Splenda - Diet & Nutrition Message Board

LS289 · 03-18-2006, 10:44 PM

Hi there,
I think I've asked this question before, but what are your thoughts on splenda (or fake-sugars in general, for that matter)? I stopped using Equal and Saccharin (nutrasweet) b/c I started feeling "weird" when eating them and I also had been hearing a lot of bad press about them. Splenda seemed to be the SAFE alternative, but now I'm not so sure about that either.

Recently, when I drink my latte that I've added splenda to in the morning, I notice my mouth getting a little bit numb. That can't be normal. I've just started thinking about it the past few days and I've realized that it is still a fake sugar and it is unnatural, so it has to be too good to be true - it's not as perfect as it seems. I think it's just a matter of time before they find that out.

Do you think it's worth it to try giving up fake sugar altogether (I use it in my coffee, tea, sometimes on cottage cheese, diet sodas, etc) or do you think that it is probably fine to eat everyday. I know there are many different opinions about this, but I'm just curious what everyone thinks. Thanks!!

ratboy83 · 03-19-2006, 05:52 AM

i googled "splenda" because i wasn't sure what it was and the second hit i got was a web page saying how bad it is for you. doesn't sound that great really.
how about using a natural sweetner like ructose. its twice as sweet as sucrose you wouldn't have to eat as much to get the same effect, has a much lower GI (about 20) than sucrose so it won't cause the same blood sugar fluctuations.
try gradually reducing the amount of any sugar you use. i used to eat loads of sugar when i was a teenager but now eat hardly anything. i don't miss it because i gradually got used to not having it. just had a bit less each time but gradually i needed less to get the same effect in tea or whatever. your taste buds will adjust. its all a matter of acquired taste with sweetness and other types of taste wsensations like saltiness too.

alex.

Lenin · 03-19-2006, 05:55 AM

I don't think it's worth giving up on sugar substitutes unless I could give up on sugar...which I can't.

So thank god for cyclamate, aspartame and sucralose (I can't stand the taste of saccharine

without them I'd be fatter with a worse glucose tolerance..

Anyone who wants to believe in the internet urban legends about the horrors of all sugar substitutes is free to torture himself with doubt...and real sugar in everything.

bluejbirdie · 03-19-2006, 06:37 AM

I largely agree with Lenin.

There has not been any Conclusive Evidence to show that Any of these products is bad.

Could there be people that are Alergic and have bad reactions? I am sure there are....but that doesnt mean that the products are bad. You dont have all kinds of people saying that peanuts are bad for you...but there is a lot of concrete evidence linking peanuts to Deaths.

gothope · 03-19-2006, 07:16 AM

Hello
I think a study just came out that Aspartame is not good (can't remember why); but so far, no problem with Splenda has been found. We use it all the time.
What about Stevia? It is a natural sweetner.