is splenda ok?

[Georgiana]

Re: is splenda ok?

Just because salt is deemed ok for comsumption (even though there are adverse reactions atrributed to it), does not mean that splenda (chlorinated sugar) is safe.

Nor does it mean it's unsafe.

Fyi, splenda was actually originally developed as an insecticide.

Splenda was not created as an insecticide.

Sucralose (not the same thing as Splenda) was indeed discovered while scientists were working on creating a new insecticide. However, this does not make sucralose an insecticide.

And since that guy you quoted mentions pesticides... Chemically, sucralose and pesticides are different kind of substances. Sucralose is a chlorinated carbohydrate, while pesticides like DDT are chlorinated hydrocarbons.

This guy quotes some article

Those quotes are from some articles written by someone working for Integrated Supplements and are not proving anything.

This is the page where the comment was posted:

Splenda misinformation | The Blog of Michael R. Eades, M.D.

Author: Terp Fan
Comment:
The molecular structure is just as important is the individual components. Salt has an ionic bond, while sucralose has a covalent bond. "It is this same covalent carbon-chlorine bond that is found in pesticides

The presence of a covalent chlorine-carbon bond does not make sucralose unsafe.

There are many chemicals we consume that have this bond, including some that occur in nature. An example is 4-chloroindole-3-acetic acid, which is found in vegetables like peas.

Furthermore, some organochlorides may actually be made in the human body.

the above information is enough for me to stay away from splenda!

That's fine. The information you quoted above does not prove anything, but everyone is free to choose the sweetener they prefer.

[Kiko2]

Re: is splenda ok?

I do agree that saccharin is probably the best choice. Anyway, around here, we find it in a liquid form with no filler and you just need a few drops to get the sweet taste with no bitterness. It is also very stable for cooking.

Splenda CAN be a problem according to this article and it is all about carbohydrates (at least the powder one). Please take time to read this slowly, it is VERY interesting:

<Splenda is NOT pure SUCRALOSE. It also contain bulking agents (as all other artificial sweeteners) and THESE AGENTS ARE ALL SUGARS, principally dextrose, sucrose, and maltodextrin. (Maltodextrin is corn syrup solids). So Splenda is ONLY 1% SUCRALOSE and the rest is 99% SUGAR.
Splenda is labelled < sugar and calorie free> as a result of manipulating a loophole in the food labeling laws: a product can be described as <sugar free> if a serving contains less than .5 grams of sugar, and <calorie free> if a serving is less than 5 calories. So they set the serving size at .5 gram (1 tsp of the granular type) which contains 1 gram of carbohydrate and since it is 99 % REAL SUGAR (bulking agents), one serving contains 4 calories.

This can be confirmed on the manufacturer’s website (SPLENDA® Brand Sweetener) in the FAQ section: “Like many no and low calorie sweeteners, each serving of SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener contains a very small amount of common food ingredients, e.g., dextrose and/or maltodextrin, for volume. However, the bulking agents provide so few calories per serving that the FDA allows SPLENDA No Calorie Sweetener Products to be called no-calorie sweeteners, because they provide LESS THEN FIVE calories per serving.”

To make matters worse, when SUCRALOSE was shown to not raise blood sugars, it was the pure substance that was tested, not the mixture that is sold to the public. Dextrose, sucrose, and/or maltodextrin are definitely going to raise a diabetic’s blood sugar. There is also a great deal of evidence that artificial sweeteners actually cause an increase in appetite, causing people who consume them to take in more calories than they would otherwise.>