The Real Story about Splenda...?

[slebdog]

1. During Induction, I've heard (or read) a guideline of using no more than 3 packets of Splenda per day. Does the use of Splenda affect blood sugar? Why the guideline?
   
2. In other phases of Atkins (OWL, PM, LM) I wonder... when I drink a 12oz can of Diet Coke or Arizona Iced Tea sweetened with Splenda, how many packets of Splenda do you think each can equates to? The labels always say '0' carbs... any thoughts?
   
3. Am I assuming correctly that the Splenda sweetener in whatever form works the same, whether it's packets I put in myself, or foods that are already pre-sweetened with Splenda? Although the packages say '0' carbs, that's not completely true... right?
   
4. In later phases of Atkins... other than hidden actual sugars and carbs in foods, is Splenda a Carb free, totally diet safe, weight gain safe, blood sugar safe, wonder food that won't impair me from maintaining or losing weight?

Thanks for your help,

gary

[matawguro]

Re: The Real Story about Splenda...?

1. During Induction, I've heard (or read) a guideline of using no more than 3 packets of Splenda per day. Does the use of Splenda affect blood sugar? Why the guideline?

If you look at back of a Splenda pack, you'll see the following ingredients listed: Dextrose, Maltodextrin, Sucralose (Splenda). In the US, ingredients are listed from the greatest amount to the least amount.

Dextrose and Maltodextrin are simple sugars and will affect your blood sugar. They're used as bulking agents in packet Splenda because Sucralose is so sweet, if a packet solely had sucralose you'd probably think the packet was empty. This only applies to packet Splenda and not Splenda sweetened products.

To compare, there's 1 gram of bulking agents and sucralose in a packet of Splenda, but ther'se only 70 milligrams (0.07 gram) in a can of Diet Rite.

In other phases of Atkins (OWL, PM, LM) I wonder... when I drink a 12oz can of Diet Coke or Arizona Iced Tea sweetened with Splenda, how many packets of Splenda do you think each can equates to? The labels always say '0' carbs... any thoughts?

See above for actual amount of Splenda in Diet Rite. Keep in mind that Diet drinks may have other things that may affect your weight. High sodium may promote water retention.

The rule of thumb (if I remember correctly) is that one can of Splenda sweetened drink is equal to three packets of Splenda.

Am I assuming correctly that the Splenda sweetener in whatever form works the same, whether it's packets I put in myself, or foods that are already pre-sweetened with Splenda? Although the packages say '0' carbs, that's not completely true... right?

As mentioned above, packet Splenda is a different beast because of the added bulking agents. Such bulking agents are not used in Splenda sweetened drinks.

In later phases of Atkins... other than hidden actual sugars and carbs in foods, is Splenda a Carb free, totally diet safe, weight gain safe, blood sugar safe, wonder food that won't impair me from maintaining or losing weight?

While Splenda itself might not promote weight gain, the sweetness eatself might encourage overeating or binging on other foods.

There's also some debate on encephalic insulin response where your body is conditioned to think that sweet = sugar and produces insulin in response. This will cause blood sugar to drop causing hunger pangs.

[Laurenfra]

Re: The Real Story about Splenda...?

There's also some debate on encephalic insulin response where your body is conditioned to think that sweet = sugar and produces insulin in response. This will cause blood sugar to drop causing hunger pangs.

I believe this to be true. I have the same sugar peaks and lows when I consume too much splenda.

[ValidRouge]

Re: The Real Story about Splenda...?

Check on a can of coke. Usually there are 2-3 servings in one can. Each of those counts as one of your three daily limit. So, if the can has 3 servings, and you drink the whole can, that's your entire allotment for the day.

You can buy liquid sucralose from www.sweetzfree.com but you still have to count each serving as one of your three. This will just save you 3 carbs per day because it doens't have the dextrose and maltodextrin.

My biggest problem with splenda or saccharin is the cephalic insulin response and subsequent drop in blood sugar which makes me hungry and irritable. Sometimes VERY irritable.

[G-Mom]

Re: The Real Story about Splenda...?

Check on a can of coke. Usually there are 2-3 servings in one can. Each of those counts as one of your three daily limit. So, if the can has 3 servings, and you drink the whole can, that's your entire allotment for the day.

My cans say 1 can=1 serving. Now in the bottles (20 oz) there are 2 servings.

[cleochatra]

Re: The Real Story about Splenda...?

Splenda makes me hungry.

Regarding carbs, I would always count a serving of a low-carb beverage at .3 carbs to be safe.

[slebdog]

Re: The Real Story about Splenda...?

There's also some debate on encephalic insulin response where your body is conditioned to think that sweet = sugar and produces insulin in response. This will cause blood sugar to drop causing hunger pangs.

Your whole response was informative and helpful, thanks. Regarding the encephalic insulin response, your saying that there could be (probably is for many) a physiological response to Splenda (and perhaps other sweetners), such that insulin is released into the blood, which in turn lowers blood sugar, leading to irritability and cravings.

When insulin is present in the blood as a result of this false response, will the number of keytones in your blood reduce? Is there a relationship between insulin and keytones or is it simply that keytones will go away when there is an ample level of glucose/carbs (insulin & glycogen) in the blood?

