How Splenda is Made
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Mindful_Trent
Posts: 3,954 Member
I used to use splenda frequently, as many people said it is a "natural" sugar alternative made from sugar, but without the calories. Seems too good to be true. The truth is that Splenda is a highly processed chemical - just because the process starts with sucrose (table sugar) doesn't mean it is "natural".
The short answer as to exactly how Splenda (Sucralose) is made is that they replace three alcohol groups on the sugar molecule with three chlorine atoms. This results in a stable sweetener that tastes like sugar without the calories. I was able to find that same basic description on dozens of websites, including ones promoted by the Splenda industry, so I'm confident in its accuracy. I haven't found a detailed description of HOW that's done, but I have no doubt it's a complex process that involves plenty of chemicals that I would rather not think about in the same context as something I am consuming.
Sure, they say Splenda is safe. They've said plenty of things are safe over the years only to find out that they were wrong. Maybe it is safe, but I think I'd rather keep the molecularly-altered sweeteners out of my body. The more I read about how sweeteners are made, the more I'm convinced I need to stick with the sweeteners nature provides - Honey, pure maple syrup and stevia. (I actually bought my own stevia plants!)
In case you're curious and you didn't see my other post on this topic - here's a detailed description of how Sugar (regular white table sugar) is made. It's no more "natural" than Splenda. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/119250-how-sugar-is-made
The short answer as to exactly how Splenda (Sucralose) is made is that they replace three alcohol groups on the sugar molecule with three chlorine atoms. This results in a stable sweetener that tastes like sugar without the calories. I was able to find that same basic description on dozens of websites, including ones promoted by the Splenda industry, so I'm confident in its accuracy. I haven't found a detailed description of HOW that's done, but I have no doubt it's a complex process that involves plenty of chemicals that I would rather not think about in the same context as something I am consuming.
Sure, they say Splenda is safe. They've said plenty of things are safe over the years only to find out that they were wrong. Maybe it is safe, but I think I'd rather keep the molecularly-altered sweeteners out of my body. The more I read about how sweeteners are made, the more I'm convinced I need to stick with the sweeteners nature provides - Honey, pure maple syrup and stevia. (I actually bought my own stevia plants!)
In case you're curious and you didn't see my other post on this topic - here's a detailed description of how Sugar (regular white table sugar) is made. It's no more "natural" than Splenda. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/119250-how-sugar-is-made
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Replies
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stevia is the way to go!
truely all natural and delicious! (and super easy to find in granuals form at the regular grocery store too! and pretty easy to find in liquid at health food stores!) 0 -
i use sweet and low
they say stevia is not good for you also :sick: i have been thinking of going back to reg surgar :drinker: or trying to drink everything without a sweatner:grumble: 0 -
I know its hard and I haven't been doing it long, but I try to eliminate all the artificial sweeteners because they distort my view of sweet.
I have had an extremely low amount of added sugar, natural or artificial, in my diet for the past month and things taste so different. I think several vegetables are sweet and enjoy fruit that much more. I haven't had any sugar cravings either.
Now if I could just do the same with Salt.0 -
i use sweet and low they say stevia is not good for you also :sick: i have been thinking of going back to reg surgar :drinker: or trying to drink everything without a sweatner:grumble:
Stevia is made from a plant whose leaves are naturally sweet - it is the best sweetener for you. I highly recommend you research this stuff before switching back to regular sugar (or read my post that I linked to) - regular sugar is made with lots of chemicals.
I actually own Stevia plants - you can pick the leaves right off the plant and stir it in your coffee to sweeten it.
Sweet and Low is made in a lab by combining various chemicals/molecules. It's not natural in any way. Saccharin is the main ingredient in it.0 -
I try not to eat anything that has been "sweetened" (real or artificial). I won't buy anything with artificial flavorings or colorings either. Juice for my children has to be natural, no sugar added. Jams, jellies and marmalades must be sweetened only with natural juice. Bread is sugar free.
