http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/3/sucralose_dangers.htm

I was doing research on splenda out of boredom on the net and ran into this article. Just wondering what your take is on this article about splenda/sucralose. The jury is still out for me as far as any artificial sweetener goes. Obviously as low carbers we still have to intake a very limited quanity of it anyway, but I sometimes wonder if these artifical things we put in our bodies could do any harm in the long run. What's your opinion on artifical sweeteners in general?

I operate on the theory that regular consumption of artificial sugar reinforces our taste for sweets. In order to eat better FOR LIFE it is necessary to do the hard work of cultivating new habits and one of the most important ones is weaning our taste buds from the sweet stuff. Over time I believe it's possible for most adults to occasionally treat themselves to a real desert without burning in Hades or succumbing to an insatiable desire for all the treats in a baker. People freely (gleefully) admit their powerlessness in the face of sugar and bread and create all manner of replacements. It reminds me somewhat of Methadone treatment for heroin addicts. One isn't ingesting the real poison, but a replacement that's somehow better for them.

I'm too cynical to trust any artificial sweetener widely endorced by the FDA and food industry who often don't behave in our best interest. Yes, I'm just that cynical. I am still searching (in vain?) for a 'good', 'natural' sweetener for occasional desserts because it'd be wonderful to be able to have a planned endulgence that didn't cause my now stable blood sugar to go awry (see, I do understand). My standard is, if it's something I'm uncomfortable feeding my children it's probably not something I should cultivate a taste for .

Hope I didn't go too far afield, beginagain, but I am currently struggling with the same questions.

Optimist
(former SERIOUS sugar addict)

Hi Optimist,

From one cynic to another, let's celebrate the infamous motto that a cynic knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing.

I agree with your "heroin" analogy of subsituting a lesser vice for an addiction resulting in fueling the addiction rather than curing it. Personally, I'm addicted to sugar; and, I'll always be addicted to it. I think everyone in the world is too.

I've tried splenda, aspartme, or whatever other sugar subs modern chemistry has managed to alter and find them intolerable. To me, they taste nothing like sugar, while the products I love made with these so called sweetners suddenly tastes flat.

The long term effects of these altered sweetners for some time won't be known until further down the road. While we are already privy to some of the maladies of sugar consumption, at least one can take solace that we've been consuming sugar and it's effects aren't a mystery.

Personally, I'll eat real sugar, when the urge strikes. There is and never will be anything which fully replaces the full flavor or real sugar. How bad can it be to have sugar in moderation? Surely, the latter would be infinitely more healthy than binging on splenda, aspartme, or the other assorted artificial sweeteners, right?

Regards,

Frederick

Hello, Frederick,

I'm speechless with wonder! I've typed similar words and been blasted for 'not following the plan' and threatened with 'stalls' or urged to seek support elsewhere. I knew I couldn't be the only low carber with such feelings but you are the first to reveal himself!

Optomist, as I'm sure you're aware of, Frederick has done his due diligence, and has reached goal. Until I do, and prove myself on maintenence, I consider sugar to be a poison to my body.

Yes, another county heard from. I love reading Fredericks posts, they are enlightening and entertaining, and he's reached goal, so he can speak with authority.

I am also concerned about artificial sweetners of any kind, after all they are man made not a natural product. And as for the long term effects we wont know for sure about these until it is too late.
I see nothing wrong with a little natural God made sweetner like honey or brown sugar if you can 'afford' the carbs.

Fiona, we all proceed in the manner most comfortable or beneficial to us. If sugar is poison to you my opinion shouldn't affect or offend you in the least. It's just that, my opinion, I'm not looking for converts or anything.

(I'm havin' way to much fun with these icons! The novelty will probably wear off in a few days but in the meantime, whoopeee!)

Bon, I agree. It's possible to find sites online violently opposed to just about everything, particularly when it comes to foods and diets. One size does NOT fit all when it comes to food choices

I'm feeling a bit lazy to cite my post somewhere else on this forum, but I'll repeat that the methods used by the Sucralose Toxicity Center to "prove" the dangers of sucralose/Splenda are not the methods commonly accepted by food scientists to indicate danger.

On the other hand, I don't like being the guinea pig for the artificial sweetener industry. I'll stick with stevia and other products with a long track record of safety.

A friend wrote me privately about this very same article a month ago, and here is the gist of what I wrote back...


I've been aware of these concerns, but they do not seem credible to me.

1. Even if Splenda were 100% metabolized, you have to remember it is 600 times sweeter than sugar. We eat only 1/600th the amount of Splenda to get the same sweetness level as we would of sugar. Since he can only establish that maybe 40% is metabolized, it turns out that one would have to eat 1500 tablespoons of pure Splenda to equal the blood-sugar impact of 1 tablespoon of sucrose. I doubt even that the 40% is correct. My glycated hemoglobin (Hba1C) readings have dropped dramatically on Atkins despite my consumption of Splenda.

2. Many people on the Atkin's diet eat Splenda and lose weight. I hear daily complaints from Atkin's dieters all the time about NutraSweet and Sugar Alcohols stalling their weight loss but almost nothing negative about Splenda.

3. Even if a few people are sensitive to it, I do not appear to be.

4. Chlorine has many uses - healthy and unhealthy. The "guilt-by-association" with pesticides is just irrational - Splenda does not kill insects on contact.

5. The "impurities" claim is just bs [I spelled it out originally - gotbeer] - the whole thing is a fantasy - I wonder what the impurities in 1500 tablespoons of sugar would amount to.

6. Despite these "problems" people claim, the use of Splenda just passed both NutraSweet and Sweet&Low.

Mercola himself has credibility issues, in my opinion. On every article on his website he tries to sell you something, and often he is quite pushy about it in a way that feels icky to me. His information in this particular article is copied almost word-for-word from another website.

Now where would that have been? You only have 7 posts here so far.

Karen

LOL! Of course not here, Karen, where I'm a happy newbie. There are lots of other places online though!

I wasn't claiming martyr status, btw. I find few lc'ers who limit real sugar instead of switching to artificial sugars. Many find the notion so horrific they've responded in strong terms. No biggy.

Toxicity is a problem. We are all working on the basis that high carb is in some way toxic in its effects on us.

At the same time how do we test? A rat fed a very large quantity of water would die - so is water toxic?

I get ill from eating wheat, I get intestinal cramps and sweat, even in cold weather, at night. But I could not argue that wheat should be banned because it gives me a bad time. Most people can safely eat some wheat.

The trouble is that new stuff like Splenda has, by definition, no track record for use in human diet for us to be able to draw any conclusions about.

I feel that what Gotbeer has to say is a good counterbalance to the alarmist reports.

I suggest that we should all be carefull with Splenda, and all new foodstuffs, use it sparingly, and monitor our reactions.

I use Splenda a couple of times a week. I feel terrific. So I'm happy for now.

MikeS