What's your take on Splenda or sweetners? good/bad?

[Trivine1]

Thanks

[KaraPhoto]

I think it's a decision that each person has to make individually.

I personally try to avoid artificial sweeteners as much as possible - I'd rather use real sugar or honey and account for the calories. That said, I drink Diet Coke ... so obviously it's not a hard and fast rule for me.

I know some people who are very sensitive to Splenda. A good friend of mine gets bad headaches and bloat when she consumes it and has found that if she avoids Splenda, she feels much better.

I don't think, however, that anything is across the board "bad" or across the board "good". I actually hate the concept of good/bad as regards food ... becuase when you start to demonize or elevate any food, many people then choose to make that food the focus of their efforts. If I eat potatoes, I'll gain weight. If I drink a gallon of acai berry juice a day I'll lose weight. Whatever. They put all their focus into one food and ignore all the rest of common sense about losing/gaining weight.

So I don't think Splenda is "bad" ... I don't think it's "good". It's a choice you make based on your feelings/thoughts about food and how it affects your body.

[kingoftroys]

When I used splenda I would get uncontrollable muscle twitches,did some online research and there can be all kinds of side effects to using splenda and the muscle ticks was one of them.I stopped using it,better off to use a natural sweetner in my opinion.

[freebirdmac]

Don't like them. I think you're far better off sticking to stevia, sugar, honey, agave, etc.

[bethanyboo]

When I used splenda I would get uncontrollable muscle twitches,did some online research and there can be all kinds of side effects to using splenda and the muscle ticks was one of them.I stopped using it,better off to use a natural sweetner in my opinion.

That's interesting.. my shoulder was twitching all day long Wednesday. I usually have a few splendas a day in my tea. I wonder if that's what caused it.

[MsFit]

I'm happy to say that I just kicked the coke habit, that's Diet Coke, last month. I've been addicted to aspartame-infested Diet Coke since 1993. I went through a literal detox... it was the same as watching those detox from drugs on Intervention... headaches, sick, nausea... It was a rough 2-3 days, but I feel 100% better now, no cravings for it whatsoever, AND my nagging back pain vanished! Kicking the "Diet Coke" habit has been the BEST thing I've ever done.

I now use Stevia and Xylitol as well as honey. At times I'll take some club soda and add different flavors of Stevia in it if I want something other than water or freshly squeezed juice.

On my scheduled cheat day, sometimes I may have regular coke.

[kdiamond55]

I have used 2-3 packets of Splenda a day for years and I have no adverse side effects to it. Aspartame also doesn't give me issues.

I have also tried Stevia and I had major gastro issues with it.

So I think it really depends on individuals!

[CATRACCOM]

Splenda gives me cystic acne bad. I just do sugar, agave, or stevia.

[laurenrun262]

Very interesting topic. Been wondering about this lately

[vandalgirl59]

I'm not against them, but I don't always appreciate the after-feeling I get from them (stomach ache for example). I use them a bit here and there but not nearly as much as I use to...

[julysray]

when i usedsplenda i had this funny after taste in my mouth...hated it stopped using it and i feel much better too...but it is an individual thing my aunt uses a big bag in a week...blah she loves sweet tea

[kristin07]

I'm not the biggest fan of artificial sweetners mainly for the reason that they are artificial. I don't like the thought of adding more manufactured sweetners to my diet when I can barely find anything that isn't sweetened or enhanced with high fructose corn syrup. I would love to read some studies on the long term effects of products like splenda but seeing that they are fairly recent creations it'll be awhile til we truly know how they effect our bodies.

[NOVA888]

My body doesn't respond well to sugars.

I do use artificial sweeteners, but only on occasion (as a treat/cheat).

I've successfully weaned my tastebuds away from finding sugar pleasurable, so now it tends to taste increasingly foreign to me. I'm very happy about that, as I don't want to be manipulated on any level by the cane sugar/high-fructose corn syrup industries.

[Midnight720]

I use to have splenda on oalmeal and on my brown rice. But now I use peanut butter a lots now..

[aussieangie]

I only use stevia extract leaf sweetener as it has zero cal's, zero carbs and zero of everything. Another reason I use it is because it contains no aspartame, dextrose or lactose which could cause insulin and an increase in insulin, increases body fat.

http://www.womentowomen.com/healthyweight/splenda.aspx

[juliacheh]

I don't really feel the need to sweeten anything, and I don't drink any soda or other sweet drinks. In baking I use real sugar or honey.

