SPLENDA, Stevia, Suclralose, ASPARTAME, Sugar Alcohol... dieter's dream or deadly ingredients?

I used to avoid fake sweeteners like the plague, but then I went through a phase where I consumed food only if it was low cal regardless of ingredients.  The book Skinny Bitch  went into great detail about the negative effects of Aspartame.  But IT'S in EVERYTHING.  Really, it's even in Fiber One Cereal.  Oh, and you know the new LITE chips.. is Olestra bad for you?

What do you think?

I had heard that olestra would give you the runs...not worth it to me.

I do have splenda in my fiber one bars which I dearly love, also in my crystal light.  Other than those I don't bother.

Olestra gives a lot of people stomach problems, but I eat 2-3 servings at a time and have never had a problem. I only eat it on days when I haven't eaten very healthy as it inhibbets the absorbtion of some vitamins. I also try to avoid aspertame as it makes me retain a lot water. I put Stevia on my Fiber 1 with unsweetened Almond Breeze and it taste so good!

I use Aspartame (it's the artificial sweetener I think tastes the best), and have no qualms.

However, to help you decide:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame_contro versy

Snopes on Aspartame

Good luck with your decision. :)

My feeling is that they're not exactly dangerous but that we're not equipped to eat artificial ingredients in large amounts.  I cook a lot and know with absolute certainty that I've never tasted and dish and thought... this needs a dash of olestra or a pinch of aspartame.     For foods that I don't have the time or ability to make for myself I subscribe to the rule of thumb which is not to buy anything with more than 5 ingredients.  Works well.

wow. i love all these thoughts! very positive and helpful! Thanks

I'm not sure it's really fair or accurate to group Stevia with fake sweeteners like Splenda or Aspartame (or Olestra, for that matter). Stevia is not artificial, it is a plant-based natural sweetener.

As for Olestra though, yeah, that stuff is gross.

And Splenda's made from real sugar. It must be okay!

/sarcasm

Actually no, that's not entirely true (and yeah, I know you're being sarcastic, hayley, but still). When some people mention using Stevia, it's because they grow it themselves - I have a plant in my kitchen, and I add it to tea and things like that, I rarely use the powder or liquid, but I would much rather use that than Splenda or something that is totally artificial.

Though it's a complaint from the Sugar Association to the Federal Trade Commission, it should be noted that "Splenda is not a natural product. It is not cultivated or grown and it does not occur in nature." However, Stevia is a natural product, and if you grow it yourself (which isn't hard at all), there is no question about exactly what's in it.

I just heard this song by Gilda Radner earlier today- can't find a you tube version but here are the lyrics --

Rhondettes: Oooo ah Ooo (2X)
       &nb sp;            Ooo ah Waaa

Rhonda: They say you gave rats canncer,
       &nb sp;     But I say that cant be true,
       &nb sp;     Because you are so very sweet thats something you'd never do.

       &nb sp;     I loved you,
       &nb sp;     I needed you,
       &nb sp;     We had a fine relationship,
       &nb sp;     'Til one day it got ruined by the Food and Drug Administration.

Rhondettes: And I can look everywhere from Arkansas to Akron,
Rhonda:      But sugar theres no sugar substitute to
All:        ;      Substitue for Saccharine
Rhonda:      Goodbye saccharine...(dramatic) Uh!
Rhondettes: Remember....

Rhonda:      When I was,
       &nb sp;          Only 10 years old,
       &nb sp;          I was far from bein slender,
       &nb sp;          I saved up my allowance,
       &nb sp;          for 3 whole months,
       &nb sp;          just so I could buy a blender (blender)

       &nb sp;        Then I had,
       &nb sp;        My first taste of you and you stopped,
       &nb sp;        My teenage sobbin,
       &nb sp;        By showing me there was a big, wide world
       &nb sp;        Outside of Baskin and Robbins (Robbins)

Rhondette1: So what'd you weigh in college?
Thonda:      Oh, I went up and down...
R1:              Well, around what?
R:       & nbsp;       Uh..between 115 and 125.
Rhondette2:  Closer to 115 or to 125?
R:       & nbsp;       Well it was between like 122 and 125
R1:              Like around 123?
R:       & nbsp;       No, it was closer to 122.
R2:              Well was it 122 or 123?
R:       & nbsp;       123.
Rhondettes: Uh-huh.

