Kiss Splenda Good-Bye!!

[PhotoNut 7]

I'll give up my Splenda when the size of my butt is no longer the dictating factor in my life as to wheither I live or die.

How about the size of your liver being a dictating factor in your life? Check out this article that I just read:

http://www.womentowomen.com/nutritionandweightloss/splenda.asp?id=1&campaignno=artificialsweeteners&adgroup=splenda&keywords=splenda

I am an avid Splenda user as well. It's in the sugar canister instead of sugar. But as soon as I finish typing this, I'm going to go dump it into the garbage. It's mostly chlorine!! The reason it has no calories is because the body cannot absorb the sucralose.. but it CAN and DOES absorb the chlorine! Ack!!

I don't care if they take it off the shelf. I'm not buying it anymore. What good will it do me to reduce my calories if I end up with life threatening liver problems??

[Elisabethsew 50]

Of course they are banding it, we love it too much. The problem with artifical sweetners is that the body does not know what to do with them. I lost too many brain cells with Aspartame and now they want to take my Splenda. I've also heard of an organic sweetner, Stevia, sold at health food stores but called a "dietary supplement". I've heard several people talk about before and say all good about it, but has anyone tried it before. Here's a link to try it out.

http://www.stevia.net/

Splenda IS Aspartame! The brand name is Splenda and the generic is Aspartame... just like drugs.

Elisabeth

["Just" Paul 1]

Actually, Splenda is Sucralose.

Nutrasweet is Aspartame.

Completely different sweeteners.

As far as the chlorine is concerned, it is molecularly bonded as part of the sucralose molecule... similar to SALT, which also has a chlorine atom in it. Salt is not know to release pure Chlorine into the bloodstream, neither is Sucralose. In the chemically bonded form, it is not acting like pure chlorine would. Same is true of Fluoride in toothpaste. It contains fluorine, deadlier than chlorine, but again, in this bonded form, harmless.

Just my 2 cents.

[Fat Crusader 0]

oh no what

[Fat Crusader 0]

oh no I love that stuff and my husband will die...first diet vanilla coke(not like I drink sodas anymore) now this

[sarahv 0]

Ok - the salt/sucralose argument. The problem for me would be the amounts that you ingest. I used to put way more splenda in a cup of coffee than salt I would use on any three meals. In addition - you don't eat floride. You brush your teeth and spit - they even tell you on the label - if you swallow more than a pea size amount to call poision control!!!

No matter if they pull it from the shelves or ban it or not - I'll be doing my best to see my family ingests NONE of it - the same way we avoid aspertame.

[Xann77 0]

I will note though that the makers of Splenda claim the FDA complaint is just an orchestrated ploy by sugar makers and other sugar substitute competitors in the U.S. That would definitely make sense! Think of how much money Splenda's competitors have LOST since it came on the market. Lots of people who used real sugar have moved over to Splenda because it tastes so much better than other substitutes.

[beautifultina 1]

I love Splenda. It has been my saving grace. I tried using Aspartame and it and nutra sweet gave both myself and my mother MIGRANE headaches.... Remember TAB..My mom was JUNKIE to the crap until she found out it was causing the Daily migranes.... no thanks...I will take my chances with Splenda. For those of you you are afraid of it..just like any other produt or service that is out there...you have the right to leave it on the shelf. Just walk past it. But leave it alone so that the rest of us have the right to make a choice as well.

[queenbeeoffour 0]

I refuse to give up Splenda! I'm going to hoard what I have and grab whatever I can get my hands on! It's everywhere - work, Starbucks, McDonalds. Maybe I sell some on ebay when no one can get their hands on it and I'll make millions!

[shellyj. 0]

well i have been waiting in fear for this day....i drink sweet tea with lemon EVERY DAY and yep i only use splenda....

i use 85% natural organic products but i just cant use ANY form of true sugar...i have used the turbinado...weight gain... so if they pull it i will again switch to Raw sugar but will have to cut it back to a glass a day...

i have no doubts that splenda has things in it that are not good for our health...at this point (until they pull it) i will stick with it. i feel like i cut enough of the additives by not eating anything proccessed but splenda ( and the occasional chocolate bar)

i have seen first hand the 'side effects' calvins mother has recently (the last 6 months ) having skin rashes that she thought was associated with allergies...after all the testing they told her it was likey the splenda. she has quit the splenda and is getting better....