Sweets in my house are peaches and cream or frozen juice pops. I don't understand the compulsion to make everything sweet! What's wrong with salty, sour, bitter and savory (the other 4 main tastes). There are so many of nature's goodies that are sweet...dates, raisins, pears, peaches, carrots, and beets for example.
If everything is sweetened unnaturally, then how can we truly appreciate the flavors in REAL food?0 -
I try not to eat anything that has been "sweetened" (real or artificial). I won't buy anything with artificial flavorings or colorings either. Juice for my children has to be natural, no sugar added. Jams, jellies and marmalades must be sweetened only with natural juice. Bread is sugar free.
Sweets in my house are peaches and cream or frozen juice pops. I don't understand the compulsion to make everything sweet! What's wrong with salty, sour, bitter and savory (the other 4 main tastes). There are so many of nature's goodies that are sweet...dates, raisins, pears, peaches, carrots, and beets for example.
If everything is sweetened unnaturally, then how can we truly appreciate the flavors in REAL food?
This is a great attitude. I'm trying hard to eat less sweetened foods in general, too. I found that all-natural peanut butter is so delicious without the added sweeteners. PB doesn't need to be sweet, in my opinon - it's quite tasty all by itself! I eat Lara bars, which are fruit/nut bars with no added sweeteners/preservatives/etc. - they're so good - the fruit is sweet enough on its own. I rarely add sweetner to most things these days, but I realize that realistically there are some things I may want sweetner for, which is why I invested in the Stevia plants. I figure, they were <$20, so if I end up killing them, I won't be out too much money. :laugh:0 -
I try not to eat anything that has been "sweetened" (real or artificial). I won't buy anything with artificial flavorings or colorings either. Juice for my children has to be natural, no sugar added. Jams, jellies and marmalades must be sweetened only with natural juice. Bread is sugar free.
Sweets in my house are peaches and cream or frozen juice pops. I don't understand the compulsion to make everything sweet! What's wrong with salty, sour, bitter and savory (the other 4 main tastes). There are so many of nature's goodies that are sweet...dates, raisins, pears, peaches, carrots, and beets for example.
If everything is sweetened unnaturally, then how can we truly appreciate the flavors in REAL food?
We have a juicer that I love! That way I know what is in my juice and it keeps all the nutrients from the fruit/veggies without them degrading over time. Plus I use it to make home-made ice cream and gelato in the summer time. I could not live without it!0 -
Bump!0
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i use sweet and low they say stevia is not good for you also :sick: i have been thinking of going back to reg surgar :drinker: or trying to drink everything without a sweatner:grumble:
Stevia is made from a plant whose leaves are naturally sweet - it is the best sweetener for you. I highly recommend you research this stuff before switching back to regular sugar (or read my post that I linked to) - regular sugar is made with lots of chemicals.
I actually own Stevia plants - you can pick the leaves right off the plant and stir it in your coffee to sweeten it.
Sweet and Low is made in a lab by combining various chemicals/molecules. It's not natural in any way. Saccharin is the main ingredient in it.
I have been through several artificial sweeteners. I've come to the conclusion that the things I eat that require THAT MUCH sugar are not good for me, and I eat them about once a month if that. Granulated sugar is not so hot either. I like raw sugar for the occasional cup of tea or coffee, and I use it for cooking too.
real sugar > artificial sweeteners0 -
i use sweet and low they say stevia is not good for you also :sick: i have been thinking of going back to reg surgar :drinker: or trying to drink everything without a sweatner:grumble:
Stevia is made from a plant whose leaves are naturally sweet - it is the best sweetener for you. I highly recommend you research this stuff before switching back to regular sugar (or read my post that I linked to) - regular sugar is made with lots of chemicals.
I actually own Stevia plants - you can pick the leaves right off the plant and stir it in your coffee to sweeten it.
Sweet and Low is made in a lab by combining various chemicals/molecules. It's not natural in any way. Saccharin is the main ingredient in it.
