Splenda bad?

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I haven't eaten any sweets since January 4th, 2012 including substituting sugar in my coffee for splenda. I just saw where splenda could be keeping you from losing the unwanted fat. I'm confused.

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  • joiselene
    joiselene Posts: 15 Member
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    I don't see how it could be bad. I'm guessing you are talking about the ad that was posted on the site. They are probably trying to sell something! On another note, I have started using stevia to sweeten my coffee.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Artificial sweeteners aren't bad. Use them if you prefer. Or use regular sugar if you want. Sugar isn't bad either in moderation, you just have to account for the calories.
  • stacygayle
    stacygayle Posts: 349 Member
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    I read an article in Prevention Magazine recently that said that studies show that sugar substitutes are not bad for you and do not cause weight gain like previously thought. I think that the sugar industry was paying for the studies that showed that aspartame caused cancer and that they make you fat. It would depend on who paid for the study what it actually shows. If the study is paid for by the sugar or corn industry then they're going to skew it to look bad so that people stick with them. Just talk to your doctor and get his/her opinion if you trust it. Mine said it's ok in moderation just like anything else.
  • tsh0ck
    tsh0ck Posts: 1,970 Member
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    I'll just settle in and watch on this one ...


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  • Jadesfattorment
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    I use splenda, equal, kirkland no calorie sweetner (the generic costco brand.) and stevia. They have never given me any problems and I am defienetly skinnier using them instead of sugar :)
  • Thelala
    Thelala Posts: 47 Member
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    The research on artificial sweeteners is saying you can still get carb cravings. Also, too much can give a person a bad stomach ache to say the least., Stevia doesn't seem to have that effect. Moderation is key though. And sugar products and sweetened things could possible contribute to cravings. Just be careful.
  • TabbyKatzzz
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    Diet and weight loss aside, sucralose and aspartame are chemicals, not food. They originated that way. Stevia is from a plant, and is a great natural sweetener. If you wish to cut the calories from sugar, do your body a favor, and use only stevia.
  • thatlook
    thatlook Posts: 58 Member
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    artificial sweetners are evil in my mind!! id rather cut back on the amount of sugar i use for tea (its the only time i have sugar!) im down to 1 tspn now from 2 and plan to quit the 1 pretty soon!!

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  • breshe23
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    I did get that info from an ad I saw on this site. It was about the 5 foods to avoid that could be causing you to not lose weight. You are right, after sharing the disappointing news, the site was selling a program to help succeed in your weight loss goal. I'll continue to use my splenda.
  • rangel165
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    I absolutely love splenda! ! I add it to my decaf tea with lemon and also to my coffee. It helps me with cravings and without the guilt. Obviously it doesn't make you gain like sugar does because I'm loosing not gainig.:wink:
  • metacognition
    metacognition Posts: 626 Member
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    I use mostly Truvia (plant based, combined with a non-absorbing sugar alcohol to curb bitterness) with no ill effects. I do have to use up a spare bag of Splenda baking blend that I still put in healthy baked goods.

    I hate the fact that Splenda has calories in it (about four per packet). It's not the calories that bother me, but the fact that my body is absorbing some strange concoction made in a lab, and not just passing it through my system. I tend to think natural is better, and avoid preservatives at least some of the time.

    I would urge caution with some artificial sweeteners. Splenda has no effect on me or my weight loss but I have a relative who gets massive D when he eats something with it. I have also taken a wrecking ball to my intestines by eating a product sweetened with sorbitol. Be careful of the sweeteners you choose!
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
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    I prefer Truvia or other stevia as opposed to Spelnda, or as I call it, computerized sugar :laugh:

    Edit because I can't spell.
  • thisisme13
    thisisme13 Posts: 150
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    Diet and weight loss aside, sucralose and aspartame are chemicals, not food. They originated that way. Stevia is from a plant, and is a great natural sweetener. If you wish to cut the calories from sugar, do your body a favor, and use only stevia.

    Natural doesn't mean good for you. There are people who cannot consume Stevia because they have issues with it.

    OP, unless you have a medical reason to avoid Splenda or any of the other sweeteners on the market than don't. Some people get migraines from sweeteners. As long as you are not consuming huge quantities of it daily you are fine.

