Splenda - How much is too much?

[mommykds]

Good morning. I love my coffee sweet. In an effort to save calories I use 2-3 packets of Splenda in each cup averaging 2-3 cups per day. I have looked online & found some articles stating that Splenda is formed from combining chlorine & ammonia at high temps which doesn't sound to healthy to me. I love Splenda, but am now concerned that I am taking in too much. I tried my coffee without it but blech!!!! How much is too much? Are you concerned of the health risks (if any?) Thanks!

 

[krcit]

I use Equal but Splenda was on sale once and I bought it. It killed my stomach. It took me a few days to realize that it was the Splenda that did it.

 

[bellebud]

personally, I don't use any artificial sweeteners. I'd rather the real sugar. If you very slowly start using less and less, your taste buds WILL get used to it. How about honey?

 

[kinntj]

Good morning. I love my coffee sweet. In an effort to save calories I use 2-3 packets of Splenda in each cup averaging 2-3 cups per day. I have looked online & found some articles stating that Splenda is formed from combining chlorine & ammonia at high temps which doesn't sound to healthy to me. I love Splenda, but am now concerned that I am taking in too much. I tried my coffee without it but blech!!!! How much is too much? Are you concerned of the health risks (if any?) Thanks!

DH said a lot of things doesn't sound healthy when put together, but it depends on how well it's purified. He specializes more in organic chemistry for pharmaceuticals.

On the Dr.'s show they recommended 1-2 packs of fake sugars a day. Less is better of that stuff.

 

[kinntj]

personally, I don't use any artificial sweeteners. I'd rather the real sugar. If you very slowly start using less and less, your taste buds WILL get used to it. How about honey?

Agree!

I love honey and will use a packet of Truvia if I need a sweetner mixed in my plain yogurt. We also use Agave.

 

[Wishing on a star]

NO chemicals for me!

Have there not been new reports, just out, that are showing more possible health dangers of these artificial sweeteners?

 

[SookieStackhouse]

I definitely don't do Splenda after hearing what it did to my MIL... Let's just say drinking lots of Splenda sweetened diet soda can cause one to really, well it's just something I didn't even want to know about.

 

[ChrisFL]

I have splenda about once or twice a week...but Truvia seems to be better, anyone know any problems with Truvia?

 

[bicker]

Good morning. I love my coffee sweet. In an effort to save calories I use 2-3 packets of Splenda in each cup averaging 2-3 cups per day. I have looked online & found some articles stating that Splenda is formed from combining chlorine & ammonia at high temps which doesn't sound to healthy to me.

I think we're brow-beaten by the mass-media to see the word "chlorine" and freak, but that would just be a reflection of a misunderstanding of chemistry, though. For example, while hiking in the backwoods, your best friend is chlorine or iodine. These chemicals, used with acumen, make water safer.

In the case of Splenda, there is no evidence that the chlorine used in its processing has any more negative impact on your body than regular sugar has on your body, including its contribution to unstable blood glucose, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, immune system problems, etc. There are many people who beat their chests and wax poetically about how they only use regular sugar, trying to make a heart-tugging self-promotional appeal advocating regular sugar as a better option... There is no evidence of that.

The negative ramifications of eating too much sugar are painfully clear, ridiculously obvious, and inescapable. Meanwhile, while nothing is ever guaranteed, Splenda seems, on every level, a positive alternative to sugar. So unless you're going to abandon sweetness altogether, don't give much credence to those who try to scare you away from Splenda. Make them prove their point on a same-versus-same comparison, sugar versus Splenda, over the long-term, with a whole-health perspective, not convenient self-selection of unrelated science experiments that have nothing to do with how the two substances will affect your body and your life over the long haul.

All critics are legitimately able to advice you with integrity is that you should learn to live without sweetness, entirely. There's clear evidence that that does have overall positive impact. I'm not willing to make that choice.

I figure over the course of a day I probably have the equivalent of 10-15 t. of sugar - so just a little more than you. I should note that I do not drink diet sodas (anymore), because the acid messes with my digestion, so coffee (which has acid as well, but it's a good trade-off) is the entirety of my sweetness consumption, with the exception of a bit of "medicinal" dark chocolate each day. So either I use a little more artificial sweetener than you, or a little less, if you're a diet soda drinker - and I'm very comfortable and confident in my consumption choices in this regard.

 

[MIGrandma]

I definitely don't do Splenda after hearing what it did to my MIL... Let's just say drinking lots of Splenda sweetened diet soda can cause one to really, well it's just something I didn't even want to know about.

I think I may know what you mean.

I used to use Splenda in coffee, on my morning cereal, and had sugar free jello often, and other sugar free items because of Type 2 diabetes but, well let's just say I spent more time in the restroom, and had to use Gas-X frequently.

I got away from artificial sweeteners (my drink of choice now is sparkling water, no sugar, no chemicals, no sodium) and don't have those problems.

Occasionally I'll sweeten a cup of black coffee with Truvia, and haven't had any problems with it.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I think I may know what you mean.

I used to use Splenda in coffee, on my morning cereal, and had sugar free jello often, and other sugar free items because of Type 2 diabetes but, well let's just say I spent more time in the restroom, and had to use Gas-X frequently.

