Splenda vs Sugar

I gave up sugar when I was 23 (now 25) after a period of 6 months since my last check up at the dentist she told me I need 6x fillings, and was like what you been eating in them 6months..... so I gave sugar up, it was very hard as I loved a cup of tea with 2 sugars in etc. switched to splenda and after a month got used to it. and now prefer it. Plus 1 table spoon of sugar is like 30cals and splenda is like 1cals, so seen the benefit in other ways. I will never have sugar again, nearly 3 years cold turkey:laugh:

The difference between sugar and Splenda is a little more than taste and calories...

http://jstevens.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/how-sucralose-aka-splenda-is-made-and-why-you-want-to-avoid-it/

They chlorinate sugar to produce splenda. Splenda is chemically altered sugar.

I personally view the biggest threat, as the fact that Splenda is 10 times sweeter, and it is really easy to get used to eating foods that are sweeter. Splenda may not have calories, but it still can trick your body into the highs and lows that come with sugar consumption.

I know about the comments about how bad Splenda suppose to be, but I'm still not convince yet... :ohwell: Until I find something concrete about Splenda, I will keep using it... Plus, the calories intake is so GOOD....:bigsmile:

This is going to perhaps sound weird but, I was using Splenda for many years, and alot each day (2 packets per cup of coffee and I would drink 3 cups per day so 6 packets a day). Then I started to notice that every time I drank my coffee, I would start to wheeze (or if I drank coffee and had something else that included artifical sweetner like fat-free yogourt, diet Pepsi, etc.). I eliminated anything else that could be the culprit, until I go to the Splenda and realized that that was the thing that made me wheeze (felt like a mild asthma attack). I did some research and found that you can in fact become allergic to Splenda after years of use. Once I cut out the Splenda, the problem was gone. Weird but true for me!

Nope. Despite the scary tales, I've found no concrete scientific evidence to indicate that splenda is in anyway dangerous.

Yes, I know, I know... people will link the studies and be all OMG it's gonna kill you!

I've never seen a really quality study to show in any way that it's really dangerous.

And before people go saying "but it's made with chlorine!!!", let me just remind everyone: Dosage, absorption, concentration in the blood/body, metabolism, etc... all of that factors into deciding whether something is really toxic or not.

We eat nature-made "toxins" all the time... and in many cases, we NEED compounds that can become toxic at excessively high doses.

Concentration matters.

I switched to Stevia and I love the stuff. I get the Vanilla Bean Stevia in liquid form to add to my coffee! All natural, no chemicals.

Everything has chemicals in it, even Stevia. The difference is, stevia supposedly contains "all natural" chemicals instead of "man made" chemicals.

A chemical is a chemical is a chemical as far as your body is concerned... the chemical can fit in a receptor, it can be broken down into smaller chemicals, it can be used to make bigger chemicals.... it just depends on what the chemical is and on whether our bodies recognize/need it.

Do you know what the chemical molecule in stevia is that makes it taste sweet without the calories? I don't... but I'd be curious to know.

Side note: I think its funny that my roommate goes out of her way to buy "all natural" dish soap. I flipped it over and looked at the ingredients- it's got the same kind of stuff that not-natural dish soap has. The difference is that the "all natural" was isolated from a plant source... The 'not-natural' stuff? Could be man-made or could be isolated from a plant source too! It depends on which is cheaper.

Do you know what the chemical molecule in stevia is that makes it taste sweet without the calories? I don't... but I'd be curious to know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steviol_glycoside

Do you know what the chemical molecule in stevia is that makes it taste sweet without the calories? I don't... but I'd be curious to know.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steviol_glycoside

Doh! I coulda wiki-ed it!

Thanks!

I go back and forth about whether I care more about the calories in real sugar or the chemicals in Splenda. *shrug*

I haven't done enough my own reading to ban splenda from the house, but I do keep seeing more about it being "bad".

The difference between sugar and Splenda is a little more than taste and calories...

http://jstevens.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/how-sucralose-aka-splenda-is-made-and-why-you-want-to-avoid-it/

They chlorinate sugar to produce splenda. Splenda is chemically altered sugar.

I personally view the biggest threat, as the fact that Splenda is 10 times sweeter, and it is really easy to get used to eating foods that are sweeter. Splenda may not have calories, but it still can trick your body into the highs and lows that come with sugar consumption.

Yes, Splenda is chlorinated sugar. Salt happens to be chlorinated sodium. Your point? Chloride is also an essential nutrient.

Have you guys tried the french vanilla spenda in the coffee isle? Awesome!! I haven't been logging it due to laziness. That is all.

I don't add sugar, or eat foods with much added sugar. I try to avoid splenda, but will eat a few things with it.

Sugar typically causes me to have cravings, and if I eat too much, my blood sugars go all over the place. I just avoid it mostly.

Unrefined sugar (or honey) , always in moderation.
*** Consume appropriate for your planned activity. ***

I tried to use Splenda for a few days. I had had Splenda in coffee several times early in the day and during the day was doing a stair climbing challenge. I got very light headed and gave up the stair climbing challenge but the dizziness remained and got so bad I eventually got sick to my stomach at work. I couldn't even get out of the building and onto the bus by myself. I had to have my son come and take me home where I go sick several more times until my stomach got cleared out -- the interesting thing was that I didn't bring up anything except some fluids and several sticky white globs which I believe was the Splenda. I haven't used it since and have never had a repeat of that experience. I currently don't use any sweetener in my coffee (if I have any coffee at all) and am even drinking only decaf. to wean myself off of coffee as well.

How do you know it was splenda and not, say, a virus?

I drink a Starbucks almost everyday - not the skinny or sugar free variety. I do not like the taste of artificial sweetners. With that said, I've still lost over 40 lbs by consuming regular sugar. The sugar debate is huge on MFP so do what works for you. :drinker: