I'm skeptical because it is a press release by a group that may have an agenda they are pursuing.
> I'm diabetic and have used Splenda for a while.
Ditto.
> It doesn't leave a bad after taste like Equal or any of the other sugar substitutes.
I *have* noticed a Splenda aftertaste. Not as pronounced as with the others, but it's there.
Does it cause cancer like the other ones do?
;)
It tastes like sugar.
I haven't paid much attention to the actual advertising, but my understanding is that splenda has the same molecular structure as natural sugar, with the exception that some of the carbon atoms are replaced by chlorine atoms, thus making it undigestable. Frankly, I don't care how they market it, so long as it behaves in the body the way they say it does.
It is a one-sided press release (aren't they all?) from folks with an obvious agenda. It is not even a new story.
I'm with you. I've been using Splenda for awhile (low carber here). I still use some equal and also sometimes sweet and low (sometimes all you can get).
But, I'm curious if the sugar industry has anything to do with this? I can't help but believe that it is best for kids to not learn early in life that everything must be sweet. I was sort of an earth mother type when my kids were little and they almost never ate sugary things, had fruit for dessert, and that sort of stuff, but no artificial sweetners since sacchrine was the only one. None of the three really eat alot of sugar today, as adults, and I think it's at least partly because they did not develope the taste for it like so many kids do today.
Having said that, it would seem that the next best thing would be to cut back on sugar through the use of safe low calorie sweetners. Goodness, kids today eat the amount of sugar a day that people used to eat in a year! It's crazy.
sundero
OTOH a group of Texas Consumers also filed a complaint with the FTC, asking them to require the Texas Consumer Association
to label itself correctly as a front for the Sugar Industry.
What exactly are the claims? Are they simply comparing Splenda to sugar? If so, I don't see the problem. It is supposed to be a substitute for sugar afterall.
From what I understand, Splenda is a chemically-modified molecular form of sucrose (sugar). Basically, what occurs is that you start with regular sugar, and through a certain chemical process 3 hydroxyl groups (COOH's) are replaced by 3 chlorine atoms (Cl's). Th resultant molecule is very much like 'natural' sugar in structure, but much less 'absorbable' in the body.
I use it, I like it. My educational background contains a good deal of organic chemistry. It's only my opinion, but I think it is the best sugar-substitute I know of out there.
My $0.02.........
Uh, NO, I buy it because it does tasted the closest I have ever tasted to sugar... not because I think its natural.
"If you have these symptoms, or anything approaching these symptoms, or even any other symptoms that you might construe as be actual symptoms of something, ask your doctor if this drug is right for your symptoms. Oh yeah, the potential side-effects of this drug are far worse than most people's symptoms, but you probably need this drug. If you have a liver, pancreas, kidneys, heart, brain, or any other necessary organ, you should think twice about taking this drug."
Instead, they go after something innocuous like whether an ad is effective in doing its job by selling more artificial sweetener.
I'm sensitive to sugar & lesser to sugar free products but have no problem with Splenda. It does not leave me with a bitter aftertaste either.
I'm diabetic also and my husband is very concerned about the amount of aspartame that I consume. I drink a lot of diet soda. He found that Diet Rite is the only soda out there that uses Splenda rather than aspartame and he is insisting that I drink it. It tastes terrible. I want my Diet Cherry Coke!
They said it caused cancer in rats but they fed them huge amounts at a time to prove it. Probably a lot of things you might eat in those huge amounts would cause some kind of problem in your body.
My wife is diabetic and we have both been involved with WeightWatchers for the past two years - and I might add, successfully involved.
The only negative thing that I could say about Splenda is that it doesn't behave like sugar in baked goods. I note too, that Splenda markets a half-sugar, half-splenda product that gets around this problem. Of course, if you're diabetic, you probably wouldn't be able to use that product.
Aftertaste? Don't think so. I was sitting at the breakfast table one morning before my wife got up. I saw the packets of Splenda on the table and wondered to myself how it tasted. I opened a pack and dumped it in my mouth. Exactly like sugar except for the texture.
I think the Splenda folks add a hydrogen atom to sugar.
BUMP
Google shows no organization listed as The Texas Consumer Association ...... However the lady mentioned in the article, Sandra Haverlah, shows up on a list of registered lobbyist in Texas and has spoken as a representative of Planned Parenthood on Legislative bills...
Then keep using it. "Natural" really doesn't mean anything. Splenda is a useful sugar substitute for people who have carbohydrate issues: diabetes, sensitivity, intolerance, etc. It's also useful for overweight people in cutting calories.
Splenda tastes better than most substitutes and combines well with sugar for baking. Only someone who was heavily influenced by the hippie days would buy this product because it's more "natural".
Splenda. Since it's not derived from sugar, what--exactly --is it?