Splenda

[Ursa Major]

I hate to break it to you, but you eat chlorine atoms all the time, as part of many compounds in the food you eat.

Splenda is not deadly, nor is aspartame. There are possible risks to certain people, true. "Deadly" means it reliably kills people. That is not happening.

Actually, Aspartame has been proven to cause blindness, heart attacks, strokes, cancer, diabetes and many other illnesses. In my humble opinion, that makes it pretty deadly.

And the chlorine atoms I get NATURALLY in foods that already contain it, are a totally different matter to them being used to replace parts of another molecule.

By the way, Aspartame makes people crave carbs, and has been shown to cause weight gain.

[Nancym]

I think Splenda is probably better for you than sugar is. People are killing themselves with sugar. It is estimated that something like 30% of the US is pre-diabetic and it is because the human body can't handle the sugars and carbs we're throwing at it in every increasing amounts. There's something like 10 teaspoons of sugar in a soda pop. Splenda being 600x sweeter than sugar you'd only need 1/60th of a teaspoon of straight splenda to make up the sweetness.

As far as chlorine in food... most people don't give much consideration to consuming vastly more sodium choloride than they do Splenda.

[Mango04]

I think the answer is to avoid all processed sugars, all processed table salt (sodium chloride) and all artificial sweetners. I think natural sea salt, agave, etc. are much better options...

[VydorScope]

I think the answer is to avoid all processed sugars, all processed table salt (sodium chloride) and all artificial sweetners. I think natural sea salt, agave, etc. are much better options...

Agave, Stevia, Xyitol, etc are better then that white posion (sugar) that ppl here think is so much better then Splenda cause its "natural", however they are priced out of reach of most ppl (Stevia is more then 3 times the price of splenda for example). This makes Splenda, IMO, one of the beter choices when you need a "sugar" substitue.

Personaly I try to choose products that are "no sugar added" rather then all this frakenstien food that is shoved on us a soooooo healthy.

I wish more ppl would take chemistry in college so they would understand that a molicule of splenda is different then clorine in every way. Based on the thinking pushed about the colorine in splenda, you can use banana's to excute ppl since it shares comon atoms with the lethal injections. Heck, water contains hydrogen so it must be a extremly explosive and should be outlawed! What are the firemen thninking dumping it on fires?? Come to think of it Carbonmonxide contians oxygen, so that means we better regulate and monitor all oxygen usage just like we do with our cars exhuast....

*sigh*

Splenda is not perfect, but its a darn reasonable choice for ppl that are sensibly avioding the white junk.

[Ursa Major]

Actually, Vincent, I wasn't promoting sugar. I agree that it is poison, and have been avoiding it for the past 25 or more years (and my kids complain about other friends getting candy, cookies and pop in their lunches, and those things aren't even allowed in this house for the most part!).

But that doesn't make Splenda a healthier choice. If you would follow the link I provided above and read the horror stories about Splenda, you might want to avoid it as much as sugar. I sure do. By mistake I ate something with Splenda in it the other day, and got sick.

Stevia is healthy, and you know, because you use such a small amount, isn't really that much more expensive than sugar. I used it for a while and don't really like the aftertaste. Honey is a better sweetener, but high in salicylates, so I can't use it. Now when I want something sweet I use maple syrup (which is rare).

Xylitol has been shown to prevent cavities, and ear and sinus infections! So, it is a good idea, too. I buy gum sweetened with xylitol for Susie, because she tends to get a lot of cavities, even though she constantly flosses and brushes her teeth (I do think she has celiac disease, but because the blood test came back negative, she won't even try the gluten-free diet).

[CarlaB]

By the way, Aspartame makes people crave carbs, and has been shown to cause weight gain.

I think this is what I read, too.

I think we just need to understand Coke is a treat ... not something to have every day.

[VydorScope]

Stevia is healthy, and you know, because you use such a small amount, isn't really that much more expensive than sugar.

1 seriving of Stevia costs about 3 times the price of 1 serving of Splenda. I have been watching its price hoping it will fall. It was closer to 4 times at one point, so there is hope. Speland is more expensive then sugar, but I do not have that math handy.

Again this is per serving. Stevia in liquid form is like 3ml or there abouts per serving, drawing a blank on exta number. The cost goes up dramticly if you use the setiva packets.

Way out of my ecomonic reach, and I would gather the reach of most ppl at least as a regular staple.

[skbird]

OK, I did some research - I've heard a lot of people say stevia is too expensive.

Packet for packet, here's some pricing of Stevia versus Splenda.

From Open Original Shared Link, a drug store, one box of 100 packets is on sale for $3.50 or 3.5 cents per packet.

From Open Original Shared Link is Stevita Supreme, 50 packets for $4.09 or 8.18 cents per packet.

Buying sugar-strength in a box (not packets) is a little cheaper:

Splenda Granular, in a 9.7 ounce bag (equal to 1 lb of sugar) provides 550 servings, costing $7.99 at Open Original Shared Link, which works out to almost 1.5 cents a serving.

Stevita Spoonable Stevia, in a 1 pound container provides 454 servings and costs $13.79 at Open Original Shared Link, which works out to 3 cents a serving.

