No major knee joint pain now it was getting serious back in May messed with my Turkey hunting at the end. Had this issue before but I was drinking several 20oz diet cokes a day back then and went to sugared pops. Now that sugar is out I tried one 12oz pop a day but after a while the joint pain started all over even with drinking way less.

The Nevia pop is not bad over ice it’s too sweet just straight out of the can coffee and ice water still in the mix daily.

I like unsweetened ice tea, water, and coffee. Once in a blue moon I have a diet pepsi. Sometimes after work I sip about 1/4 cup of bourbon with ice. Used to drink a lot of beer. Drink 6-8 a year now though couple months ago I drank two at a street dance.

What I've read about Aspartame, none would be about how much you should drink. That stuff is linked to all sorts of maladies.
There are much better options than that, such as Stevia.

Sugar feeds cancer and the substitutes they offer are worse.

with no sugar I keep it to coffee , unsweetened tea, water and Miller Lite.

drinking no pop I do drink more beer

It's no fun that many things that taste really good are so bad for us.

Coffee, water, decaf tea, beer, wine, champagne. My body won't let me drink pop.

Don’t rally care where one is on this spectrum but to me that statement sounds al lot like the definiinition of sin.

No more honey on my oatmeal stevia

I will drink sun tea with mint leaves plain, no sweetener at all.

This true but it only takes a Minute amount of either to feed cancer cells so good luck totally eliminating it. More doesn't grow it faster. My buddy lives in the interior of Alaska. He might have a chance. About everyone else really doesn't unless you kill and grow literally everything you eat.

I went without sweetener for a couple weeks and noticed zero difference. I know it really affects some people in a big way, though. Had a friend who used to get headaches all the time. Quite the aspartame and it went away totally.

I switched to stevia too. I put it in my hibiscus tea which I drink to lower my BP. I never use sugar.
Aspartame is banned in some countries. Maybe they know something we don't.

I think Stevia is in direct competition to the other big name sugar substitutes that have long term contracts with many companies. More and more drinks and foods are slowly using it in their products. The only hit piece I’ve seen about anything bad was a study that pointed to the sugar alcohols that’s used to make it look like sugar crystals. That same type of sugar alcohols are added to many types of sweeteners. Liquid Stevia does not use the sugar alcohols in it so that’s why it was a hit piece.

A few years from now they will state that sugar is actually better for you.

aspartame and/or sucralose (splenda) are in virtually all 'diet' drinks . . liquid poison

Sun tea and lemon , no sweetener

How long ago was a great number of pop drinkers switching over? It will be the same with all the new stuff. Down the road they will figure out is is bad for you. Don't drink pop is the easy way out.

I use Erythritol. Its fermented corn sugar. Nothing unnatural about it. Looks and tastes almost the same as sugar.
They did a hit piece on it recently, but it was all unfounded and not true.

Some sweeteners can act like sugar in the body and raise blood sugar.

I would eat sugar/honey before some of the chemical sweeteners.

If you want something sweet, bargain with yourself, dont eat any carbs and have a pop or donut or whatever. Just make it the only carbs of the day.

Stevia is the only sweetener I've used for years. In my coffee, iced tea, oatmeal,etc. The wife uses it as a substitute for sugar in baked goods.

I suspect we have known all along the dangers of aspartame. The food industry is a powerful lobby.

I knew aspartame had a negative impact on my joints I just did not realize how little it took to cause me so much grief. I’ve found several alternatives to sugar and aspartame that are tasty options.

YouTube has a lot of sweetener comparisons to help figure out what’s right for you and how it impacts your sugar levels.