Rhonda:  We have been,
       &nb sp;     Together ever since,
       &nb sp;     you gave me my first chance,
       &nb sp;     To wear my clothes without imprinting on my skin,
       &nb sp;      the elastic from my underpants (underpants)

(Ooo ah Ooo/Ooo ah Waa)

Rhonda Speaking: But they don't care about the fact that,
       &nb sp;               &nb sp;   ever since you've been around,
       &nb sp;               &nb sp;   Your the only reason I can zip my jeans without lying down.

Rhondettes: Saccharine!
Rhonda:      You left a bad taste in my mouth...
Rhondettes: Saccharine!
Rhonda:    But you kept my seams from busting...
Rhondettes: Saccharine!
Rhonda:      Without you in my life, my body would be absolutley disgusting.

(Chorus..folowed by Rhondettes repaeating Saccharine while Rhonda rants....)

Rhonda:  Now what am I gonna do? Im gonna ahve to put atleast 5 or 6 teaspoons of sugar into my coffee to make it sweet enough.

Rhondettes: Saccharine...Saccharine...Bye bye!


Rhonda: I'll get you FDA......

I agree that Stevia - especially the actual plant - needs to be classified differently that the other products listed.  I am not sure how I feel about Splenda.  The rest I avoid as much as possible - I don't like the taste of most, and to some I have, ahem, digestive reactions.

I have been trying to cut back on any heavily processed foods - not 100% successful by any means - but I don't buy any sugar anymore, but I still have black strap molasses in the house for baking and honey and maple syrup.

I do think we need to examine why we need so much sweetening added to our foods - which is the journey I am on.  The occasional treat will always be part of my life, but I am trying to not have it part of every meal.   

USE STEVIA!!! It's the best option as a sugar substitute and all natural!!!

Please read these articles...they will definitely help you: When posting this message, the site added unnecessary spaces...fix them before trying to visit the page.

On Aspartame: http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-eff ects.html

and

On Splenda: http://www.womentowomen.com/nutritionandweigh tloss/splenda.aspx

On Stevia: http://www.steviacafe.net/dangers-of-stevia       &nb sp;               (This page also give you a list of healthy sugar alternatives and a list of unhealthy alternatives.)

All you have to do is copy and past the URL in your address line. Let me know if these article's help. I worked for a doctor that informed me of the side effects of using artificial sweeteners....one of them being symptoms of muscular distrophy! Also, the artificial sweeteners have been linked to weight gain because your liver is expecting the real thing and isn't receiving it causing it to send messages to your brain that it wants sugar. This will cause you to over indulge later on something sweet.

I think it's funny that people think Stevia is better just because it's a plant. Belladonna is a plant too, but I wouldn't eat it.

I think Stevia has a horrible taste. If I want something sweet I use liquid sucralose or Splenda.

I prefer using liquid sucralose because of the calorie & carb content of grandular form, but I say "to hell with it" for recipes in which it really matters.

"A cup of SPLENDA® Granular has 96 calories and 24 grams of carbohydrates"

Original Post by carleyrapp:

I think it's funny that people think Stevia is better just because it's a plant. Belladonna is a plant too, but I wouldn't eat it.

I think Stevia has a horrible taste. If I want something sweet I use liquid sucralose or Splenda.

I prefer using liquid sucralose because of the calorie & carb content of grandular form, but I say "to hell with it" for recipes in which it really matters.

"A cup of SPLENDA® Granular has 96 calories and 24 grams of carbohydrates"

I also agree that Stevia has a bit of a bitter taste, but it is very easy to get used to. Again, Stevia is better for you because it is a plant extract and doesn't have any additives put it in it like Splenda. Splenda has chlorine added to it making it more like a pesticide. You can read about it in the article I posted or visit many other sites that state the same thing and are also accredited sites. If you are serious about creating a body full of health and wellness, I highly recommend eliminating all sweeteners from you body. If you don't like Stevia, check out the Stevia site I posted previously and read the alternatives to sugar that are healthy for you.

Also...please feel free to comment on your belladonna thoughts....I have no idea what this has to do with Stevia.....