[matawguro]

Re: The Real Story about Splenda...?

Your whole response was informative and helpful, thanks. Regarding the encephalic insulin response, your saying that there could be (probably is for many) a physiological response to Splenda (and perhaps other sweetners), such that insulin is released into the blood, which in turn lowers blood sugar, leading to irritability and cravings.

That pretty much sums it up.

The reason for the debate is that there was a study done where the researchers found no evidence of encephalic insulin response among people with nornal blood sugar.

But if you're overweight and you're on this board, there's a good chance that the system in your body that regulates blood sugar is already slightly or severely out of whack. That means for a good number of the ADBB menbers, encephalic insulin reaction is a reality.

When insulin is present in the blood as a result of this false response, will the number of keytones in your blood reduce? Is there a relationship between insulin and keytones or is it simply that keytones will go away when there is an ample level of glucose/carbs (insulin & glycogen) in the blood?

Assuming you don't take in any carbs due to falling blood glucose, your body will produce glucose from protein to keep things running. Your brain can also use ketones for fuel. I guess it's possible that the amount of ketones in your blood will be reduced but I'm not sure how much.

[2big4mysize]

Re: The Real Story about Splenda...?

insulin doesn't resuce ketones however it is a fat storing hormone. Krytones are produced as the byproductes of fat metabolism and with insulin shutting down fat burning no more ketones will be produced as a result intil the insulin production drops (Robbie left out a step here ) which triggers the fat burning hormone which also stimulates sugar production in the liver as the need for energy increase but that is okay cause sugar can be made form the hydrocarbon back bone of the fats and remade from the byproducts of the sugar burning too besides proteins in order to fuel the nonfat burning parts of the body like red blood cells while the fats are being metabolized to fuel the rest of the body.

one big reason sweetner servings are limited is because for most folk eating sweets is one of the major reasons they are overweight.It isn't the amount of Splenda in your serving it is 3 total servings of anything containing a sweetner and the serving size is determined by the manufacturer so if you can says 8 ounces is a serving then your 12 ounce can has 1.5 servings if it says 12 ounces is a serving then you can is 1 serving.

Dr Atkins had a great line when ask about the desserts in the recipe section and he said desserts and sweets should be occasional treats not everyday events! When he created his plan frankenfoods didn't exist so if you planned a sweet dessert you had to have a very small serving to stay inside your carb limits which also limited your junk cals. now with all the frankenfood chenicals to add to batters you can have a 3000+ cal cake with just net carbs for the whole thing something Dr Atkins never invisioned when he allowed us to self limit our foods. Even Atkins Nutritional realized this was a problem and put warning labels on the ice cream treat telling folk they should endulge responsible and the box even with the low carb counts per treat still contained 6 servings.

There seems to be a misconception about the cephalic response. that is caused by just seeing or smelling or even thinking about a sweet. the sweet tastebuds when stimulated send signals to the brain that sugars are availible for processing and in turn the hunam brain stimulates insulin production to metabolize that sweet. Now if you were a cephalic responder your brain would stimulate more insulin then just the amount the taste buds are sending.

the sweets stimulate insulin which in turn causes blood sugar drops and appetite increase is a well exploited fact used in increaseing weight in farm animals.

[slebdog]

Re: The Real Story about Splenda...?

...until the insulin production drops (Robbie left out a step here ) which triggers the fat burning hormone which also stimulates sugar production in the liver as the need for energy increase.

Thank you for your technical explanation... I find it is really interesting and helpful to know the chemistry behind it all... what is the fat burning hormone that's allowed to kick in after insulin production drops?

...When he created his plan frankenfoods didn't exist....

I think I know what you mean by frankenfoods from the context of your message, but maybe there's more to it. Where did this term come from?

Even Atkins Nutritional realized this was a problem and put warning labels on the ice cream treat telling folk they should endulge responsible and the box even with the low carb counts per treat still contained 6 servings.

So you're saying that although the net impact carb count of some treats may be low, if the overall calorie count is high (due to a lot of sugar alcohols and different things used to make the product), eaters must beware... there is a negative effect of these treats. Are you saying in this case that the negative is because of the cephalic response or because of the presence of a lot of calories that the body will find a way to metabolize or both?

Also for clarification... I've seen many abbreviations so far on the ADBB forums... could you tell me what WOE stands for in reference to this weight loss program is. Also what is WOL?

Thanks.

[2big4mysize]

Re: The Real Story about Splenda...?

woe way of eating wol way of kife.

frankenfoods are foods that contain chemicals designed by man and not taturally occuring stuff like real fruits and vegies, butter natural oils anf meats.

in the human body many hormones are linkes one will repress another when the need is high for the current one and we say they exist in a negative feedback loop. insulin is the repressor of glucogen. Glucogen is the hormon responsible for fat metabolism and when it is high fats will be metabolized. it is also one of the hormones responsible for glucogenesis but with the ATP production by the oxidation of fatty acids the other chems can be kept low concentrations of the canibalizing proteins for carbs to make into sugars enzume stage