Mornin' Lanie,
Actually did a lot of research on the stuff a couple years ago (when first diagnosed), when we were thinking about
a business that would include their distribution. Long story short... from research as well as personal experience, I don't go near them with a ten foot pole. I'm afraid I could never advocate their use.
I'm all about
the "natural" way of eating (i.e. non-processed), and the whole chemical make-up of most of the 'fake' sugar just grates against that logic. The bloating, gassy, 'intestinal' side effects alone just don't make it worth it either
I use <1/4 tsp of cane/normal sugar once a day in my coffee. Most my 'sugar' comes from fructose (fruit) or lactose (milk) and some of it comes from the sugar in my daily slice of bread and of course, whatever is in the veggies I eat. I eat chocolate every few days, too, but it's always the 'good stuff' (the super-dark-made-with-few-and-quality-ingredients type), and never more than a couple squares (2 grams carbs each square).
I find counting carbs much more predictable with natural-source sugar, too. Just my experience
Cheers,
Kris