Depending on what form you buy it in, stevia looks to be twice to three times the cost as splenda. At twice the cost, I don't think it's too much to pay to consume something natural as opposed to something artificially created. But I can understand why it would be hard on the finances. However, as I know I react poorly to Splenda, I have to choose my health over my pocketbook on this one. Then again, I don't actually use much stevia these days - I use agave nectar instead (it's cheaper and cooks better, too).

One other thought - you can buy stevia plants and make sweet tea from their leaves and use this in foods for sweetening - and that doesn't cost much in the long run. But it doesn't do a lot for convenience, either!

Stephanie

[shai76]

One benefit from diet pop is it really helped with my morning sickness when I was pregnant. I was sick my whole pregnancy. It wasn't until I decided to try diet dr. pepper that my morning sickness improved. Then I would feel sick all day until I sipped some of it. I don't drink it now though. Any pop makes my reflux act up.

We rarely eat sugar,a nd I don't buy substitutes like splenda. I buy raw, organic sugar to use in baking and then I just add a little less then the recipe calls for. I don't think splenda is the devil though. I just don't like it. I actually prefer the taste of aspartame over splenda, but I don't know how good or bad that is for your body either.

[utdan]

So my question is which is better to drink diet coke? Or Coke Zero? Also is drinking flavored water that contians splenda ok? I normally drink reguarl coke and I have no problems, but I thought about switching to diet coke to cut down on calories. i can't stand water but I realy like these new flavored waters with splenda, but I'm gaining alot of weight does splenda do that? I was drinking some powderd tea but it upset my stomach so I went back to soda I have to have my caffine. So is regular or diet coke better? Thanks in advance for anyone's reply. And sorry about the bad spelling.

This link might help you make your decision:

Open Original Shared Link

I'm sure you could expect similar results from "Coke Zero" or anything else of that nature. The hard truth is that real sugar produces a lot less trouble than fake sugars. Take, for example, Corn syrup--another man-made sweetner made of abnormal concentrations of fructose (fruit sugar) has the great effect of making you more hungry and preventing the feeling of being satisfied, so you eat more. High fructose corn syrup production and consumption directly follows the same graph curve as new type II diabeties and obesity patients being diagnosed every year. Whereas regular sugar does not follow that curve. What a perfect example of what happens when get chemical laboratories inventing our food! (info came from scientific research databases at a university).

[VydorScope]

Arch Intern Med. 1989 Oct;149(10):2318-24. Related Articles, Links

Safety of long-term large doses of aspartame.

Leon AS, Hunninghake DB, Bell C, Rassin DK, Tephly TR.

Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Safety of long-term administration of 75 mg/kg of aspartame per day was evaluated with the use of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group design in 108 male and female volunteers aged 18 to 62 years. Subjects received either aspartame or placebo in capsule form three times daily for 24 weeks. No persistent changes over time were noted in either group in vital signs; body weight; results of standard laboratory tests; fasting blood levels of aspartame's constituent amino acids (aspartic acid and phenylalanine), other amino acids, and methanol; or blood formate levels and 24-hour urinary excretion of formate. There also were no statistically significant differences between groups in the number of subjects experiencing symptoms or in the number of symptoms per subject. These results further document the safety of the long-term consumption of aspartame at doses equivalent to the amount of aspartame in approximately 10 L of beverage per day.

From the link you used... plenty more there stating the stafty of it too... I assume you did read your link right? (note: I am not defending nutrasweet, nor am I intrested in defending it but just wanted to be sure that facts are presented... )

[Mango04]

Agave, Stevia, Xyitol, etc are better then that white posion (sugar) that ppl here think is so much better then Splenda cause its "natural"

Sorry to only quote half your sentence but you do have a point. People need to realize white sugar is poison too. What about organic evaporated cane juice? I'm not saying it's good for you but wouldn't that be a much better option? It's not too pricey. I bought a bag from Trader Joe's for a few bucks. It's lasted me a year and a half so far and isn't even close to being gone yet (although I do live by myself...but you get my point...)

[utdan]

...I actually prefer the taste of aspartame over splenda, but I don't know how good or bad that is for your body either.

about aspartame:

"glutamate and aspartate are neurotransimitters...found normally in the brain and spinal cord. And even though they are two of the most common transmitter chemicals in the brain and spinal cord, when their concentrations rise above a critical level they can become deadly toxins to the neurons containing glutamate receptors...and to the nerve cells connected to these neurons...these are the exact same toxins used to produce experimental brain damage in animals." I got that from an interesting book "Excitotoxins" by Blaylock, a practicing board-certified Neurosurgeon. Amazingly the product remains on the market with FDA approval. Perhaps "Splenda" is going to wind up dangerous in a few years too?

From the link you used... plenty more there stating the stafty of it too... I assume you did read your link right? (note: I am not defending nutrasweet, nor am I intrested in defending it but just wanted to be sure that facts are presented... )

Thank you, I appreciate anyone who corrects me when I say something wrong on this forum. However, I did searches on the webpage using your quote and couldn't find that text anywhere?

