Is Splenda really that bad?

[Atty]

I love green tea, especially the green tea that Publix makes, and usually but it there but stopped recently when I started losing weight because its high in sugar and switched to all water. Now Publix has released a "diet" (labeled) as calorie free but its got Splenda in it.

Is it really that bad? I've heard that artificial sugars like that aren't the best for your body, any truth to that? Thanks!

 

[Lola]

I personally have found that any artifical sweetners I try make me breakout very badly and also get migraines from them.

YMMV, of course, but I do not like them at all... no matter how they are touted as being "better for you" than real sugar.

I have even stopped eating/drinking things with HFCS.

 

[nismotigerwvu]

I react fine to them but that doesn't mean I am what you should expect. The downside is that it gets you to relate sweet tasting items with low/no calories and this is never a good thing. But, in moderation (the way it was designed and marketed for) it IS in fact healthier than sugar in terms of calories and zero impact on blood glucose.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: iAtticus
I love green tea, especially the green tea that Publix makes, and usually but it there but stopped recently when I started losing weight because its high in sugar and switched to all water. Now Publix has released a "diet" (labeled) as calorie free but its got Splenda in it.

Is it really that bad? I've heard that artificial sugars like that aren't the best for your body, any truth to that? Thanks!

There hasn't been research that confirms or disconfirms the fact that artificial sugars are bad for you. However, previous artificial sweeteners have been known to cause some potential problems. It's up to your discretion and if you limit your intake (and don't drink 3-4 of them a day), you should be ok FWIW. Until they come out with research saying that it's unhealthy or not for you, nobody will really know the actual results.

 

[irishScott]

I make my own and drink it straight up:

http://www.republicoftea.com/t...s/detail.asp?navID=198
http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html

1 lb of tea will easily last me for 1 year. Much cheaper than bottled tea.

Another problem with processed tea is that it generally has about 1/4 of the health benefits due to both the stuff they put in it and just sitting on a shelf. Heat/sunlight can destroy/disable some of the healthy compounds/antioxidants within the tea.

Also, full leaf can have up to 300% the benefits of tea bags. Your standard tea-bag is literally the dust at the bottom of the tea barrel. Some bags touted as "gourmet" (that are actually made from fresh shredded tea) are better, but still not as good.

I also prefer the unsweetened/unflavored taste, but that's me. I also have full leaf white, rooibos(red) and black tea. I'm something of a tea fanatic. Just throwing that out there...

 

[StageLeft]

Who knows. Net impact I am sure is negative, if small. I've basically given up on artificial sweeteners except in diet soda. I find that coffee and other foods with splenda simply tastes fvcking gross and that's the same for all artificial sweeteners. I'd rather watch calories as a whole and have the real thing. I did artificials for years, but even when getting hella holy-crap lean I will not bother with them anymore.

 

[TheDoc9]

I stopped drinking Splenda when I read that it's made from a combination of sugar and chlorine. The result is a molecule with something like 3 chlorine atoms attached to fructose and glucose. The name sucrolose (splenda) was invented to liken it to sucrose, fructose and glucose which are all natural and fine for the body. You have to ask yourself if you want a chemical like splenda in your body given the choice. If you're diabetic occasional splenda might be ok but everyone's circumstance is different.

One other thing is that sugar in moderation is ok, and if you confuse the body with something sweet but no caloric impact then you're metabolism won't increase. For example; when you drink a soda with a meal your bodies metabolic rate increase in response to the sugar, burning more calories. The same meal with a splenda drink will ironically keep your metobolic rate more normal burning fewer calories.

 

[gramboh]

Anyone have much experience with stevia? I've read about it but never seen/tried it.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: gramboh
Anyone have much experience with stevia? I've read about it but never seen/tried it.

I use it once in a while, though I rarely sweeten anything TBH. Stevia is good, it's just very potent and very expensive. I bought a box of 40 small packets for 20 bucks, but it takes me about 5 uses to get through 1 packet.

The taste is fine, but I can't say I can tell the difference between stevia and Splenda unless I am trying them straight up.

KT

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: irishScott
I make my own and drink it straight up:

http://www.republicoftea.com/t...s/detail.asp?navID=198
http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html

1 lb of tea will easily last me for 1 year. Much cheaper than bottled tea.

