Is Splenda bad for you?

Options
gracienkaidens_momma
gracienkaidens_momma Posts: 379 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have been trying to overcome a rut lately and did some research on brain fog. I just feel like I can't focus or concentrate on anything anymore. I came across an article that stated Splenda can cause emotional problems and can somewhat cause concentration problems in people who use it regularly. I use it each day to sweeten my coffee and didn't really think it was doing any damage. I'm thinking I should stop. Is there any other sugar substitutes out there that are safer than Splenda?
«1

Replies

  • AnneM822
    AnneM822 Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    Hi Grace!
    I use Stevia, and have for years. I like the liquid version, but it also comes in packets under the name Truvia.

    Good Luck!!
    Anne
  • gracienkaidens_momma
    gracienkaidens_momma Posts: 379 Member
    Options
    Does Stevia or Truvia taste good in coffee?
  • jenricher
    jenricher Posts: 32
    Options
    I saw on the doctors that with the amount that we actually consume it isnt enough to harm us. They gave the okay us to have it. The tests that cause things like cancer or other problems were because in the test done the rats were given extremely high amounts, ( there body weight i think) of it. there is no way you or me could eat that much in a day! it might still be on the doctors website..check it out.
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
    Options
    I drink two cups of coffee a day each one with a Splenda (and so does my husband). I don't have any fogginess, concentration or emotional problem, and I am much older than you. Neither does my husband.

    Some people like and use Stivia, but I don't like the taste. You may try it if you think that Splenda is the reason of your problem. However, I doub it.
  • 1horsetown
    1horsetown Posts: 247 Member
    Options
    My chemist husband says the molecular make-up is nearly identical to a common weed killer. That was enough info for me.
  • lesliefm
    lesliefm Posts: 20 Member
    Options
    I use the pink stuff, it is saccharin, been around the longest and doesn't seem to hurt anyone. The doctors did advise not more than two servings of artificial sweetener per day, no matter what kind you use. Do you drink diet soda too or anything else with artificial sweeteners? I have tried truvia as well, it is ok in coffee.
  • kt2007
    kt2007 Posts: 315 Member
    Options
    I been using Splenda Brown Sugar for a while now. All I use is a Half Teaspoon about 4 or 5 days a week. I put it in my oatmeal. If that tiny bit hurts me than be it but I dont think so myself. Best of luck to you in your journey and hope you get back right in the head. LOL J/J
  • DHalaby73
    DHalaby73 Posts: 980 Member
    Options
    Splenda taste great in coffee and me and my husband only use 2 packets..that's all you need...
  • tatiana_13
    tatiana_13 Posts: 325
    Options
    Splenda probably is bad for you...but so is bacon and cheese and car exhaust. So, pick your poison...but just in little tiny bits. And a little in your coffee seems to fit that criteria. But, there are lots of alternatives. Real sugar. If you're really just putting in your coffee, a teaspoon is only 15 calories. I also really like Sun crystals. It's 5 calories and a mix of sugar and stevia...I think the mixing cuts down the stevia after taste...but it does have some sugar, something to keep in kind if your concern is blood sugar rather than calories. I've also tried erythritol. It's okay. All natural, but not very sweet. Many people like to mix it with stevia.

    That's all I got!
  • gracienkaidens_momma
    gracienkaidens_momma Posts: 379 Member
    Options
    I do only use two splendas in my coffee. I only drink a small cup. I might try using regular sugar and cut it down to one tablespoon.
  • gracienkaidens_momma
    gracienkaidens_momma Posts: 379 Member
    Options
    Another thing I have been reading about is Candida. I don't know if I have it, but I do tend to eat too much white bread/sugar and high carbs. I have no idea how to get rid of it other than taking a Garlic supplement to kill the yeast and cutting down or cutting out sugar and white bread from my diet. If this is all Greek to you, google Candida. I have many of the symptoms. I just need to figure out what is wrong with me and hopefully fix it.
  • sluderin
    sluderin Posts: 7
    Options
    I use Stevia and Xylitol to sweeten my coffee. The xylitol has helps promote healthy bacteria so its not going to feed a yeast problem but you have to add it to your diet sparingly because it can cause some digestive upset if you overload on it. But I try to use low glycemic sugar replacements as much as possible.
  • gracienkaidens_momma
    gracienkaidens_momma Posts: 379 Member
    Options
    I heard regular sugar is healthier than splenda even though it has the calories. Is this true?
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
    Options
    Splenda is a food product approved by the FDA which is probably the most stringent body of its type in the world. In addition to passing the FDA, the product has been in use by millions of people for, what, a decade?

    In addition to the bureaucrats at the FDA being completely anal about the approval process, we in the US have attorneys that are voracious beyond imagination. My point being that if it were conceivable to find a problem with Splenda, there would be class action law suits in the works.

    Between those two, it's a pretty good bet that Splenda is OK to use for the vast majority of the population.

    One caveat, though, is that when you put a substance into enough people, eventually someone is going to have a negative reaction, whether it's a man made substance or a "natural" substance (they're all chemicals, regardless of where they come from).

    A good example is sugar - give me a Twix bar and my body will handle it OK. Put a Twix bar in a diabetic? Ouch.

    Heh, what about something natural? Sure. Most people handle a bee sting OK. Some folks choke to death.


    There is no doubt that "the system" is fallible. I vaguely remember the issue with thalydamide and we in the US barely escaped that mess. OTOH, I also remember how completely wrong "the experts" were over, to name just two items, saccharine and silicone breast implants.

