll make this personally about me so I don't offend - I would never forego carbs at lunch (I try to eat 20 - 30 carbs per meal) just so I could eat 100 carbs for dinner and dessert. That causes blood sugar spikes and weight gain, and is not about moderation at all, is it?

 

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[avalon007]

You are using Mercola as the bellwether of good health? The man's a quack and is just trying to sell dietary supplements that he markets as "natural" and makes all sorts of false claims about anything that isn't sold on his site.

 

Mercola has been the subject of criticism from the business, medical and scientific communities. A 2006 BusinessWeek editorial criticized Mercola's marketing practices as "relying on slick promotion, clever use of information, and scare tactics." In 2005, 2006, and 2011 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Mercola and his company to stop making illegal claims regarding his products' ability to detect, prevent and treat disease. The medical watchdog site Quackwatch has criticized Mercola for making "unsubstantiated claims and clash with those of leading medical and public health organizations [and making] many unsubstantiated recommendations for dietary supplements."

 

In the end food is food. 3500 calories = 1# and it doesn't matter if it comes from an egg, a chocolate bar, or a 3 course meal at Chops...

 

Of course fresh food is best and there should be a balance of carbs, protein, and fat.

 

As long a you take in less than you use you won't gain weight...

 

 

Hi,

 

I just googled some quick references to point people to some different discussions on the problems with artificial sweeteners, I don't support any of them, it's up to the individual to do their own research.

So sorry if the Mercola reference got your blood boiling but you miss the point, artificial sweeters are bad news just as high fructose corn syrup is which permeates the American diet. :)

 

The rest of world looks at American health bodies like the food & drug administration & finds the whole system a joke so quoting them isn't influental to anyone outside of the US.

 

 

But I do believe more importantly that your statement about it doesn't matter were food calories come from is totally wrong sorry.

 

 

The US government subsidises the growing of corn even when it it at a loss because the corn is used in so much of what you eat. Corn fed beef, for example is higher in fats & the types of fats in the beef are not as healthy as those in grass fed beef, plus grain fed beef is higher in calories than grass fed for the same weight of meat.

 

But high fructose corn syrup is nasty & it is included in many of the foods that you may think are Ok to consume if you only take into account the calories.

(Just a link for those who want to start researching it, not recommending the source in particular ;))

 

 

Food is definately not food.

 

The way our bodies process food depends a lot on what is in the food, some foods help our body lay down fat deposits, others help it remove fats etc. based on how they affect your bodies insulin sensitivity.

 

Also the nutrient value of food is important, if you eat foods lacking in vital macro nutrients, vitamins, minerals etc then you will still feel hungry as your body is still craving what it needs.

 

This leads to overeating & weight gain.

 

We need fibre in our diet to help reduce the risks of bowel cancer for one, yet highly processed foods have little fibre.

 

I'm not some greeny new age sort of person, just an everyday Australian & I practice what I preach & am still a healthy weight, normal blood pressure etc in later middle age & the same dress size I was in my 20's.

Despite having a job where I sit down to work.

 

Sure I eat deserts, chocolates etc at times, but I avoid eating a weekly+ Johnny Rockets or McDonalds, daily diet sodas or sodas of any kind, I don't smoke, I drink mostly water & eat a variety of fresh & many home grown vegetables/fruits daily, combined with high fibre rye bread, black/brown rice, natural yoghurt, raw unsalted nuts & lean protein cooked in a healthy way (no deep frying for example).

 

I'm not an exercise junky but do some regular light exercise most days.

 

You may think that calories from bad foods are Ok if you don't eat so many that you put on any weight, but the other long term health issues you will end up with can be worse than being overweight.

 

Taking the over simplified calories in versus calories burnt attitude is not seeing the big & vitally important picture in my opinion.:)

[temple1]

I know you are just having fun regards the cheeseburger line- although the cheeseburgers etc are a huge problem, but saying diet coke isn't the problem is actually unintentionally dismissing one of the biggest health problems out there - artificial sweetners.

 

Anyone eating products with artificial sweetners should stop - immediately - as they are proven to not only create weight gain but damage your body in so many ways that it's quite horrific.

 

Those with diabetes, especially the type 2 that is in many cases a product of poor eating for what can be decades, resulting in obesity, in most cases can actually be worse off using artificial sweetners.

 

Replace diet soda with water & you will lose weight. I know drinking water is dull for many people people, but being dead from obesity related disease is actually a lot duller!

 

Here are some links for those interested:

 

Dr Oz series of videos about artificial sweetners

 

Truth about Apartame

 

Artificial Sweetners cause weight gain

 

Thank god I have never been one to eat diet foods with artificial sweetners even though I have a sweet tooth, & maybe consequently that is part of why I am in a healthy weight range?

