Splenda vs. Sugar

Hi everyone!

I have a question I am hoping someone can help me with. I drink coffee in the morning and normally use a little milk and a packet of splenda. With all of the negative information on artificial sweetners, should I just be using sugar instead? I don't want the extra calories to add up, but I also don't want to be using something that is bad for me. Any thoughts or suggestions? Just an FYI, I can't drink coffee without a little bit of sweetness, so drinking it without any sweet stuff isn't really an option.

Thanks everyone!

Replies

  • What about agave or honey?
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    I don't care for the taste of artificial sweetners so I use regular old fashion sugar in my coffee. A teaspoon is less than 20 calories, a cup or two of coffee a day with cream and sugar fits into my calories :drinker:
  • brynnsmom
    brynnsmom Posts: 945 Member
    If I swapped my Equal for regular sugar in my coffee, the calories would really add up for me, and at the end of the day that's what I'm looking at. I know sweeteners have gotten a bad reputation, but I do not want to drink my calories (unless vodka is involved, of course). I guess ultimately it boils down to what matters most to you. Good luck!
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    A packet or two of Splenda a day isn't going to hurt you.
  • Opt for Stevia, it's a plant based sweetener.. no chemicals involved!
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    Unless you are growing and chopping up your own Stevia leaves, there are chemicals involved. I use Splenda and I've read enough to believe it is safe. Agave and honey are just other forms of sugar. Do what works for you and fit it in your calories. But I think artificial sweeteners have gotten an unreasonably bad rap.
  • I was trying to reduce the sugar in my coffee as well. Was using 3 sugar cubes (12 grams of sugar) and 1/3 cup 2% milk (3.5 grams of sugar) per cup when I started. That was over 15 grams of sugar PER CUP!!
    I tried switching to Splenda for 3 days, but it gave me the absolute WORST stomach cramps.

    My coffee is an important part of my morning. I literally LOVE coffee. There are times I go to bed early, because I know that when I wake up....I get to have coffee! So changing the flavor too much would ruin it for me. I decided to make it fit in my calories.

    I now use vanilla almond milk in my coffee and NO sugar. There is enough sweet in the vanilla almond milk to make me happy, and my sugar got reduced dramatically.

    I was at nearly 300 calories with 3 cups of coffee in the mornings when I started. Now I'm 1 cup at 35 calories and 5 grams of sugar, or 2 at 70!! Some days, for a little flavor, I'll use the chocolate almond milk! It only adds 20 calories!