    Saccahrine was put on the "no fly" list decades ago but it was reinstated when it was finally shown that the lab rats/mice were fed so much saccharin that it would be impossible for a human being to consume that much soda that contained saccharine (something like the equivalent of 13 gallons a day?). And even the negative results in the lab rats/mice could not be correlated to a negative effect on humans with any reasonable degree of confidence.

    Silicone breast implants - complete hype and scare stories that caused serious financial loss to manufacturers in law suits but for which there was no hard medical evidence that the breast implants themselves caused harm.

    I'm a big believer in the expression "The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data' ". It's not necessarily a popular outlook (most people want to believe what other people believe) but I live in Southern California and I'm so inundated by pop culture that, when I'm told by someone that they've never felt better in their life since they started taking "xyz", my response is "Oh, I'm glad that's working so well for you."

    My take on this is that if it's on the shelf in a grocery store or a drug store there's a good chance that it's good for me or, at the very least, that it won't harm me.

    That's my $0.02
  • california_peach
    california_peach Posts: 1,858 Member
    Options
    I use Slenda and have never seen any adverse side effects. I find that Stevia is bitter in coffee, but that is just me. Like someone said we have to pick our poison. Splenda and vodka are my picks!
  • gracienkaidens_momma
    gracienkaidens_momma Posts: 379 Member
    Options
    Thanks guys for all of your feedback. It is very helpful!
  • electromg
    electromg Posts: 70 Member
    Options
    Oh my goodness! I have had this same problem since...summer...when I started watching what I was eating. I have felt so spacy, quiet, depressed...not myself. This entire time I have been having splenda every day. Bad. Oh I really hope its the Splenda so I can be back to normal. Other people online have the same kinds of stories as me. Thanks for posting this!! I'm stopping this minute and going to see how I am in the next week.
  • coronalime
    coronalime Posts: 583 Member
    Options
    Maybe its associated with a change in food and activity. Maybe your hormones are out of wack(thyroid). Allergies are bothering you..who knows. It could be of course Splenda but I agree with most in that I highly doubt it. Your not consuming enough of it. There are people out there consuming tons daily. Our bodies are highly effective at balancing our bodies (within reason of course)
  • snarky
    snarky Posts: 263 Member
    Options
    Splenda is a food product approved by the FDA which is probably the most stringent body of its type in the world. In addition to passing the FDA, the product has been in use by millions of people for, what, a decade?

    In addition to the bureaucrats at the FDA being completely anal about the approval process, we in the US have attorneys that are voracious beyond imagination. My point being that if it were conceivable to find a problem with Splenda, there would be class action law suits in the works.

    Between those two, it's a pretty good bet that Splenda is OK to use for the vast majority of the population.

    One caveat, though, is that when you put a substance into enough people, eventually someone is going to have a negative reaction, whether it's a man made substance or a "natural" substance (they're all chemicals, regardless of where they come from).

    A good example is sugar - give me a Twix bar and my body will handle it OK. Put a Twix bar in a diabetic? Ouch.

    Heh, what about something natural? Sure. Most people handle a bee sting OK. Some folks choke to death.


    There is no doubt that "the system" is fallible. I vaguely remember the issue with thalydamide and we in the US barely escaped that mess. OTOH, I also remember how completely wrong "the experts" were over, to name just two items, saccharine and silicone breast implants.

    Saccahrine was put on the "no fly" list decades ago but it was reinstated when it was finally shown that the lab rats/mice were fed so much saccharin that it would be impossible for a human being to consume that much soda that contained saccharine (something like the equivalent of 13 gallons a day?). And even the negative results in the lab rats/mice could not be correlated to a negative effect on humans with any reasonable degree of confidence.

    Silicone breast implants - complete hype and scare stories that caused serious financial loss to manufacturers in law suits but for which there was no hard medical evidence that the breast implants themselves caused harm.

    I'm a big believer in the expression "The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data' ". It's not necessarily a popular outlook (most people want to believe what other people believe) but I live in Southern California and I'm so inundated by pop culture that, when I'm told by someone that they've never felt better in their life since they started taking "xyz", my response is "Oh, I'm glad that's working so well for you."

    My take on this is that if it's on the shelf in a grocery store or a drug store there's a good chance that it's good for me or, at the very least, that it won't harm me.

    That's my $0.02

    I disagree that the FDA is effective. Just because the process may be a pain in the neck does not mean that it is effective. There are food recalls or outbreaks all the time!

    This article here talks about how the FDA did no long term testing on Splenda and the tests that were performed had an extremely small sample. http://www.womentowomen.com/healthyweight/splenda.aspx

    I try to avoid all artificial sweeteners. The extra calories are worth the piece of mind to me even if it means that it is going to take longer for me to lose this weight.
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
    Options
    "I disagree that the FDA is effective. Just because the process may be a pain in the neck does not mean that it is effective. There are food recalls or outbreaks all the time!"
    No question. One reason is because the people in the FDA are…people and, as a human institution, it is possible that there will be bad actors, oopsies, and decisions made based on personal and political reasons.
    And the FDA does not control the food chain from germination to ingestion. The recent problem with tainted ground beef is good example of how things can go wrong. Factor in the incidence of problems versus the hundreds of billions of pounds of food eaten in the US and I'm pretty happy with the job that they're doing (wow - me praising the Federal gov't for doing a good job?!)


    "This article here talks about how the FDA did no long term testing on Splenda and the tests that were performed had an extremely small sample. http://www.womentowomen.com/healthyweight/splenda.aspx"
    I'll save the link.

    "I try to avoid all artificial sweeteners. The extra calories are worth the piece of mind to me even if it means that it is going to take longer for me to lose this weight."
    Certainly can't go wrong doing that! :-)

Categories