[rpaniagua77 0]

I also saw it on the news. I didnt hear them say they were pulling it off of the shelf they did say that it has been reported by consumers that it has caused severe stomach pains and possible intestinal damage.

[DonnaB 3]

This is copied from the linked report in PhotoNut's post:

(thanks Susan)

"In my practice I’ve seen that many patients are better able to break their addiction to sugar and maintain weight loss with the help of sugar substitutes. This is probably because insulin is not involved. Also, the substitutes are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, so you may use less of them. In certain cases, I think moderate use of artificial sweeteners is okay — as long as you feel well.

But you should know that sugar substitutes don’t have to be artificial. There is another way!

Stevia and sorbitol — natural alternatives to artificial sweeteners

Other countries and diabetics have both taught us a lot about controlling insulin naturally. For many years, diabetics have used products sweetened with polyalcohol sugars like sorbitol, xylitol, malitol, and mannitol. These are natural sweeteners that do not trigger an insulin reaction. (Xylitol can be derived from birch tree pulp.) They have half the calories of sugar and are not digested by the small intestine.

While most polyalcohol sugars have no side effects, sorbitol is a laxative and can cause diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, bloating and flatulence.

For this reason, we recommend the herb stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) over sorbitol as a natural sweetener to our patients. Known in South America as the “sweet herb,” stevia has been used for over 400 years without ill effect. Stevia has been enormously popular in Japan, now rivaling Equal and Sweet’N Low. It’s 20 times sweeter than sugar, so a small portion of Stevia will sweeten even a strong cup of tea.

We’ve known about stevia in the US since 1918, but pressure from the sugar import trade blocked its use as a commodity. Today stevia is slowly gaining steam as a sugar substitute, despite similar hurdles. The FDA has approved its use as a food supplement, but not as a food additive due to a lack of studies. Stevia can be used for anything you might use sugar in, including baking. It is naturally low in carbohydrates. You can buy stevia at most health food stores and over the web. There will always be those who have a sensitivity to a substance, but based on reports from other countries it appears to have little to no side effects. For women who want to move through their cravings for sugar without artificial chemicals, stevia is a great option."

I've never seen or heard of Stevia until today. I'll check it out. The logic behind what your body perceives as food and digests vs. what your body discounts as non-food and try's, unsuccessfully, to utilize without digesting makes sense to me. That's why Stevia sounds like a better alternative - it's an herb which your body digests as a food, rather than a chemical which your body doesn't know how to deal with thus causing systemic problems.

Does anyone know how Stevia is delivered? Is it granulated? Is it like crushed herbs? I'm very interested.

IMHO, this whole controversy comes back to "everything in MODERATION". Moderation is essential in every aspect of life. Why would it be any different with Sugar or Splenda?

[mini_me 3]

ummm, Walmart is still selling it in Texas...

[sarahv 0]

All the revenue that the sugar producers have lost - is the same revenue that the makers of Splenda are protecting.

In the Quest for the almighty buck - many people stop at nothing - including deception!

I just don't trust any government entity (FDA) to tell the whole truth. There are too many lobbyists and too much money being exchanged for the whole truth to come out.

Just look at all the items the FDA has approved that they've had to go back and have taken off the market 6 months or a year later - sometimes longer after thousands of people have been hurt by the product.

[kimalicious 5]

I probably read a little too much into that book that talks about the horribleness of the FDA to believe that it is the sugar companies starting all of this. Since sugar is natural they can't control it or tax it as it comes naturally in the big bags. (Same as why they won't ok natural remedies instead of the major drugs of the major drug companies) The gov can tax splenda though...am I right in this thinking, I could be so full o crap? Everything we eat could damage our insides if we consume too much of it, yes even brocolli. Moderation is the key here, but if I could take my sugar or sugar subsitutes in moderation then I wouldn't be on this board!! HA!!