Since I've started this eating lifestyle change (it's not a diet! ), I've been looking at alternatives to sugar. I've read a few posts here about splenda and did a little internet reading. So far, there's been some reports about the toxicity of sucralose. I'm leaning more to stevia now.

I know splenda has been approved by the FDA, but seeing as they approved aspartame (bleh) without adequate research really, I take with a grain of salt.

Thoughts?

I know nothing about sucralose except that it is made from sucrose. Stevia is not available in Britain so can't help you with that one.

My sweetener of choice is saccharine. I think it's sold in the States as sweet 'n' low. You can get it without bulkers so it's 0 carbs.

Saccharine....nasty for you, nasty tasting.
Equal (aspartame) real nasty for you, not quite so nasty tasting.
Stevia (is in the UK. It is a little plant). All natural, tastes of saccharine!

Splenda: Health risks unknown (chemically-altered mirror image of a sugar molecule, passes through your system, as your system cant' recognize it), tasts soooo much better than the above three.

I'll stick with Splenda until told otherwise...

~Shelly

This is one of the sites I found (there were a few more).

http://www.holisticmed.com/splenda/

I found the following on Stevia in Europe

Stevioside was first considered by the SCF for approval for use as a sweetener within the EU in 1985 and the review was updated in 1989.

On both occasions the Committee raised several questions of concern and concluded that, based on the submitted documentation, it could not accept its use. Extracts from Stevia rebaudiana leaves were also considered as toxicologically not acceptable.

A further application for approval of stevioside was received by the European Commission in 1998 and again referred to the SCF.

The data considered by the Committee indicated that the extract has the potential to produce adverse effects in the male reproductive system that could affect fertility and that a metabolite produced by the human gut microflora, steviol, is genotoxic (ie. damages DNA).

The Committee concluded that stevioside was not acceptable as a sweetener.

In 1998 a request was made for Stevia (the plants and dried leaves of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) to be marketed as a novel food under the EU novel foods legislation (Regulation 258/97(EC)).

The application was initially evaluated by the Belgian Authorities who recommended that the product should not be approved.

The product was then considered in the UK by the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) as part of the approval process for novel foods.

The ACNFP agreed with the opinion of the Belgian Authorities and recommended that the product should not be approved due to lack of information supporting its safety, a view that was shared by a number of other Member States. The application was subsequently referred to the SCF.

The SCF concluded in June 1999 that the information submitted on the plant products was insufficient with regard to specification and standardisation of the commercial product and contained no safety studies.

There was no satisfactory data to support the safe use of these products as ingredients in food or as sucrose substitutes.

In December 1999 the Joint MAFF/DH Food Safety and Standards Group wrote to various companies known to be trading in Stevia products, informing them of the SCF’s opinion and stating that Stevia should not be offered for sale as a food or food ingredient in the UK.


So - this trashes stevia and the link in the previous post trashes sucralose. I think I'll stick to the saccharine (which I admit doesn't taste as nice as other sweeteners, but you getr used to it).