"Atropa belladonna or Atropa bella-donna, commonly known as belladonna or deadly nightshade, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae. The drug atropine is produced from the foliage, which along with the berries are extremely toxic, with hallucinogenic properties."

It just doesn't make any sense to me why you would even post belladonna as a comparison to Stevia because it has no sweetening properties.....hmmm???

It's really not a matter of it being better "just because it's a plant." Like Jess said, it's the fact that Stevia does not have chemicals added to it. Yes, there are poisonous plants like Belladonna, but Stevia isn't one of them. You might not like the taste, you might prefer to use other (or chemically produced) sweeteners, that's totally up to you. Personally, I like the taste of Stevia, and I prefer to use it when I want to sweeten things. It's a matter of personal preference - I was only trying to point out that Stevia should not be grouped with chemical sweeteners like Aspartame, since it is a natural sweetener.

Also, plants like Bay Laurel will also make you sick if you eat them which is why bay leaves are removed from soups and other dishes after cooking. I'm also not entirely sure why you would bring up Belladonna, since as Jess pointed out, it has nothing at all to do with Stevia or sweeteners or anything else having to do with this thread.

i don't use any artificial sweeteners.  but then, i hardly use any "natural" sweeteners, either.  i'm currently working in a five-pound bag of sugar that i bought over a year ago, and there's probably 4.75 pounds left.  the bag before that lasted eight years, and i only ran out because i had a roommate for 6 weeks in the summer of '07.

i drink my coffee black; i don't bake.  i use about a teaspoon of sugar when i make tomato-based spaghetti sauce, and i have a couple of recipes that call for a bit of brown sugar.  once in a while i have honey on my toast, but a jar of honey can last a year, too (except in the presense of aforementioned roommate).

i like chocolate, though.  and ice cream ;)

i kind-of think that artificial sweeteners just support people's dependence on sweet foods. 

stevia shouldn't be grouped with the above mentioned, it is an herbal sweetener made from a plant. usually combined with rice maltodextrin to bulk it up. low glycemic index and delicious!

side note*: try agave nectar it's really good

Original Post by charles_angel:

It's really not a matter of it being better "just because it's a plant." Like Jess said, it's the fact that Stevia does not have chemicals added to it. Yes, there are poisonous plants like Belladonna, but Stevia isn't one of them. You might not like the taste, you might prefer to use other (or chemically produced) sweeteners, that's totally up to you. Personally, I like the taste of Stevia, and I prefer to use it when I want to sweeten things. It's a matter of personal preference - I was only trying to point out that Stevia should not be grouped with chemical sweeteners like Aspartame, since it is a natural sweetener.

Also, plants like Bay Laurel will also make you sick if you eat them which is why bay leaves are removed from soups and other dishes after cooking. I'm also not entirely sure why you would bring up Belladonna, since as Jess pointed out, it has nothing at all to do with Stevia or sweeteners or anything else having to do with this thread.

 I think the point was that "natural" doesn't necessarily equal "good for you".  There are still tons of plants yet to be discovered/identified in the rainforests and other remote places.  If it turned out that one of them produced aspartame, would that make aspartame suddenly okay because now it would be a natural sweetener?  To me, it makes more sense to judge each sweetener on its own merits - rather than just saying "from a plant = good"/"from a factory = bad".

Also, most of the anti-Splenda websites I've seen are (a) sponsored by the sugar industry so horribly biased, and (b) demonstrate a lack of understanding of the very big difference between a chlorine atom in a molecule and chlorine gas.

Personally, I have no problem with Stevia (and the comments above shouldn't be taken as anti-Stevia).  Never tried it, but wouldn't say no if given the opportunity.

Original Post by susiecue:

Original Post by charles_angel:

It's really not a matter of it being better "just because it's a plant." Like Jess said, it's the fact that Stevia does not have chemicals added to it. Yes, there are poisonous plants like Belladonna, but Stevia isn't one of them. You might not like the taste, you might prefer to use other (or chemically produced) sweeteners, that's totally up to you. Personally, I like the taste of Stevia, and I prefer to use it when I want to sweeten things. It's a matter of personal preference - I was only trying to point out that Stevia should not be grouped with chemical sweeteners like Aspartame, since it is a natural sweetener.