[DrivenAgain]

I primarily use Stevia for almost everything, but use Splenda when there's none handy, even though I know it's not good for me.

[mrsawesdaws]

I don't know why, but artificial sweetners give me stomach aches/cramps. Another thing is a friend of mine had been using Splenda to make a lot of desserts for the holidays. She said she kept munching on stuff, and then woke up in the middle of the night with sweats and feeling sick. She vomited a white goo that tasted like splenda. :0[ After getting sick she said she instantly started feeling better.


My solution: Somehow I've managed to get to a point that I almost never eat sugar. Unless it's in a fruit, or honey. I eat my oatmeal plain, my tea unsweetened, etc... I do however have regular yogurts, but I'm pretty picky b/c some brands are too sweet, and I have to have a teaspoon of sugar in my coffee.

[fitlover]

I use regular sugar/honey/molasses most of the time. Occasionally I'll throw in a packet of splenda or add a couple drops of stevia to something if I'm on a low carb day or something. But those don't happen too often anymore, hehe.

[susy99]

I use Stevia just because I have read it is natural in all ways and it actually tastes good in my tea.

[LoCo84]

When I used splenda I would get uncontrollable muscle twitches,did some online research and there can be all kinds of side effects to using splenda and the muscle ticks was one of them.I stopped using it,better off to use a natural sweetner in my opinion.

Yeah, same thing happens to me with splenda, twitching and just an overall feeling of being on edge, so I stopped using it all together. I used to use a lot of artificial sweeteners but I was finding myself craving sugar more and more, so I cut down on my consumption dramatically and have curbed my craving for sweets significantly which make me overall more successful. I don't think it's bad, I just think it depends on what your goals are, and like Kara said, it's all about moderation and not saying that any one food on it's own is good or bad.

[Linds33]

I use Stevia once a day in my morning coffee and sometimes when i have oatmeal.

I don't drink any diet cokes or soda except for virgil's cream soda (diet) which is sweetened with Stevia and contains no artificial ingredients. And I really only have that maybe 3 times a year cuz it is expensive!

Other then that if i am baking i will use real sugar or honey.

[up4more]

Thanks

I say if you can stay away from anything artificial in your diet, it would be best. I have have such great results eating clean, and using Stevia (the liquid kind) as a replacement for sweeteners in my coffee cup. Plus, I never tasted the difference and Stevia is natural.

[dacduster]

I use Splenda in a lot of things. It's my primary sweetening agent that I use. I have some stevia but I can't figure out how much to use. There is no info on equivalence to other stuff.

[sweepone]

That's interesting.. my shoulder was twitching all day long Wednesday. I usually have a few splendas a day in my tea. I wonder if that's what caused it.

No, it's that giant hand growing out of your shoulder. Get to the doctor quick.

[chelly88]

I'm happy to say that I just kicked the coke habit, that's Diet Coke, last month. I've been addicted to aspartame-infested Diet Coke since 1993. I went through a literal detox... it was the same as watching those detox from drugs on Intervention... headaches, sick, nausea... It was a rough 2-3 days, but I feel 100% better now, no cravings for it whatsoever, AND my nagging back pain vanished! Kicking the "Diet Coke" habit has been the BEST thing I've ever done.

I now use Stevia and Xylitol as well as honey. At times I'll take some club soda and add different flavors of Stevia in it if I want something other than water or freshly squeezed juice.

On my scheduled cheat day, sometimes I may have regular coke.

^^ same! I gave up the splenda/sweetener (2-4 coffee's/day, oatmeal, crystal light, a pack of guma day.. all this and more... every... single...day)... got serious "withdrawl" and cravings but once I kicked it the cravings went way down and I crave a lot less refined carbs/sugar/chocolate... AND I've noticed that days I DO consume that chemical mess I have to deal with constipation, cravings, bloating, abdominal and lower back pain ++++ to the point the docs thought I had colitis on several different occasions, indigestion... I think this is one thing I definitely label bad loud and clear for my body!

[chelly88]

I'm curious to hear from the experts on this one...
I've read some stuff on artificial sweeteners and newer research showing that it "tricks" the body into not recognizing that sweet food=calories. Basically our body associated calories with sweetness until we consume "too much" (no idea how much that means) sweeteners, then the body begins to respond differently (lacking insulin response and 'recognizing' that there are calories in sweet foods that aren't made with artificial sweeteners among many other problematic effects). Jillian Michaels wrote about this also in her book "Master you Metabolism" and explained it much better than I am...