I have been through several artificial sweeteners. I've come to the conclusion that the things I eat that require THAT MUCH sugar are not good for me, and I eat them about once a month if that. Granulated sugar is not so hot either. I like raw sugar for the occasional cup of tea or coffee, and I use it for cooking too.
real sugar > artificial sweeteners
FYI - "Raw" sugar isn't all that great for you either. You're much better off using honey, agave syrup or maple syrup - these are nature's sweeteners! The best zero-calorie sweetener is stevia - you can buy some stevia that's been made using the stevia leaves filtered only with water - no chemicals or anything like that (though some stevia products have additives in them I prefer to avoid). Check this post out regarding "real" sugar: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/119250-how-sugar-is-made
Raw sugar isn't that different from granulated white baking sugar - it just stops in the process after step 6.0 -
Just becuase something is "natural" does not mean it is healthy. Arsenic is "natural" but I sure wouldn't put it in my coffee.
I'm not going to declare stevia safe or not, I personally have no idea and I've read plenty of information pro and con. But, I will say that anyone using its natural occurence as evidence of its safety needs to do a little more research.0 -
Just becuase something is "natural" does not mean it is healthy. Arsenic is "natural" but I sure wouldn't put it in my coffee.
I'm not going to declare stevia safe or not, I personally have no idea and I've read plenty of information pro and con. But, I will say that anyone using its natural occurence as evidence of its safety needs to do a little more research.
I definitely agree that natural doesn't equal healthy/safe. Personally, I've done enough research (read multiple, real technical research documents from legitimate sources) to convince me that Stevia is safe. Others may not be comfortable using it, and I can understand that. I'd rather make my own stevia sweetener from home-grown stevia plants, due to the lack of transparancy in the process to make commercial stevia products, but I killed mine. :grumble: I may try again if I'm feeling ambitious...
I mostly use stevia in coffee, occasionally in baking, but I use honey much more in baking. For the most part, I don't add sweeteners to too many things these days.0 -
For the most part, I don't add sweeteners to too many things these days.
Same here. Thanks for the information though! 0 -
I think people get too worried about things being "chemical". The Royal Society of Chemistry here in the UK is offering a £1 million prize for anyone who can make something that is truly chemical free - effectively impossible as everything is actually made of chemicals - everything natural, everything man made. Naturally sweet things are usually sweet because they contain sugars. What we call sugar is made of two sugars mixed - glucose and (I think) dextrose. Fruits are sweet as they contain another suger - fructose, milk contains lactose, which is a sugar. Mannose is anoth natural sugar and there are literally hundreds of others..
Sugars are carbohydrates. These are molecules made of only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and are pretty much all "natural" chemicals being made either by plants through photosynthesis or by natural metabolism of other sugars by plants or animals.. These molecules form polymers, very long chains of molecules. Sugar forms crystals, which are made of lots of these chans cross-linked together. In normal sugar these links are formed by hydrogen atoms in the different molecules bonding together. Such hydrogen bonds are very common in nature - they also hold together most of the proteins that we are made of. Hydrogwn bonds are easily broken and if we eat sugar this happens in the gut breaking the molecules into small units that are easy to absorb which is why sugars provide such quick energy.
Splenda (or sucralose to give it a better name) works by replacing some of the linking hydrogens with chlorine. Chlorine forms very strong bonds that do not break in the gut and the molecules therefore stay full size and are actually too big to be absorbed through the gut wall. So it passes straight through the body without being absorbed. This means sucrolose can be used both to sweeten food, and to add to the texture/structure of food just like any other sugar but as it cannot be digested it has no nutritional effect at all. Chlorine is also found naturally in the body. It is normally absorbed in the form of sodium chloride - salt.0 -
Interesting topic! I appreciate the info. I personally have started to appreciate agave syrup. I tried Stevia and didn't like it at all in my coffee.
