Splenda question

[Liz]

Why is Splenda supposed to be better for people than other artificial sweeteners? Just curious.

Thanks!

 

[eeyorefanatic]

Because it is actually made real sugar.

 

[GarrettJD]

A lot of people think that aspartame (NutraSweet) causes blood sugar spikes, and that sucralose (Splenda) does not. Also, I think Splenda just plain tastes better, but that's just my opinion

Aspartame is supposed to have all sorts of harmful side effects also.

 

[bicker]

There is a lot of speculation surrounding Splenda (sucralose), but in reality we don't know a whole lot about it. There have been less than 20 studies of the effects of Splenda, and NO studies of its long-term impact (which isn't surprising since there hasn't been enough time yet for there to have been any such studies completed). By contrast, there are almost 600 studies of aspartame, and over 2000 studies of saccharin. The risks of aspartame are well understood, and it is pretty-well clear now that there is relatively no risk associated with saccharine. I suspect, in the end, Splenda (sucralose) will be found to be just about as safe as saccharine, but it'll be quite a few years before we have that level of assurance.

 

[cindala]

Originally posted by bicker
The risks of aspartame are well understood, and it is pretty-well clear now that there is relatively no risk associated with saccharine.

What are the risks with aspartame? I thought this was a relatively safe artifical sweetner?

 

[Liz]

I want to know too, what are the risks of aspartame? I'm especially interested since I drink a lot of diet soft drinks with that sweetner in it! Thanks!

 

[CEDmom]

Here's some information from The Wall Street Journal on aspartame and sucralose. Like the info says Splenda (sucralose) is great for baking whereas aspartame is not (when heated it loses its sweetness).

" Aspartame, used in most diet drinks, is sold as NutraSweet and Equal.Through the years, it has been blamed for a host of conditions, including brain tumors, seizures, birth defects, multiple sclerosis and lupus, though there's no evidence to back up these claims. Some people also report side effects such as headaches, dizziness and indigestion, but no one knows how widespread they are. The only proven risk is to the small number of people with conditions, such as advanced liver disease, that cause problems metabolizing phenylalanine, an amino acid in aspartame. They are the targets of required warning labels."

"Sucralose is made from sugar but is 600 times as sweet. Marketed as Splenda, it's found in some diet drinks and other products and is also ideal for baking. After five years on the U.S. market, sucralose hasn't been linked to any adverse health effects. The independent consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest ranks sucralose as the safest of the four sweeteners."

 

[bicker]

Originally posted by cindala
What are the risks with aspartame? I thought this was a relatively safe artifical sweetner?

Sorry: I didn't mean to be cryptic. Phenylketonuria - or PKU - is a rare inherited disease in which individuals cannot properly metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine. Individuals with PKU must consider aspartame as an additional source of phenylalanine.

 

[bicker]

Originally posted by CEDmom
" Aspartame, used in most diet drinks, is sold as NutraSweet and Equal.Through the years, it has been blamed for a host of conditions, including brain tumors, seizures, birth defects, multiple sclerosis and lupus, though there's no evidence to back up these claims. Some people also report side effects such as headaches, dizziness and indigestion, but no one knows how widespread they are. The only proven risk is to the small number of people with conditions, such as advanced liver disease, that cause problems metabolizing phenylalanine, an amino acid in aspartame. They are the targets of required warning labels."

That's a key point. Lots of people complain of ailments with no causal relationship between use of the product and the ailments. The only proven risk of aspartame is to folks with PKU. And there have been hundreds of studies that have proved this.

"Sucralose is made from sugar but is 600 times as sweet. Marketed as Splenda, it's found in some diet drinks and other products and is also ideal for baking. After five years on the U.S. market, sucralose hasn't been linked to any adverse health effects. The independent consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest ranks sucralose as the safest of the four sweeteners."

Yeah, well, that's just plain irresponsible, given that there have been so few studies. The reality is that very few people are using sucralose, now, as compared to those using saccharine and aspartame (both of which number in the hundreds of millions of users per day), so five years isn't really very long for such an unscientific "study". It is one thing for some anonymous bozo like me to say that "I think sucralose will turn out to be as safe as saccharine," but for a consumer group like that to say it is really quite irresponsible IMHO.

As a matter of fact, I'm beginning to worry about CSPI quite a lot. Here's what they actually say on their web site: "Your best bet in an artificial sweetener is aspartame or sucralose, though aspartame should be better tested." What the heck are they thinking?

 

[cindala]

Okay I don't have PKU so aspartame won't affect me that way. I have used Splenda, since Atkins recommends it, but generally we use aspartame in tea, coffee, mixed drinks, etc. Geesh, another thing to worry about, as if dieting isn't hard enough!

 

[bicker]

And that's really the core of the point: The reason why these things have been approved, despite founded or unfounded concerns about their safety, is because the PTBs decided that the likelihood of risk from them is most often lower than the risks associated with people not having access to them. In other words, and for example, if there weren't artificial sweeteners, many people would be drinking sugared soft drinks, and that would increase their risk of the maladies associated with sugar intake, and increase their risk of obesity and therefore the risks from the maladies associated with obesity.