 

We have to see the correlation with diet, the rise of artificial sweetners and the increase in obecity & it's related diseases in the last 40 years.

 

Sorry to be negative but life is precious & if one person reads this & realises what they are doing to themselves & changes, then that's a big positive.:)

 

Oh spare us the lectures. I can assure you that the one or two diet soft drinks I consume in a week has nothing to do with my current weight. And no, I was only half joking about the cheeseburger. :rolleyes:

 

People want to blame everything and everyone about their weight. I am old enough to remember the days when being over weight was because of an underactive thyroid.

 

 

I have had type 1 diabetes since I was 13 and generally don't eat desserts at all. Since starting cruising I have been eating sugar free dessert every night at dinner but I have found after the 4th night I start to get bad stomach cramps :eek: and then I have to stop the desserts. Its a pity they couldn't use an artificial sweetner that wouldn't cause that to happen

 

Carol

 

Carol, Read info on Splenda. I think that is the sweetener used in most sugar free deserts these days and it can cause quite a few gastrointestinal problems.

[orville99]

It's also commonly used to describe a "no sugar added" product. For example, if the "sugar free" key lime pie has any real lime juice in it, it contains sugar. That sugar free coconut cake has sugar in it if it has coconut in it, and if that sugar free peanut butter cookie has ever come close to a peanut - it has sugar in it as well. By the way, in each case, the sugar that's in each of these "sugar free" desserts is Fructose:eek:

[Paul65]

By the way, in each case, the sugar that's in each of these "sugar free" desserts is Fructose:eek:

 

Wrong. The natural sugars in coconut an peanuts are primarily sucrose with very little free fructose. Lime juice doesn't have much sugar in it (which is why it's not very sweet), but the sugars that are in there are roughly 50:50 glucose and fructose.

[avalon007]

Oh spare us the lectures. I can assure you that the one or two diet soft drinks I consume in a week has nothing to do with my current weight. And no, I was only half joking about the cheeseburger. :rolleyes:

 

People want to blame everything and everyone about their weight. I am old enough to remember the days when being over weight was because of an underactive thyroid.

 

 

Sorry you feel that way. Even if you don't drink much soda or diet soda a lot of people do & it may be useful for someone to read this thread.

 

Of course diet foods are not the only contributing factor to obesity, but I was trying to point out that your comments made light of the fact diet foods are part of the problem for many, for many reasons - not just weight gain.

 

As you may know, most obese people don't have any medical condition that causes their weight gain & many of them turn to artificially sweetened diet foods to try & lose weight, unaware of the negative factors.

 

It's amazing to me how many people like to poo hoo anyone trying to help others.

 

If I was some obese person sitting here saying I knew this or that about weight gain whilst I was eating processed food & drinking sugar laden or diet drinks then fair enough, but I practice what I preach so maybe some of what I've got to share makes sense?:rolleyes:

 

But hey, if you don't believe me maybe one of your own Doctors who is apparantly a 6X New York Times Best Selling Author on the subject of diet & health may be someone worth listening to when he says "How diet soda makes you fat" ?

 

Or maybe not? Maybe you know better about such things & would care to share your suggestions for staying trim & healthy?

[LindaAndBillTravel]

For anyone who has an interest in the topic of sugar, check out the Youtube video entitled Sugar: The Bitter Truth (

). It covers the health, historical and commercial/marketing aspects of sugar and is very well done.

[Jenna]

Spoiler Alert: Everything in the entire world seems to give you cancer. :rolleyes:

 

On a similar note, I have fibromyalgia and I heard good things about completely cutting artificial sweeteners in your diet. So I did. For two years. (Which was aggravating in the sense that the only chewing gum using real sugar is Chic-lets - which lose their flavor in about .02 seconds)

 

And guess what? Nothing happened. My pain didn't improve, I didn't have more energy, and I had to read the label of every single thing I ate.

 

So now I just eat what I want. If you spend your life worrying about every single little thing, you will die from the stress before anything else.

 

Sidenote - I'm obviously not including people that have necessary diet restrictions: i.e. diabetes, phenylketonuria, etc.

[elkie20000]

I would be interested to know this too. After many years of itchy, itchy whelts and many doctors it was determined I was allergic to aspertame.

 

I can eat sucralose so I'm constantly reading labels. I'm not diabetic and don't eat many sugarfree products..mainly soda (I'd rather not drink my calories:D). A lot of the sugarfree desserts on RCI look really good, but I avoid. It would be nice if they used a different sweetner than aspertame.