    I have yet to see any proper research or proof that Splenda or any other sweetener is actually bad for you.
  • tabik30
    tabik30 Posts: 443
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    Every article tells us something different. You are doing so well, stick with what works for you:wink:
  • Adah_m
    Adah_m Posts: 216 Member
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    I'm glad so many of you are having success with artificial sweeteners and stevia, I wish I was having success too, but my experience has unfortunately been much different.
    I'll share what I went through, just for a new point of view, but my problems are apparently rare.

    I was using splenda from October to early March this year to sweeten my coffee, in pretty copious amounts, let me be honest. I like sweet but black coffee. I notice two things now that I look back, my weight loss was slowest during this time frame that it has been all year, about 2 lbs per month even following my calorie plan, and also my skin was breaking out.
    My breakouts looked like your standard teenage breakouts, but I'm in my early 20's. I thought maybe it was hormones, or some weird side effect of the weight loss, like my body was releasing some strange poison that was stored in my fat or something. I didn't think too hard about it.
    As I got closer to my wedding my skin started making me more and more nervous. I saw that I had pimples along my jaw and neck, badly, a place I had never gotten them before in my life. (My normal breakouts are always at my hairline, dang things.) I had them on my chest and ALL OVER my back. I had never had this problem, especially because these were more like sores than pimples. I changed body wash, I changed to an acne clearing body wash, I tried really strong medications for the breakouts on my face, all trying to get that elusive clear complection for my wedding. Nothing worked.
    One day a realization hit me like a ton of bricks when my husband said he heard from his mother (you know those he-said, she-said tips) that splenda was really bad for you. I agreed to cease temporarily to prove a point.
    My skin cleared immediately. I had a weeklong headache (possibly unrelated and more due to wedding stress) but even under the same amount of wedding pressure, my skin cleared immediately. I thought maybe it was stress to begin with, but trust me, I was still stressed.
    We did some research then and found it's uncommon but a pimple-like/hives rash seems to be possible with spenda in certain people. There wasn't a lot of published or reputable data on the subject, but from my experience, I know Splenda was the culprit. I haven't touched the stuff since and have had blissfully post-pubescent skin for weeks!
    We decided to try stevia then to sweeten tea and coffee, because it's all natural and derived from plants, not labs. This turned out to be a mistake. After drinking for a day out of a gallon of iced tea we sweetened with Stevia (well, the walmart brand), the next day I woke up in hives like I've never had before. I was red and splotchy, and ITCHY. A tube of hydrocortisone, a few benedryl, and of course thanks to the meds, a few naps later, I'm splotch free.
    Apparently after researching (too late) we found some information indicating Stevia plant is in the same family as ragweed, and can cause allergic reactions in some people, and it can get pretty severe.

    Usually I hate when people talk about the dangers of certain products or go spouting about their super-dramatic experience with this product or that product, but I just had to warn. If you have a ragweed allergy, do some research on stevia. If you try splenda, just stay on the lookout for mystery skin issues.

    I also admit, I haven't given you any references or cited specific web cites or articles, so take my story with a grain of salt. But be warned that it seems to be very rare but a possibility to have allergies to sweeteners.
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,862 Member
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    I haven't eaten any sweets since January 4th, 2012 including substituting sugar in my coffee for splenda. I just saw where splenda could be keeping you from losing the unwanted fat. I'm confused.
    Tell me any hypothesis, and I'll find a place that says it. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has posted over and over and over that every test they've ever conducted about artificial sweeteners showed no problems. But what do they know?
  • sobriquet84
    sobriquet84 Posts: 607 Member
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    its not GOOD for you, but used in moderation its not BAD. the reason why it is said that sugar substitutes add to weight gain/hinder weight loss is because it keeps alive your wanting sweet, keeping you craving carbohydrates. when your body is anticipating sugar and wanting it so badly (as is often the case for carboholics/folks who have not been eating healthfully) and you give it a fake substitute to save on calories, your cravings can get stronger. (reportedly).

    if this is true, well, i guess as long as you're not following your diet coke with a candy bar or a bowl of pasta, you're fine. it can only "contribute" to weight gain if you are actually giving into the cravings that it reportedly can amplify.
  • Bane81
    Bane81 Posts: 40 Member
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    I used a bit of Splenda today with my oatmeal. I don't use sweetners that often, especially the ones with aspartame. Most of the time I'll just use natural sugars like 15 ml of honey in my water bottle during a work out to give me that little bit of a boost.