Is Splenda going to kill me?

No, I don't actually think I'm going to die from using Splenda... at least not automatically. But a recent inventory of my fridge found that almost all of my beverages and "pseudo-cheat" desserts contain this semi-questionable product. I've even found that many lowered-calorie fruit juices are incorporating the substance into their ingredients.

Since I have a tough time limiting my food intake, I substitute with beverages and normally drink per day: 2 cups coffee with Splenda; 60-80 ounces water; 24-36 ounces diet soda. Should I be excessively worried about the chemicals I'm putting into my body?

it made me bloat and have an upset stomach. it's definitely something i stay away from.

Yeah, Splenda (and other sweetners) aren't good for me.  They make me binge.

Hello,

   I've been wondering the same thing and though I don't have any obvious side effects from it like the upset stomach, bloating, etc.  Personally I think it is better for me to get my weight in line and take the extra pounds & inches off middle for the health of my heart and then work on getting back to limited sugars and eliminating artifical sweetners.

   If we don't use these "crutches" how do we loose the weight?

Patsu

I drink a little bit of diet cola (which actually uses Splenda) every day but I do drink water three or four times more often than Diet Coke. That seems like a decent balance to me. It's all about balance! And if you really like artificially sweetened beverages and they are helping you keep your cals down for the day, then you probably shouldn't completely ban them from your diet. 

I like to drink coffee sweetened with soy milk.  I rarely have the artificial sweeteners these days.  I don't think they're necessarily so bad for you, unless you're one of the people who does have a reaction, so much as they're not really good for you.

Splenda gave me stomach cramps.  I stick to sugar, which I don't put in anything but my coffee and only 1 cup in the morning.

I think artificial sweeteners are unhealthy if consumed too often.  But that goes for most things in life!

Wikipedia sums up the sugar substitute debate quite nice, IMHO.  If you want to look over the evidence and make your own decision based on that, then check out this link:

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

I was actually really impressed and glad I read it.  I'm going to probably cut aspartame after reading that article.  Splenda, however, will remain in my diet.  :)

Original Post by shimmercat:

Wikipedia sums up the sugar substitute debate quite nice, IMHO. If you want to look over the evidence and make your own decision based on that, then check out this link:

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

I was actually really impressed and glad I read it. I'm going to probably cut aspartame after reading that article. Splenda, however, will remain in my diet. :)

Sucralose is a chlorinated sugar that is about 600 times as sweet as sugar. It is produced from sucrose when three chlorine atoms replace three hydroxyl groups.

that being said. you do absorb some of the calories from sucralose. there are calories in splenda but it's just so sweet that you don't have to use very much and so you get very minimal calories from the same amount of sweetness.

It doesn't seem healthy to absorb something that has replaced some hydrogen atoms with chlorine atoms.

maybe it is safe but i don't mess with it. in my opinion we really don't have enough testing on new foods before they are approved for use in food products. we have no idea what the long term effects will be of consuming these strange altered foods. i want to stick with what is natural.

Vitamin B1 has 2 molecules of chlorine in it.  Another chlorine-containing substance that is essential to keep you alive is SALT (NaCl).

Just because something is dangerous in its elemental form doesn't mean that it is not completely safe (or even essential for life) when combined with other elements.

My doc made me stop using splenda yesterday. It was making me bloat and burp and look prego. She said it's because it IS a sugar, it just isn't absorbed by the body, so it sits in your gut where it rots, producing gas.

Try to stay away from Splenda

If want a light juice, just pore 100% juice into your cup partually and add water to the rest, you will get used to it, and sometimes not even notice a difference.   Try a fizzy water and a spritz lemon or tea instead of soda.  Use a LITTLE honey in your coffee ( honey is sweeter than sugar, so you can use less). 

 

crystal light ftw : )

A friend of mine works for the state health department and told me aspartame (and some other sweetners) has been shown to be less-than-good for you but that the use of splenda is harmless.

A friend of mine works for the state health department and told me aspartame (and some other sweetners) has been shown to be less-than-good for you but that the use of splenda is harmless. I think this is because other sweeteners do stay in your body but splenda passes right through.

My husband's doctor has just recommended that he switch from Sweet n Low to Splenda. 

I stopped using Splenda the first of the year, along with high fructose corn syrup, and partially hydrogenated fats, and I also STOPPED binging. I've found when I eat foods that are actually food, not artifical anything, I get full faster and I do not ever have the craving to binge. It was a weird revelation, but I'm very glad for it. I also read UltraMetabolism in which the author explains that fat is a reservoir for things our bodies cannot metabolize. So to keep from harming us by trying to pass it through our systems, our bodies lay toxic chemicals down in our fat. Who knew? I've always heard that fat is an inert way to store extra calories. NOT SO. When we go to lose weight these toxins are released once again and our systems stop releasing fat because they can't metabolize the toxins released in it. This is the reason why drinking a lot of water is so essential in continued weight loss, it dilutes the toxins released from the fat.

I drink brown sugar in my coffee in the mornings, it's delicious and my body knows exactly what to do with it.

I bought a box of splenda no-calorie and i drink diet soda, etc but I was starting to put the splenda on EVERYTHING from popcorn to cereal to EGGS so i finsihed the box and wont buy another but i'll still drink diet pops

your sweet tooth might kill you before splenda does.

I have what verges on a phobia about artificial ingredients.  I don't believe all the dire stories about their dangers, but why eat or drink a chemical when you can have the real thing?

I used to put 5 teaspoons of sugar in my coffee.  When I decided that it was too much, I gradually reduced the amount to nothing.  I did the same with breakfast cereal and anything else you add sugar to.  Now things taste too sweet.  So instead of substituting a chemical, I just changed my taste buds.

Did the same with sodium too.

You can do this!

Hi there!  Just to let everyone know, while Splenda is the lesser of sweetner evils out there, what you should be using instead of that (where possible) is "Stevia".

 It is completely natural derived from a plant.  You can buy it at Wal-Marts in the pharmacy section where the vitamins are.  Always look for the stevia that does not contain anything other than stevia (some have alcohol - but not usually the one at Wal-Mart).

I don't use anything but now. I don't bake, but you could use it for that if you do. You also use a lot less of this because it is so potent.  I use 2 drops in my coffee, and that is equivalent to one packet of Splenda.  It comes in liquid and packet form - I buy both. I use the liquid at home and have the packets for travelling.

If anyone has any questions about it, let me know - I'm not an expert, but I do use it!