Also, plants like Bay Laurel will also make you sick if you eat them which is why bay leaves are removed from soups and other dishes after cooking. I'm also not entirely sure why you would bring up Belladonna, since as Jess pointed out, it has nothing at all to do with Stevia or sweeteners or anything else having to do with this thread.

I think the point was that "natural" doesn't necessarily equal "good for you". There are still tons of plants yet to be discovered/identified in the rainforests and other remote places. If it turned out that one of them produced aspartame, would that make aspartame suddenly okay because now it would be a natural sweetener? To me, it makes more sense to judge each sweetener on its own merits - rather than just saying "from a plant = good"/"from a factory = bad".

Also, most of the anti-Splenda websites I've seen are (a) sponsored by the sugar industry so horribly biased, and (b) demonstrate a lack of understanding of the very big difference between a chlorine atom in a molecule and chlorine gas.

Personally, I have no problem with Stevia (and the comments above shouldn't be taken as anti-Stevia). Never tried it, but wouldn't say no if given the opportunity.

I believe that if you do enough research on websites like www.mercola.com, you will find a lot of information you are looking for from Dr. Mercola's views on the subjects of this issue. Also, I recommend checking out what Dr. Ted Koren has as reading material on this subject. Personally, I would do your own research and ask a nutritionist along with a naturopath and see what they tell you. This post seems to bring up a lot of biased thoughts and I don't think that it will help you make up your mind.

I also believe that people are addicted to sugar and need to find an alternative and since Stevia is very close to it's natural form, I reccomend it if you are a sugar-aholic. This plant has not been chemically changed. I did not mean that Stevia was considered "natural" according to FDA requirements since the FDA still isn't okay with it. It is meant as being natural as the same aspects as an apple is natural.

Your best bet is to get your body used to not even having sugar other than in it's very organic form...such as the natural sugars in apples, oranges, carrots...etc. If you have a sweet tooth...dried fruits are a good alternative as is yogurt and berries mixed together. Honey is a great alternative also.

Wait a second.  How am I biased?  Because I know enough about chemistry and biochemistry to not be scared of the word "chemical" and to pick up severe flaws in the way some websites present (mis)information?  Or because I look at the source of the information as well as the words themselves?  All I said was that the anti-Splenda websites *I've seen* (not necessarily every one out there - but the ones that get linked on a regular basis) have been sponsored by competing interests and contained mistakes/misrepresentations that even a second year chemistry student could pick up.  If you can link some sites that get the chemistry right and aren't sponsored by the sugar industry (or similar competing interest) I'd love to take a look at them and be proven wrong.

I have no vested interest in Splenda or any other artificial sweetener; I don't even use sucralose.  I also agree that whole foods are the way to go - but the phrases "natural" and "organic" get bandied about so much with implications that they're synonymous with "healthy" - and they simply aren't.  Which doesn't mean they're unhealthy.  It just means you should judge products on their merits not their buzzwords.

Original Post by susiecue:

Wait a second. How am I biased? Because I know enough about chemistry and biochemistry to not be scared of the word "chemical" and to pick up severe flaws in the way some websites present (mis)information? Or because I look at the source of the information as well as the words themselves? All I said was that the anti-Splenda websites *I've seen* (not necessarily every one out there - but the ones that get linked on a regular basis) have been sponsored by competing interests and contained mistakes/misrepresentations that even a second year chemistry student could pick up. If you can link some sites that get the chemistry right and aren't sponsored by the sugar industry (or similar competing interest) I'd love to take a look at them and be proven wrong.

I have no vested interest in Splenda or any other artificial sweetener; I don't even use sucralose. I also agree that whole foods are the way to go - but the phrases "natural" and "organic" get bandied about so much with implications that they're synonymous with "healthy" - and they simply aren't. Which doesn't mean they're unhealthy. It just means you should judge products on their merits not their buzzwords.

Here you go: http://search.mercola.com/Results.aspx?q=sple nda&k=splenda

I think this should be enough on sweeteners and...

Here is some on Stevia: http://search.mercola.com/results.aspx?k=stev ia

Sorry susiecue, I wasn't blaming the biased situation on just you...I was just stating that this subject is similar to discussing politics. I am sorry for any misinterpretation, but I feel that people's views on these products are to polarized to even get a point across.