SOOO... this should spark up some responses in itself but I wasn't able to find much or anything if that is still true with natural calorie-free sweeteners. I only see the word "truvia" once in her whole book as an option in one recipe... I know darn well that natural does NOT mean it's good for u just curious!

[CanisDirus]

Artificial sweeteners typically give me cramping and gas. I can get away with maybe 1 packet of Sweet N' Low...but anything more is just asking for trouble. Even the 1 packet makes me bloat.
I only sweeten my morning coffee anyway, and it's usually just 1 cup a day and I hardly ever finish it. My Mom gave me some Agave nectar but I haven't tried it yet.

[KaraPhoto]

I'm curious to hear from the experts on this one...
I've read some stuff on artificial sweeteners and newer research showing that it "tricks" the body into not recognizing that sweet food=calories. Basically our body associated calories with sweetness until we consume "too much" (no idea how much that means) sweeteners, then the body begins to respond differently (lacking insulin response and 'recognizing' that there are calories in sweet foods that aren't made with artificial sweeteners among many other problematic effects). Jillian Michaels wrote about this also in her book "Master you Metabolism" and explained it much better than I am...

I'm gonna say again that this is going to depend on how YOU as an individual react to things. I have lost 80+ lbs drinking Diet Coke 3-4 times a week ... it's never led me to binge on sweet stuff or crave more sweets or anything like that.

I think a lot of people tend to take an all-or-nothing approach with this information, which is just silly. Just like some people are allergic to peanuts and some people aren't, or some people react poorly to lactose and some people don't, how each person reacts to sweeteners is going to have a lot to do with THEM and their body chemistry. For some reason, perfectly smart, well-educated people are able to understand and accept that some people have reactions to foods that others don't have ... but when it comes to artificial sweeteners, they go absolutely crazy with the claims that X response is true across the board for everyone.

Yes, I know some people who are sensitive to artificial sweeteners: I have a friend who found that her headaches stopped and she had more energy when she cut Splenda and other sucralose products from her diet. I also know someone from another message board who finds that even the tiniest sip of Diet Soda sets off huge cravings for her ... she can't eat "diet sweets" because they trigger binges. OTOH, I have another friend who lost 168 lbs and her saving grace was sugar free candies - they helped her NOT crave regular sweets and keep her desire to binge on sweets in check.

We're all different. To claim that anything affects us all the same is simply not logical or sensible.

[chelly88]

I'm gonna say again that this is going to depend on how YOU as an individual react to things. I have lost 80+ lbs drinking Diet Coke 3-4 times a week ... it's never led me to binge on sweet stuff or crave more sweets or anything like that.

I think a lot of people tend to take an all-or-nothing approach with this information, which is just silly. Just like some people are allergic to peanuts and some people aren't, or some people react poorly to lactose and some people don't, how each person reacts to sweeteners is going to have a lot to do with THEM and their body chemistry. For some reason, perfectly smart, well-educated people are able to understand and accept that some people have reactions to foods that others don't have ... but when it comes to artificial sweeteners, they go absolutely crazy with the claims that X response is true across the board for everyone.

Yes, I know some people who are sensitive to artificial sweeteners: I have a friend who found that her headaches stopped and she had more energy when she cut Splenda and other sucralose products from her diet. I also know someone from another message board who finds that even the tiniest sip of Diet Soda sets off huge cravings for her ... she can't eat "diet sweets" because they trigger binges. OTOH, I have another friend who lost 168 lbs and her saving grace was sugar free candies - they helped her NOT crave regular sweets and keep her desire to binge on sweets in check.

We're all different. To claim that anything affects us all the same is simply not logical or sensible.

absolutely I never made the claim that that would happen to everyone... just stated that "I would definitely label it BAD for my body"

That said... there's loads of toxins and chemicals in diet soda. Several known carcinogens which are said to be "regulated" and "safe" by the USDA but their combined effects have not been studied, all they figure is that the levels in a single drink are safe. But this stuff is literally found in almost everything... and we wonder why disease, morbidity, obesity and childhood prevalence of loads of disease are increasing, not to say that's the SOLE reason of course

but everything is individual choice, if that stuff doesn't concern you and you get no short-term ill-effects then I couldn't care less who eats/drinks what