Perhaps it was the brand I bought? They were little tablets. 0 -
This is a great attitude. I'm trying hard to eat less sweetened foods in general, too. I found that all-natural peanut butter is so delicious without the added sweeteners. PB doesn't need to be sweet, in my opinon - it's quite tasty all by itself! I eat Lara bars, which are fruit/nut bars with no added sweeteners/preservatives/etc. - they're so good - the fruit is sweet enough on its own. I rarely add sweetner to most things these days, but I realize that realistically there are some things I may want sweetner for, which is why I invested in the Stevia plants. I figure, they were <$20, so if I end up killing them, I won't be out too much money. :laugh:
Added sweeteners to peanut butter?! Why??? You should try Dutch peanutbutter
We have the real thing! 0 -
Interesting topic! I appreciate the info. I personally have started to appreciate agave syrup. I tried Stevia and didn't like it at all in my coffee. Perhaps it was the brand I bought? They were little tablets.
It may have been the brand... I have noticed that the pure stevia I use has less of a weird taste than what I used before, which had other ingredients. I also don't have very picky taste buds, so I find that I can get used to almost anything if I want to. In my mind, it's worth getting used to a slightly different sweet taste versus continuing to use the other options that are out there.0 -
This is a great attitude. I'm trying hard to eat less sweetened foods in general, too. I found that all-natural peanut butter is so delicious without the added sweeteners. PB doesn't need to be sweet, in my opinon - it's quite tasty all by itself! I eat Lara bars, which are fruit/nut bars with no added sweeteners/preservatives/etc. - they're so good - the fruit is sweet enough on its own. I rarely add sweetner to most things these days, but I realize that realistically there are some things I may want sweetner for, which is why I invested in the Stevia plants. I figure, they were <$20, so if I end up killing them, I won't be out too much money. :laugh:
Added sweeteners to peanut butter?! Why??? You should try Dutch peanutbutter We have the real thing!
I agree! Unfortunately many (most?) of the popular peanut butter brands sold in the US have added sugars, salt, oils, etc. I now only buy PB that has one ingredient: peanuts!0 -
I think people get too worried about things being "chemical". The Royal Society of Chemistry here in the UK is offering a £1 million prize for anyone who can make something that is truly chemical free - effectively impossible as everything is actually made of chemicals - everything natural, everything man made. Naturally sweet things are usually sweet because they contain sugars. What we call sugar is made of two sugars mixed - glucose and (I think) dextrose. Fruits are sweet as they contain another suger - fructose, milk contains lactose, which is a sugar. Mannose is anoth natural sugar and there are literally hundreds of others..
Sugars are carbohydrates. These are molecules made of only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and are pretty much all "natural" chemicals being made either by plants through photosynthesis or by natural metabolism of other sugars by plants or animals.. These molecules form polymers, very long chains of molecules. Sugar forms crystals, which are made of lots of these chans cross-linked together. In normal sugar these links are formed by hydrogen atoms in the different molecules bonding together. Such hydrogen bonds are very common in nature - they also hold together most of the proteins that we are made of. Hydrogwn bonds are easily broken and if we eat sugar this happens in the gut breaking the molecules into small units that are easy to absorb which is why sugars provide such quick energy.
Splenda (or sucralose to give it a better name) works by replacing some of the linking hydrogens with chlorine. Chlorine forms very strong bonds that do not break in the gut and the molecules therefore stay full size and are actually too big to be absorbed through the gut wall. So it passes straight through the body without being absorbed. This means sucrolose can be used both to sweeten food, and to add to the texture/structure of food just like any other sugar but as it cannot be digested it has no nutritional effect at all. Chlorine is also found naturally in the body. It is normally absorbed in the form of sodium chloride - salt.
Agreed. I have found that sugar makes me feel bad and Stevia has a bad aftertaste. I eat 99% organic and only shop at whole foods and farmer's markets for the most part, but I do use splenda. I love it. I figure it has to at least balance out since I'm not eating pesticides or hormones, which are much more dodgy, IMO0 -
I had a feeling I find you when I saw the title of this thread. haha Anyway, I have been using table sugar lately, as my stevia plants died. I'm going to do more research on their care, so I don't kill them again. lol Did you get more Stevias? I'm getting more in March.0
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