Another problem with processed tea is that it generally has about 1/4 of the health benefits due to both the stuff they put in it and just sitting on a shelf. Heat/sunlight can destroy/disable some of the healthy compounds/antioxidants within the tea.

Also, full leaf can have up to 300% the benefits of tea bags. Your standard tea-bag is literally the dust at the bottom of the tea barrel. Some bags touted as "gourmet" (that are actually made from fresh shredded tea) are better, but still not as good.

I also prefer the unsweetened/unflavored taste, but that's me. I also have full leaf white, rooibos(red) and black tea. I'm something of a tea fanatic. Just throwing that out there...

Very interesting. I've inherited a lot of tea, most if it left by former roommates. You wouldn't believe how much tea I have on my shelves, and most if it's been sitting there for years and years! I rarely drink tea, is the thing. I'm a coffee guy (organic, only). But I know that many (billions of people!) are really into tea, so figure I should check it out.

I have green tea, oolong, black, Lipton's (is that black?), Earl Grey (2 cans, unused), herbal, just about any kind of tea you can imagine. OK, I'm sure there are lots of kinds I don't have, but there's many kinds. I have all kinds of tea accessories with the exception of a tea pot, probably the most essential accessory, or certainly one of them. When I want a cup of tea I either use a Lipton's tea bag, a tea bag of herbal tea (Celestial Seasonings?), or one of my several several tea infusers made of stainless. I typically add a 1/2 teaspoon of honey or sugar. I never buy artificial sweeteners. However, I was in the habit of drinking one can of diet cola/day, until recently, when a worker at Costco actually talked me out of it! He asserted that that stuff can be carcinogenic. Nuff said, I figured.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: gramboh
Anyone have much experience with stevia? I've read about it but never seen/tried it.

The idea on this one, like splenda, is that since it's from naturally devived ingredients (ignore for a moment that mercury and cynaide are, too) it's ok, but in reality who knows. I actually recall hearing that this one has had some bad findings in various studies and may be worse than the rest, but you could do your research.

The fact is, these things are a bit like playing with fire. You can't get something for nothing; they have a side effect in some capacity.

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: TheDoc9
I stopped drinking Splenda when I read that it's made from a combination of sugar and chlorine. The result is a molecule with something like 3 chlorine atoms attached to fructose and glucose. The name sucrolose (splenda) was invented to liken it to sucrose, fructose and glucose which are all natural and fine for the body. You have to ask yourself if you want a chemical like splenda in your body given the choice. If you're diabetic occasional splenda might be ok but everyone's circumstance is different.

One other thing is that sugar in moderation is ok, and if you confuse the body with something sweet but no caloric impact then you're metabolism won't increase. For example; when you drink a soda with a meal your bodies metabolic rate increase in response to the sugar, burning more calories. The same meal with a splenda drink will ironically keep your metobolic rate more normal burning fewer calories.

One incredibly, incredibly wrong point in your post. High sugar intake creates an insulin response that actually causes you to STORE (not burn) more calories.

And yes, splenda has chlorine. "Bad" chemicals are used in all sorts of things, you'd be surprised what a chemical can do at 1 moderation yet does a whole different thing at another moderation. Splenda is also the only fully water soluable sugar substitute and the critics have been trying to find something bad about it for quite awhile now. Talking about the Chlorine in Splenda is an emotional response used to feed on people who don't know any better. You should know pretty much any water supply you deal with is chlorinated.

However, everything in moderation and anyone would be wise not to consider any sugar substitute an all-you-can eat pass to sweets.

 

[gramboh]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: gramboh
Anyone have much experience with stevia? I've read about it but never seen/tried it.

The idea on this one, like splenda, is that since it's from naturally devived ingredients (ignore for a moment that mercury and cynaide are, too) it's ok, but in reality who knows. I actually recall hearing that this one has had some bad findings in various studies and may be worse than the rest, but you could do your research.

The fact is, these things are a bit like playing with fire. You can't get something for nothing; they have a side effect in some capacity.

I'll have to do some research here, I was under the impression stevia was a pure plant extract. Oh well, I don't really use sweeteners.