[utdan]

this is an accidental post

[tiffjake]

Well, on an off note (but sticking to the subject) and getting gross for a second, I switched from Sweet N' Low to Spenda for a little while and noticed that my bathroom trips smelled like the pool. I was a life guard for years, so I recognize the "pool" smell, and HATE it! I didn't put the two together until I read about Splenda using Chlorine in the process, so I cut it out of my daily diet (yeah, I was using it daily, in my tea). No more "pool" smelling poo.

DISCLAIMER: I am not promoting any sweet/suger/alternative. Just sharing something interesting that happened to me.

[VydorScope]

Thank you, I appreciate anyone who corrects me when I say something wrong on this forum. However, I did searches on the webpage using your quote and couldn't find that text anywhere?

It is linked from that page. Again I do not want to defend nurtasweet/etc. I do not even like them, they taste funky. Splenda I do like, but only in certin uses.

As a hypogylcemiac, I must restrict the use honey, fruit juices, or other sweetners, I am fairly limited to stuff like Splenda, Stevia, and Xytiol that do not effect blood sugar. Sugar is bad for everyone, and triply so for me. Nutrasweet/etc is safe in moderation, testing proves that time and time again. If you over do it, it is no not safe, but thats true of iron, yet wheres the outcry against iron? Silly example maybe... but still true.

[rinne]

So my question is which is better to drink diet coke? Or Coke Zero? Also is drinking flavored water that contians splenda ok? I normally drink reguarl coke and I have no problems, but I thought about switching to diet coke to cut down on calories. i can't stand water but I realy like these new flavored waters with splenda, but I'm gaining alot of weight does splenda do that? I was drinking some powderd tea but it upset my stomach so I went back to soda I have to have my caffine. So is regular or diet coke better? Thanks in advance for anyone's reply. And sorry about the bad spelling.

If you are looking for caffeine, green tea is a great beverage to drink. I suspect you could even make it and add agave syrup and chill it, it would have a different sweetness than sugar. When I am really wanting something carbonated I have a Club Soda with a little fresh lemon or lime.

One of the great challenges I find to sugar is that it's sweetness is very one-dimensional and that it, like MSG, is used to mask poor quality ingredients. The artificial sweeteners don't taste like food to me although Splenda comes the closest and I have used it briefly but, bottom line, I would rather use something real. I use organic maple syrup for all my baking.

When I think about my own addiction to sugar and caffeine I see that I used them to provide quick energy because my health had been undermined by the Celiac so I didn't have health to provide energy for me. The problem with sugar, as I understand it, is that it robs the body of nutrients because it requires more nutrients to process it than it provides. Now I am trying to build myself up because I realize that I have been starving, I am eating simply and organically I find that an apple tastes really sweet and sweet with lots of flavour. It is much more satisfying than anything with white sugar in it.

At the risk of being radical, last year at the Folk Festival there were tons of signs that said "Coke Ain't Folk", apparently they have a terrible reputation for their treatment of people in third world countries.

[tarnalberry]

If you want to make green tea, you may not even need any sugar if you don't overbrew it. Use water that's around 190F, and only brew for about 2 minutes. Do NOT brew longer, or you will start extracting the bitter tannins, and it will be bitter! Of course, the higher quality green tea you use, the better tasting it will be, but when you start paying $16/2oz for green tea, your wallet screams at you anyway. (Stash's Organic Green tea is a good store bought, packaged tea, but if you can get loose leaf from a tea store that moves a lot of product so it's fresh, that's best.)

[rinne]

Tarnalberry, good information about brewing green tea, I suspect some people have tried it and found it way too bitter because they have overbrewed it. I use green tea leaves and brew them loose in a little teapot, I actually prefer the second pour, i.e. adding water so there is a second cup from the same leaves.

I have never tried it with sweetener but have had those cold green teas that you can buy and think they have some kind of sweetener in it, I may have to go and buy some agave syrup just to try.

[CarlaB]

The Zen green tea at Starbucks has a minty flavor to it ... they do sell the tea bags. I love their ice green tea made from the Zen. The brand is Tazo, so it may be available elsewhere.

[rinne]

All this talk of green tea is sending me to the kitchen to make some.

Carla, is the Starbuck's iced green tea sweet?

[kabowman]

I have started (about 6-8 months at least) to have two cups of unsweetened green tea every morning - days with a sore throat, just a little honey. My other tea is sleepy time but usally when I am not feeling well.

[CarlaB]

All this talk of green tea is sending me to the kitchen to make some.

Carla, is the Starbuck's iced green tea sweet?

You can order it with as much or as little classic syrup as you want. It's sugar syrup, I get one pump of it (I think if you just say "with classic syrup, they add about 7 pumps). Or you can add the pink, blue or yellow packets we've been discussing. I wouldn't recommend the honey for the iced version though

[Ursa Major]

One good thing about green tea is, that it is high in vitamin K, which many celiacs are deficient in. I drank it regularly for months, until I figured out that I can't have it, because it's high in salicylates, too.

[rinne]

One good thing about green tea is, that it is high in vitamin K, which many celiacs are deficient in.

Ursula, I had never heard that green tea had vitamin K, very interesting, thanks.