Splenda

Okay....so, I love tea, but I like it sweet, I actually can't stand hot tea without it being sweet...same goes for coffee...

What I need to know is, Splenda, is it okay to have to sweeten your drink without the calories.  I heard it was actually bad for you and it will kind of stop your weight loss because it has an ingredient in it similar to what is in a tire or the bottom of your shoe.  I'm not sure if this is accurate.  But if it is, I guess I need to find something else to drink. :( If it isn't!!! YAY.  YOur advice and knowledge would be greatly appreciated.

(that is if you could make sense of what I was trying to ask up in that gobbly goup of a post.... :S...)

Splenda actually contains something called maltodextrin which can cause some people go to the bathroom more (#2). As far as people not losing weight from it I have never really heard that. I have lost weight and I use it in coffee, tea and I drink the Diet coke with Splenda.  The other ingredients in it is dextrose and sucralose. Hope this is helpful.

Original Post by marsheroyth:

Okay....so, I love tea, but I like it sweet, I actually can't stand hot tea without it being sweet...same goes for coffee...

What I need to know is, Splenda, is it okay to have to sweeten your drink without the calories.  I heard it was actually bad for you and it will kind of stop your weight loss because it has an ingredient in it similar to what is in a tire or the bottom of your shoe.  I'm not sure if this is accurate. 

Some studies indicate that Splenda & other artificial sweeteners can stimulate your appetite so you eat more. Your body senses something sweet and it can't distinguish between a zero calorie sweetener or real sugar.

While it hasn't been definitively determined if Splenda is bad for you but in my opinion, if it was created in a lab, it doesn't belong in your body.

While it hasn't been definitively determined if Splenda is bad for you but in my opinion, if it was created in a lab, it doesn't belong in your body.

I am SO glad someone else thinks this. I cannot BELIEVE how often I see people on this website, a health website, defending splenda. It is made of chemicals that its consumers know nothing about, and they eat it without question. There's no sense in trying to get healthy if you're just going to put things into your body without asking what it is first.

I am 100% against Splenda, or anything containing sucralose. They have done positive studies on it I'm sure, but there are also MANY studies of sucralose which are connected with cancer and many types of disease. 

Why not try Stevia instead? A 100% natural low-calorie sweetener! From a plant! The Earth is a source you can definitely trust.  

http://www.stevia.com/SteviaArticle.asp?Id=22 69 

I used to use Splenda, and still do, but rarely. I've started using Truvia and haven't missed the splenda at all - but if you do make the switch, be warned that it might take a few tries to get the amount of sweetener that's right for you in your items - stevia is sweeter than splenda, IMO.

Original Post by folkharpist:

While it hasn't been definitively determined if Splenda is bad for you but in my opinion, if it was created in a lab, it doesn't belong in your body.

I am SO glad someone else thinks this. I cannot BELIEVE how often I see people on this website, a health website, defending splenda. It is made of chemicals that its consumers know nothing about, and they eat it without question. There's no sense in trying to get healthy if you're just going to put things into your body without asking what it is first.

I am 100% against Splenda, or anything containing sucralose. They have done positive studies on it I'm sure, but there are also MANY studies of sucralose which are connected with cancer and many types of disease. 

Please provide links to these studies linking Splenda to cancer or other health issues.  The only definitive studies against sucralose were the ones cellophanestar listed indicating that it can serve as an appetite stimulant in some.  And, like with any product, there will always be some who are allergic to it and have to avoid it for that reason.

The sugar industry is pouring a lot of money into discrediting sucralose because it's starting to lose money to it.  All the anti-sucralose links people have provided so far have stemmed back to the sugar industry misrepresenting information in order to scare people away from the competition.  Suffice it to say, the low-carb craze was not a good thing for the sugar industry and it's fighting tooth and nail to get its market share back. 

I'm not saying you should use artificial sweeteners.  If you're not comfortable with them and like the alternatives then there's no reason you would use them. 

 From a plant! The Earth is a source you can definitely trust.  

Yes, because no poisonous or harmful substances have EVER derived from plants. Ever. The earth only EVER grows things that humans can eat because nature's sole reason for existing is pampering us humans.

It all makes perfect sense now. Somebody pass the Deadly Nightshade, please! Mmmm...

"[...] if it was created in a lab, it doesn't belong in your body."

I hope you realize how ridiculous a blanket-statement like that is before you find yourself in a medical emergency with doctors attempting to give you medicine.

Original Post by yummy_kitty:
"[...] if it was created in a lab, it doesn't belong in your body."

I hope you realize how ridiculous a blanket-statement like that is before you find yourself in a medical emergency with doctors attempting to give you medicine.

 Totally agree Kitty, too general a statement.

Unless you're following some new super organic raw food diet (as in, you grow your own stuff and you know whats going ino them)you've got more chemicals in you that a couple hundred grams of splenda could possible have. Colourants, Emulsifiers, Thickeners, Preservatives...all those are made in labs and they're all in the foods you eat. Even table sugar is processed...where? In A LAB!

I knew I'd get attacked for bashing Splenda. It's become so popular by now that people swear by it.

I try and avoid processed foods as much as possible... I think they are as bad for you as Splenda. But just because I may happen to eat them in other things, it still doesn't make sucralose good for you. Do I have to be the shining example of health to state my opinion?

And of course I didn't mean eat EVERYTHING from the Earth, you know that I meant edible nutritious plants, come on.

Original Post by yummy_kitty:

"[...] if it was created in a lab, it doesn't belong in your body."