I got away from artificial sweeteners (my drink of choice now is sparkling water, no sugar, no chemicals, no sodium) and don't have those problems.

Occasionally I'll sweeten a cup of black coffee with Truvia, and haven't had any problems with it.

You are so funny! This post and your second tag made me

I use two packs of splenda when I have oatmeal, but that's about all I ever use it for. I have not had a problem yet.

 

[BillSears]

I think I may know what you mean.

I used to use Splenda in coffee, on my morning cereal, and had sugar free jello often, and other sugar free items because of Type 2 diabetes but, well let's just say I spent more time in the restroom, and had to use Gas-X frequently.

I got away from artificial sweeteners (my drink of choice now is sparkling water, no sugar, no chemicals, no sodium) and don't have those problems.

Occasionally I'll sweeten a cup of black coffee with Truvia, and haven't had any problems with it.

Your problem sounds like Sugar Alcohols not Splenda. Sugar Alcohols will go right through you.

 

[AKL_Megs]

I use Splenda daily, in my tea or coffee. I have yet to have a side effect.

 

[Buckalew11]

I use Splenda daily, in my tea or coffee. I have yet to have a side effect.

me neither.

I use 2-3 in my coffee each day. I only drink one cup. Sometimes I drink half one day and the other half cold the next, lol.

 

[nexttripdisney]

I just recently decided to take all artificial sweeteners out of my diet. If I need something sweetened, I'll use a limited amount of real sugar.

Based on current reports on the harmful effects of caramel color and carbonation, I'm quitting soft drinks, too.

 

[tvguy]

I don't have any answers. Just a lot of questions about artificial sweetnered
I grew up with cyclamates, which were banned in the U.S in 1969 because they allegedly caused cancer. Loved them, no problems. Here we are over 40 years later and cyclamates are the best selling artificial sweetner outside the U.S., and no spike in cancer cases.

Nutrasweet gives he a headache, and I never get headaches. I used Splenda with no problems, but basically have just stopped using any sweetener in coffee, cereal, fresh fruit, etc. Well, I have been know to put honey or real maple syrup on the oat bran in the morning.

Not sure not using chemicals is the way to go, since EVERYTHING we eat really is a chemical. Not sure eating only natural stuff works either, everything is natural unless it came from another planet. Arsenic is natural too you know.

 

[jsmith]

Truvia and related products are not "artificial" in the same sense that Slenda, Equal,NutraSweet ect are-Truvia is made from Stevia which is an herb. Its still a sugar replacment-but its naturally 0 calorie-unlike the others.

 

[chisnpeke]

I can't handle aspartame (sp?) too much. I can drink a Coke Zero every once in a while but Diet Coke is not good...it gives me a horrible headache.

I don't know what is the difference between Equal or Splenda or NutraSweet. We have never used artificial sweeteners...always real sugar.

 

[Foxhound3857]

The evidence suggesting that artificial sweeteners can be linked to cancer is speculation and educated theory, not definitive. There wouldn't necessarily be a spike in cancer cases due to artificial sweeteners because they cannot be directly correlated to getting cancer. There's little doubt that they contribute to cancer and other problems, but are they a direct cause? No. There are other core factors to take in, such as genetics, environment, habits, etc.

It's just like smoking. Does smoking directly cause cancer? No. It increases the likelihood or the risk that a person will develop some kind of cancer (lung, most likely), so it is an attributing factor (and a rather big one at that), but it is not a direct cause. You are not guaranteed to get cancer by smoking. There are people in the world who do not smoke and distance themselves from second-hand smoke as much as they possible can, and still get cancer in one form or another.

My point is, it's an attributing factor, not a direct cause. That said, artificial sweeteners are...well, artificial, and therefore are foreign to your body. They're not good for you, and they're the reason why I won't drink anything labeled as "diet." Real sugar isn't good for you either, but it's not as bad as an artificial sweetener, and honestly it's not bad at all in moderation.

 

[bicker]

Not sure not using chemicals is the way to go, since EVERYTHING we eat really is a chemical. Not sure eating only natural stuff works either, everything is natural unless it came from another planet.

Truvia and related products are not "artificial" in the same sense that Slenda, Equal,NutraSweet ect are-Truvia is made from Stevia which is an herb. Its still a sugar replacment-but its naturally 0 calorie-unlike the others.

tvguy not only beat me to the best reply to your comment, but actually beat you to it...

Arsenic is natural too you know.

There are many natural products that if you put them in your body over a long period of time you'll get cancer, or heart disease, or some other nasty thing. And again, the main point is that sugar is one of those things that cause nasty things to happen to you. If you're going to do without sweetness, then that's one thing - otherwise, I see no reason to believe that sugar is safer than any of the major artificial sweeteners are - indeed, I believe of the four choices (sugar, sucralose, saccharine, and Nutrasweet), sugar is probably the worst of the four.

I don't know what is the difference between Equal or Splenda or NutraSweet.

Equal is basically NutraSweet, which is a brand-name for the sweetener aspartame.

Splenda is a brand-name for the sucralose, which essentially is sugar converted so that it cannot be broken down by the body. That's why it has no calories.

Another major low-calorie sweetener sold in the United States (and the one with the longest history of safety) is saccharine. It is often marketed under the brand-name Sweet & Low.