 

If anyone finds out, please post back.

 

I have a similar story. I had numbness that started in one toe and over the course of a year extended to one whole leg and one arm and sometimes part of my face. After many doctor's visits and many tests which all came back normal, my neurologist mentioned that aspartame causes all kinds of strange neurological problems and suggested I try cutting out all aspartame for 2 months (it is included in so much that I wouldn't have guessed!) and see if it went away. Within 3 weeks, the numbness was completely gone! Of course I was a little skeptical and thought it could be a coincidence so about 6 months later, I reintroduced Diet Coke to my diet and numbness returned within a week. So, I avoid all aspartame now.

 

On a previous RCCL cruise, I asked some of the workers in the Windjammer what sweetener was in their sugar-free beverage that was pre-poured in glasses (I think it was strawberry kiwi or something which I had heard it was Splenda previously but wasn't positive). The first 2 workers said they didn't know and went about their business. The next one I found told me he thought it was Splenda so I asked if he was sure because I couldn't have Aspartame and just wouldn't drink it if he wasn't positive. He immediately perked up and said 'Allergy? Do you have an allergy?'. I told him yes and he said to wait there and he'd find out. He came back with someone from the kitchen carrying the container it came in and handed it to me to read the ingredients myself. It was Splenda so I was able to enjoy it the rest of my cruise instead of just drinking water all the time. So, I think they are happy to help if they understand there is a medical reason you are asking. For my upcoming cruise, I did fill out the allergy information that I didn't previously know was an option. I wish they would just indicate it though on the little signs they have that tell you the type of dessert it is. I just avoid all sugar free desserts so that I don't have to always ask.

 

BTW, I bring a 12-pack of soda (Pepsi One) containing Splenda on board every cruise because they don't have any available on the ship.

[Paulxyz2004]

I know drinking water is dull for many people people, but being dead from obesity related disease is actually a lot duller!

 

 

Tap water is my usual drink of choice and I never drank any sodas in my entire life, they just taste yukky to me.

 

However to me being dead is not duller. I´d rather live a shorter life to the fullest opposed to just stay healthy with no fun at all, just to live longer - that´s dull to me.

[elkie20000]

On a similar note, I have fibromyalgia and I heard good things about completely cutting artificial sweeteners in your diet. So I did. For two years. (Which was aggravating in the sense that the only chewing gum using real sugar is Chic-lets - which lose their flavor in about .02 seconds)

 

I also chew Chiclets for this reason and was so frustrated that almost every single type of gum (even Juicy Fruit and Bubblicious) have aspartame. Dubble Bubble Egg Shaped Bubble Gum is out around holidays and also only contains sugar. It has the same problem of losing flavor quickly though.

 

For those that can have Splenda but not aspartame, I found that Dentyne Fire only has Splenda. That is the only one I can find around where I live though that doesn't have aspartame and is sugar free.

[orville99]

Wrong. The natural sugars in coconut an peanuts are primarily sucrose with very little free fructose. Lime juice doesn't have much sugar in it (which is why it's not very sweet), but the sugars that are in there are roughly 50:50 glucose and fructose.

 

 

Curious the logic you use to determine your position. You agree that sugar free desserts have sugar in them (I never said anything about how much), and sugar free desserts have fructose in them (which I also said). Sorry I didn't quote percentages, or include all of the other isomers of C6H12O6:rolleyes:

I didn't realize this was an organic chemistry quiz:eek:

[littlesteelo]

I would recommend emailing the RCI dining department at rcldining@rccl.com and asking them what sweetener they use. I'm sure they will be able to confirm it for you.

[BecciBoo]

I agree with Stompy entirely.

One can find articles with studies to back up almost anything they want to. I can give as many links to reputable sources that confirm the safety of most of these artificial sweetners. Dr. Mercola...not so much....

We should all do our own research and then make sensible decisions about what our bodies are telling us. Conspiracy theories are just that.....theories.

[avalon007]

Well, I guess if those that think foods & additives that independent studies by scientists around the world are saying are dangerous, are actually fine & safe for our bodies, then those people will themselves be talking from experience as they will be glowing examples of healthy fit human beings? :rolleyes:

 

All power to them if that's the case.

 

Happy healthy life to you all.

[awhcruiser]

I don't either...After losing 75lbs I know how to space out the carbs....I actually exercise quite often on cruises to keep weight gain to a minimum.

 

Yes, agreed that it is but - I guess I'll make this personally about me so I don't offend - I would never forego carbs at lunch (I try to eat 20 - 30 carbs per meal) just so I could eat 100 carbs for dinner and dessert. That causes blood sugar spikes and weight gain, and is not about moderation at all, is it?