I hope you realize how ridiculous a blanket-statement like that is before you find yourself in a medical emergency with doctors attempting to give you medicine.

It was definitely a blanket statement, but it was in reference to solely to food, not drugs. I believe in a whole food/real food way of life, not consuming foods created by "food scientists". I'm definitely not a farmer who grows all their own foods but I really believe that artificial sweeteners give people the false impression of how "guilt-free" they are. People think it's ok to consume them just because they have zero calories. Artificial sweeteners totally altered my perception of sweetness. When I gave them up in favour of natural sweeteners, I was surprised how much sugar I had to put in my coffee to equal the sweetness of Splenda.

Original Post by oliviak88:

Unless you're following some new super organic raw food diet (as in, you grow your own stuff and you know whats going ino them)you've got more chemicals in you that a couple hundred grams of splenda could possible have. Colourants, Emulsifiers, Thickeners, Preservatives...all those are made in labs and they're all in the foods you eat. Even table sugar is processed...where? In A LAB!

 

Consumption of those "Colourants, Emulsifiers, Thickeners, Preservatives" can be minimized or avoided if you follow a whole foods diet & avoid packaged/processed foods.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucralose; ;

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.c om/Maltodextrose

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dextrin

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?a rticlekey=7040

Hope this helps everyone.

BTW are you all angry or am I just misreading your posts?

Listen up, people. 

Never ever EVER use Splenda regularly if you can help it.

Aspartame has 52 known side effects, and sucralose can't be far behind. 

Please, weight loss is not worth using a known carcinogen over.

Peace.

Oh, and I have the proof for you skeptics (it's all right, I won't bash any of you for data you don't know about)

A lot of the controversy surrounding sucralose stems from the fact that it was discovered while trying to create a new insecticide. The claim that it is made from sugar is a misconception about the final product. According to the book Sweet Deception, sucralose is made when sugar is treated with trityl chloride, acetic anhydride, hydrogen chlorine, thionyl chloride, and methanol in the presence of dimethylformamide, 4-methylmorpholine, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, acetic acid, benzyltriethlyammonium chloride, and sodium methoxide, making it unlike anything found in nature. The Splenda Web site even states that "although sucralose has a structure like sugar and a sugar-like taste, it is not natural." The product Splenda is also not actually calorie-free. Sucralose does have calories, but because it is 600 times sweeter than sugar, very small amounts are needed to achieve the desired sweetness. The first two ingredients in Splenda are dextrose and maltodextrin, which are used to increase bulk and are carbohydrates that are not free of calories. One cup of Splenda contains 96 calories and 32 grams of carbohydrates, which is substantial for people with diabetes but unnoticed due to the label claiming that it's a no calorie sweetener.

The presence of chlorine is thought to be the most dangerous component of sucralose. Chlorine is considered a carcinogen and has been used in poisonous gas, disinfectants, pesticides, and plastics. The digestion and absorption of sucralose is not clear due to a lack of long-term studies on humans. The majority of studies were done on animals for short lengths of time. The alleged symptoms associated with sucralose are gastrointestinal problems (bloating, gas, diarrhea, nausea), skin irritations (rash, hives, redness, itching, swelling), wheezing, cough, runny nose, chest pains, palpitations, anxiety, anger, moods swings, depression, and itchy eyes. The only way to be sure of the safety of sucralose is to have long-term studies on humans done.

Taken from http://www.medicinenet.com/artificial_sweeten ers/page9.htm, a decidedly NOT sugar-supporting website.

Original Post by bjabert:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucralose; ;

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.c om/Maltodextrose

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dextrin

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?a rticlekey=7040

Hope this helps everyone.

BTW are you all angry or am I just misreading your posts?

 the only thing i want to point out is that wikipedia is NOT a good source of getting factual information. Its posts can be edited by members. Its sort of "self policed" site for info.

And I have a friend who used to use Splenda ALL the time, she developed the symptoms of Multiple Sclorosis...the dr suggested she stop using it to see if that was the problem...since all her MS tests came back negative. Lo and behold 2 weeks later, no symptoms and has never had any since ( this was 4 years ago)

Artificial sweetners effect people in different ways but personally I avoid them. No wonder people get cancer all the time, with the age of technology and after the industrial revolution people started eating things they didnt know where from. insteresting huh?

http://www.medicinenet.com/artificial_sweeten ers/page9.htm

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.c om/dextrin

I'm not saying it is good or bad for you. I think like anything you put in your body everyone's body reacts different to different foods. Like the friend wiht MS symptoms my friend had the same sort of reaction to another food. I'm allergic to aspartame therefore I use Splenda and sometimes Stevia. I've no problems what-so-ever.

Ah, finally some sense! Glad to find I'm not alone.

Original Post by smrox:

Chlorine is considered a carcinogen and has been used in poisonous gas, disinfectants, pesticides, and plastics. 

It's also present in table salt.  I'm not saying it's innocuous, but the presence of chlorine does not automatically make something poison.

Like bjabert posted, everyone's body reacts differently to different substances and foods.  If a person is allergic or sensitive to artificial sweeteners, they should avoid them.

All I will say is that ever since I started using Splenda, I got terrible headaches.  There are sites about this all over.  Some people are more sensitive than others.

I did MRIs, CT Scans, you name it!  And at the end, the culprit was Splenda and artificial sweetners.

Mary

Original Post by bjabert:

BTW are you all angry or am I just misreading your posts?

I'm not angry at all.  Just curious.  I'm a scientist by trade, so I'm always looking to find good scientific studies about the topics that interest me.