Dear LPG,

People do all sorts of things to bring in the new year and for some people, me included, the memory of that midnight-crossover moment from one year to the next, and this year; indeed, one decade to the next, leaves a memory print on the mind.  Those all-important midnight chimes greet some people tucked up in bed, others in front of the telly with, or without, a glass of something fortifying, less and less of us older ones on the banks of the Thames watching the fireworks, many at a midnight watch the night church service, while others attend a family party or some other gathering but this year I spent it on the move in the dark because of a technicality.  I was trying to make a journey, and still in the taxi on the way from a friend’s house to my daughters.  Basically I left the one venue too late and missed spending the big moment with anyone significant. 

But every loss comes with a gain and, while I was in that taxi, I found your website and read the news post on the day that ended 2019, which got me thinking about trying to give up sugar (►►►).    However, having read and tried the first of BH’s habit-kicking suggestions, it only took me a week to work out that the addiction was going to take me a lot more than ten days to break.

Now that I have done a bit of research on the subject I have worked out that I am not that fat, I don’t drink pop, I think that I don’t drink that much tea or coffee (though I like them both really sweet when I do) and I don’t have blood sugar issues (yet); which are all things that work in my favour; but I do have a very sweet tooth.  This being the case the only way forward has to be substitution, but that left me wondering about just how healthy artificial sweeteners are for you.

I did take a look at what the world wide web has to say and, even though I don’t really think that they have made their minds up, the overall advice is favourable, although for me there is another problem.    So I have learned that the brand is not the most important aspect of choosing which one is best to use, we all need to turn the packets over and focus in on the ingredients although that information needs to be balanced with the reaction of my palate.

I have taken my own advice and I have quite a collection of the different brands available but, the verdict of my taste buds since being let loose on them, is that they only get things so sweet before the effect is lost altogether for me.  I even tried online hypnosis to no avail.

I am wondering if there are any other overly sweet-toothed readers who have found that sugar substitutes are just not sweet enough? 

BC, Crofton Park

Just in case any readers feel the need to check, BC left some of the web pages that were the focus of this little study on how good or bad sugar substitutes are for us…

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… and just in case you think that online hypnosis is for you, BC also shared this video…

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