 

.

[awhcruiser]

Like!

 

I agree with Stompy entirely.

One can find articles with studies to back up almost anything they want to. I can give as many links to reputable sources that confirm the safety of most of these artificial sweetners. Dr. Mercola...not so much....

We should all do our own research and then make sensible decisions about what our bodies are telling us. Conspiracy theories are just that.....theories.

[awhcruiser]

Yuck to plain tap water. Especially when it tastes like chlorine. But I do drink diet soda on occasion...Maybe once a month...I will drink filtered tap water with crystal light added.

 

Tap water is my usual drink of choice and I never drank any sodas in my entire life, they just taste yukky to me.

 

However to me being dead is not duller. I´d rather live a shorter life to the fullest opposed to just stay healthy with no fun at all, just to live longer - that´s dull to me.

[gold1953]

When I asked about the sugar free desserts on the Solstice in 1012 the waiter said it was aspartame. because of this I don't eat them. Don't eat splenda either. I would eat stevia. I will ask again on my next cruise . Could get a different answer?

[griffy116]

I mean no offense to anyone on this board, but over time, I've seen every dietary restriction listed and the criticism of ingredients and suggestions. I know that the chef on every cruise line is challenged to provide an array of foods that are gluten free, dairy free, sugar-free, fat free and even more. Now, in spite of meeting these requirements, the actual ingredients used are challenged as unhealthy for everyone. In all honesty, it's a cruise and they don't provide a personal chef for each guest. If you have an allergy, that's one thing and I totally understand, and agree that the ship needs to have a solution for an allergy... but it's just not possible to satisfy the personal dietary wishes of over 5,000 guests at every single meal and with every ingredient that goes into every single dish. If you are going on a cruise, you know that they aren't going to switch the ingredients to Stevia just for your dishes and that they aren't going to have a menu for 4,999 guests and one for a guest that just doesn't like those ingredients going into their body. Maybe a cruise isn't what you need to do. Maybe a land vacation where you have your own kitchen and can personally monitor all the ingredients would be better.

[dappledumpling]

Sorry you feel that way. Even if you don't drink much soda or diet soda a lot of people do & it may be useful for someone to read this thread.

 

Of course diet foods are not the only contributing factor to obesity, but I was trying to point out that your comments made light of the fact diet foods are part of the problem for many, for many reasons - not just weight gain.

 

As you may know, most obese people don't have any medical condition that causes their weight gain & many of them turn to artificially sweetened diet foods to try & lose weight, unaware of the negative factors.

 

It's amazing to me how many people like to poo hoo anyone trying to help others.

 

If I was some obese person sitting here saying I knew this or that about weight gain whilst I was eating processed food & drinking sugar laden or diet drinks then fair enough, but I practice what I preach so maybe some of what I've got to share makes sense?:rolleyes:

 

But hey, if you don't believe me maybe one of your own Doctors who is apparantly a 6X New York Times Best Selling Author on the subject of diet & health may be someone worth listening to when he says "How diet soda makes you fat" ?

 

Or maybe not? Maybe you know better about such things & would care to share your suggestions for staying trim & healthy?

 

please post the name of the medical school you attended

 

i am truthfully sick of people posting info that is questionable at best.. love the anonimity of the internet.... the demise of the american diet is multi-fold and overuse of sweetners both natural and artificials are but one cause..

 

sorry for interupting the post

 

Rick

[nolatravelgirl]

They use sand, tumbleweeds and cacti in their sugar-free deserts.

 

 

Very rude post for those of us who are conceded with question due to diabetes.

I think cirman you need to chill out. Paul65 was making fun of the fact that the OP asked what RCCL uses to make "deserts" instead of "desserts"

 

No one was making fun of your medical condition.:rolleyes:

 

 

Dessert is a typically sweet course that concludes a meal. The course usually consists of sweet foods, but may include other items.

 

A desert is a landscape or region of land that is very dry because of low rainfall amounts (precipitation), often has little coverage by plants, and in which streams dry up unless they are supplied by water from outside areas

[nb125]

Are there actually any desserts made with with good old fashioned sugar. I hate the nasty aftertaste of all artificial sweeteners and aspartame gives me palpitations.

[Langley Cruisers]

Are there actually any desserts made with with good old fashioned sugar. I hate the nasty aftertaste of all artificial sweeteners and aspartame gives me palpitations.

 

Of course - anything NOT labelled sugar-free is chock full of sugar! :D:D:D

[hellsop]

Of course - anything NOT labelled sugar-free is chock full of sugar! :D:D:D

 

Especially that addictive cheese plate!